Yancy Butler was raised in Greenwich Village, New York City during the seventies and early eighties as the only kid of, Joe and Leslie Butler.
Show business has long been in the family, as Joe Butler is a member of the folk rock band, The Lovin Spoonful and her mother was a company manager for Broadway shows. Her parents separated when Yancy was 12 years old.
At the age of 13, Yancy began studying at the prestigious HB Studios in New York. She also studied dance and ballet at the Joffrey and Ailey schools. When the time came for her to choose a college, Yancy went to the well known Sarah Lawrence College, where she did her B.A. in Liberal Arts. She has a 3.8 grade point average and received a Griggs Scholarship. She graduated from SLC in 1991.
