Yancy Butler

Last updated
Yancy Butler
YancyButler5.JPG
Butler in May 2009
Born
Yancy Victoria Butler

(1970-07-02) July 2, 1970 (age 54)
Alma mater Sarah Lawrence College
OccupationActress
Years active1979, 1991–present
Father Joe Butler

Yancy Victoria Butler (born July 2, 1970) [1] is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Natasha Binder in the 1993 film Hard Target , Jess Crossman in Drop Zone (1994), and Detective Sara Pezzini on the TNT supernatural drama series Witchblade . For her performance in Witchblade, she won a Saturn Award for Best Actress in a Television Series.

Contents

Early life

Yancy Victoria Butler was born in Greenwich Village in Manhattan, the daughter of Leslie Vega, a theatre company manager, and Joe Butler, the drummer and vocalist for the 1960s rock group the Lovin' Spoonful. [2]

Butler attended Sarah Lawrence College, graduating in 1991. [1]

Career

According to the Chicago Tribune , a fan site dedicated to Butler described her as having an "unmistakable husky voice and big, intense eyes"; flattered, she told the newspaper: "That makes me sound like Peter Lorre." [3] Butler's first major role was in the television series Mann & Machine in 1992, in which she played an android police officer partnered with a human detective. The series was set in Los Angeles in the near future. The series was co-created by Dick Wolf. A year later, she 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.

Butler's first film appearance was a small supporting role in the 1979 slasher film Savage Weekend . Her next film appearance was a starring role in John Woo's 1993 film, Hard Target . She then starred in the 1994 film Drop Zone . In 1995, she starred as Corinne the dancer in the film Let It Be Me . Butler was cast as a series regular in the CBS television series Brooklyn South playing Anne-Marie Kersey, a Brooklyn policewoman, which ran for one season from 1997 to 1998.

Butler starred in the television film Witchblade (2000) and the subsequent television series, adapted from the ongoing comic book of the same title; the series ran for two seasons on the Turner Network Television network for a total of 23 episodes. The series has a cult following, and was ranked seventh in the Top 10 Basic Cable Dramas for 2002. The show's cancellation was announced after the second season in September 2002. [4]

In 2005, Butler starred in the film Bloodlines. [5] For distribution purposes, it was retitled in 2006 as Striking Range. In 2007, she appeared in 13 episodes of the television soap opera As the World Turns , as Ava Jenkins.[ citation needed ] She was confirmed to appear in Tales of an Ancient Empire , [6] the follow-up to The Sword and the Sorcerer . [7] On January 24, 2012, Tales of an Ancient Empire was released on DVD. Butler, however, did not appear in the film. [8] She appeared in a small role in another comic-book adaptation, the film version of Kick-Ass . [9]

In November 2003, Butler was taken into custody in Delray Beach, Florida, for disorderly intoxication and sentenced to a substance-abuse treatment program. [10] In 2007, she was charged with driving under the influence after she crashed her car. [11]

On April 3, 2017, Butler was arrested in Sag Harbor, New York, and charged with aggravated drunken driving and possession of drugs after she was found passed out behind the wheel of her car after it had hopped a curb onto the sidewalk. [12]

Personal life

As of 2025, Butler lives in Winnetka, Los Angeles. [12]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1979 Savage Weekend Little Girl
1993 Hard Target Natasha Binder
1993The Hit ListJordan Henning
1994 Drop Zone Jessie Crossman
1995 Let It Be Me Corinne
1996Fast MoneyFrancesca March
1997 Ravager Avedon Hammond
1997 The Ex Deidre Kenyon
1997Annie's GardenLisa Miller
1999The Witness FilesSandy Dickinson
2000Doomsday ManCaptain Kate Roebuck
2004The Last LetterMs. Toney / Alicia Cromwell
2006Striking RangeEmily Johanson
2008Vote and Die: Liszt for PresidentAnn Barklely
2010 Kick-Ass Angie D'Amico
2010 Lake Placid 3 Reba
2012Shark WeekElena
2012 Lake Placid: The Final Chapter Reba
2013 Hansel & Gretel Get Baked Officer Hart
2013 Kick-Ass 2 Angie D'Amico
2015 Lake Placid vs. Anaconda Reba
2017 Death Race 2050 Alexis HamiltonDirect to video
2018 The Assassin's Code Laura Consolo
2019American CriminalDr. Penelope Lang
2020Emerald RunAnna Thomas
2021 Initiation Detective Sandra Fitzgerald
2021The AccursedHana

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1991 Law & Order Beverly KernEpisode: "Misconception"
1992 Mann & Machine Sgt. Eve Edison9 episodes
1993 South Beach Kate Patrick7 episodes
1997 NYPD Blue Lucinda "Lucy" Hastings1 episode
1997–1998 Brooklyn South Officer Anne-Marie Kersey21 episodes
2000 Witchblade Detective Sara Pezzini Television movie
2001–2002 Witchblade Detective Sara Pezzini23 episodes
2006Double CrossKathy SwansonTelevision movie
2006Basilisk: The Serpent KingHannah Carmelina Santorini FrankmanTelevision movie
2007 As the World Turns Ava Jenkins13 episodes
2008 Wolvesbayne LillithTelevision movie
2010 Lake Placid 3 RebaTelevision movie
2011 The Mentalist Aunt JodieEpisode: "Blood for Blood"
2011 Rage of the Yeti VillersTelevision movie
2012 Lake Placid: The Final Chapter RebaTelevision movie
2015 Lake Placid vs. Anaconda RebaTelevision movie
2017Boyfriend KillerCarrie EllingtonTelevision movie
2017Witness ProtectionSusanTelevision movie

Awards

On June 10, 2002, Butler won a Saturn Award for Best Actress in a Television Series, at the 29th Annual Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films Awards ceremony, for her performances in Witchblade. [13]

References

  1. 1 2 "Butler, Yancy 1970–". Encyclopedia.com . Cengage. Archived from the original on September 24, 2023.
  2. "Interview: Yancy Butler (Witchblade's Sara Pezzini) - Part Two". Sci Fi Dimensions. July 2002. Archived from the original on June 12, 2011. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
  3. Rodgers, Andrew (June 30, 2002). "'Witchblade' star rebounds from rehab". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  4. Josh, Grossberg (September 5, 2002). ""Witchblade" Sliced by TNT". E! Online. Retrieved December 29, 2006.
  5. "Striking Range [Bloodlines] Trailer". Serendipitous Films.
  6. "Yancy Butler Joins the Family in Tales". Dreadcentral.com. April 17, 2008. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  7. "A Few More Details On That SWORD AND THE SORCERER Follow-Up We've Been Hearing About!! - Ain't It Cool News: The best in movie, TV, DVD, and comic book news". Aintitcool.com. April 23, 2008. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  8. "Tales of an Ancient Empire (2010)". Amazon. Retrieved January 31, 2012.
  9. ""Interview: Yancy Butler (Witchblade, Wolvesbane)" Action Flick Chick; October 26, 2009". Actionflickchick.com. October 26, 2009. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  10. Josh, Grossberg (November 24, 2003). ""Witchblade" Star Ordered to Rehab". E! Online. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved December 29, 2006.
  11. "Actress Yancy Butler arrested for DUI". USA Today . March 15, 2007.
  12. 1 2 Morrow, T. E. (April 5, 2017). "Actress Charged Again With Drunken Driving". The East Hampton Star . Archived from the original on June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  13. "Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA – 2002 Awards". IMDb.com.