Yancy Butler was born in Greenwich Village in Manhattan on 2nd July 1970. Her mother Leslie Vega was a theatre company manager whilst her father Joe Butler was the drummer and vocalist for the 1960’s rock group The Lovin’ Spoonful. Their hits included Summer in the City, Do You Believe In Magic, Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?, and Daydream.
Butler’s first film appearance was as a young child in a small supporting role in the 1979 slasher film Savage Weekend, her main acting career began in 1991 in the television series Law & Order, this was followed up with an episode of Law & Order. This led to her first appearance on the Cult Faction radar in 1992 in the television series Mann & Machine playing an android police officer who was partnered with a human detective. The series was set in Los Angeles in the near future and was co-created by Dick Wolf.
A year later, Butler starred in her second series, South Beach, in which she played a con artist and thief who made a deal with the federal government; in exchange for their wiping of her criminal record, she performs certain tasks for them.
Her next film appearance was a starring role in John Woo’s Hard Target (1993). This was followed up by Drop Zone, Let It Be, and the television series Brooklyn South in which she played Anne-Marie Kersey, a Brooklyn policewoman.
Then in 2000 came Witchblade (the movie and television show!) adapted from the ongoing comic book of the same title. Witchblade ran for two seasons (23 episodes in total).
Further roles came in The Lyons Den, Bloodlines, The Last Letter, Double Cross, Basilisk: The Serpent King, Striking Range before a 2007 run as Ava Jenkins in As the World Turns.
In 2009 the Cult Faction radar was going off again after Butler played Lilith in Wolvesbayne, this was followed up with the role of Angie D’Amico in Kick Ass and Kick Ass 2 and her role as Reba in the Lake Placid series of films.
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