Rhea Butcher

Rhea Butcher (born August 12, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, producer, and podcast host. Butcher is best known for personal, observational comedy focused on their vegetarianism, feminism, love of baseball, and experiences as a butch lesbian.[1] Originally from Akron, Ohio, Butcher now resides in Los Angeles, California.[2]

Rhea Butcher
Butcher at w00tstock 8.0
Born (1982-08-12) August 12, 1982
Akron, Ohio, U.S.
MediumStand-up, television, radio, internet
Alma materUniversity of Akron
Years active2012–present
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2015; sep. 2018)​
Notable works and rolesTake My Wife
Websiterheabutcher.com

Early life

Butcher was raised in the Kenmore neighborhood of Akron, Ohio,[3] an only child whose parents divorced when Butcher was one month old.[4] They attended Our Lady of the Elms High School[5] and graduated from Archbishop Hoban High School in 2001.[6]

While attending the University of Akron, Butcher worked at a skateboard shop named Summer Squall[7] and an indoor skating facility called Joe's Skate Park,[8] and helped design a skatepark that opened in Akron in 2001.[8] They graduated from the University of Akron with a degree in printmaking in 2005.[6][4] Butcher attended graduate school at University of Notre Dame.[6]

In 2006, they had an exhibit at a printmaker's show called "Prints at an Exposition".[9] This exhibit, which was a series of prints on muslin showing the body's organs, was inspired by Butcher's own appendectomy.[9]

Comedy career

Early years

Butcher began their comedy career performing improv in Chicago at The Second City and has since performed stand-up at clubs including Zanies, the Jukebox, and Flappers, as well as Chicago Underground Comedy, The Hideout, The Lincoln Lodge, UCB, Cole's, and Meltdown.[10][11] They made their late night debut on Conan in June 2016.[12][13]

2014–present

In the fall of 2014, they appeared alongside Cameron Esposito in a series of videos for BuzzFeed Motion Pictures titled "Ask a Lesbian".[14][15] Butcher and Esposito also co-hosted the web series "She Said" for Amy Poehler's Smart Girls Network.[16] The two wrote and starred together again in Take My Wife, on the comedy streaming service Seeso.[17][18] Butcher also co-hosted the stand-up comedy podcast Put Your Hands Together with Cameron Esposito, which was recorded weekly in front of a live audience at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles until it ended in July 2019.[19][20][21]

Their first comedy album Butcher was released in August 2016 by the independent record label Kill Rock Stars.[22][23] The set was performed at Mississippi Studios in Portland, Oregon.[24] It debuted at number one on iTunes.[4]

In 2016, they appeared in 8 episodes of the first season of Adam Ruins Everything.[25] They returned in 2017 for one additional appearance.

In 2018, they started hosting a baseball-focused podcast called Three Swings.[26]

As stated in an interview, Butcher said their strongest comedy influences are Rosie O'Donnell, Ellen DeGeneres, Brett Butler, Elayne Boosler, Maria Bamford, and Paul F. Tompkins.[27]

Voice acting

Butcher provided the voice for Asher, a fictional nonbinary character in Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts in three episodes of season two released in 2020.[28]

Personal life

Butcher met fellow comedian Cameron Esposito at an open mic hosted by Esposito.[29] The two soon started collaborating and then began to date.[29] On December 12, 2015, Butcher married Esposito onstage at The Hideout in Esposito's hometown of Chicago, Illinois.[30][31] In September 2019, Esposito wrote an article for the New York Times discussing the couple's pending divorce.[32]

Butcher is nonbinary[33] and uses they/them pronouns.[34][35]

Notable appearances
TitleMediumRoleYear
Put Your Hands TogetherPodcastHost2013–2019
Wham Bam PowPodcastHost2013–2015
She SaidWeb Video SeriesHost2015
Bajillion Dollar Propertie$TelevisionJamie2016
Conan[12]TelevisionGuest2016
Take My Wife[36]TelevisionRhea2016–2018
Adam Ruins EverythingTelevisionRhea Conover2016
The Meltdown with Jonah and KumailTelevisionGuest2016
HarmonQuest Television Guest 2016
Queery Podcast Guest 2018
Good Mythical Morning YouTube Guest 2018
Three Swings Podcast Host 2018–present
Good Trouble Television Lindsay Brady 2019–2020
Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts Television Voice of Asher 2020

References
  1. Flaherty, Bridget (August 17, 2006). "Rhea Butcher lays down all that she is and more on "Butcher"". The Laugh Button. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  2. Rabinowitz, Amanda (August 26, 2016). "Comedian Rhea Butcher Keeps Akron at the Heart of Her Success". WKSU. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  3. Rabinowitz, Amanda (August 26, 2016). "Comedian Rhea Butcher Keeps Akron at the Heart of Her Success". WKSU. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  4. Bigley II, James (November 16, 2016). "Comedian Rhea Butcher is the Real Deal". Cleveland Magazine. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  5. O'Connor, Bill (May 3, 1995). "Youths Horrified by Nazi Camps: Study of Holocaust Fills Students with Wonder at Evil of WWII Slaughter". Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio). p. D1.
  6. Heldenfels, Rich (October 12, 2014). "Akron Native to Perform at Musica: Rhea Butcher Returning Home with Stand-up Act". Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio). p. B1.
  7. Wallace, Julie (September 11, 2000). "Falls to Be Popular with Skateboarders". Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio). p. B1.
  8. Wallace, Julie (September 14, 2001). "Park for Skaters Ready to Roll Out Mayor, Councilman to Unveil Akron Site Tomorrow". Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio). p. D1.
  9. Shinn, Dorothy (February 5, 2006). "Stellar Printmakers Put Stamp on Exhibit: Summit Artspace Has Local Artists Showcasing Fresh Approaches to Art". Akron Beacon Journal":(Akron, Ohio). p. E4.
  10. "Profile: Rhea Butcher". KCRW. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  11. Jung, E. Alex (August 16, 2016). "Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher on Take My Wife, 'The Show Where Lesbians Don’t Die'". Vulture. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  12. "Rhea Butcher Stand-Up". Conan. June 30, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  13. "Late Night". The Times Herald-Record (Middletown, New York). June 30, 2016. p. 22.
  14. Habersburger, Keith (October 31, 2014). "Questions You Wish You Could Ask a Lesbian". BuzzFeed.
  15. Star, Erika (February 20, 2013). "Lez Stand Out: Rhea Butcher and Cameron Esposito". AfterEllen.
  16. "Amy Poehler's Made A New Web Series For Women". BuzzFeed. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  17. Poniewozik, James (May 24, 2017). "Have You Heard the One About the Angsty Comic? Yes, Too Often". The New York Times. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  18. Yohannes, Alamin (August 29, 2016). "Cameron Esposito, Rhea Butcher Talk Comedy, Diversity and 'Take My Wife'". NBC News. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  19. "Put Your Hands Together with Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher". UCB Theatre.
  20. Rapa, Patrick (December 6, 2016). "L.A. standup comic Cameron Esposito diversifies her portfolio". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  21. Esposito, Cameron (2019-06-26). "After 6.5 great yrs, @pyhtshow will end July 30. It's been my baseline in LA — thank u to everyone who ran it, performed on it & came to laugh.pic.twitter.com/15encdzcWe". @cameronesposito. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  22. "Rhea Butcher 'Butcher' Out Now on CD & MP3". Kill Rock Stars. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  23. Heldenfels, Rich (August 21, 2016). "New Album, Show for Comedian Rhea Butcher: Akron Native Returns to Area for Local Appearance, CD Signing". Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio). p. E1.
  24. Watts, Rebecca (January 13, 2016). "Rhea Butcher Is Killing It". The Portland Mercury. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  25. "Adam Ruins Everything (TV Series 2015– ) - IMDb" – via www.imdb.com.
  26. Lee, Rachel (April 25, 2018). "Interview with comedian Rhea Butcher". Got a Girl Crush.
  27. Shapiro, Gregg (2016). "Rhea Butcher: Butcher than all of you: An interview with lesbian comedian Rhea Butcher". Chicago Pride.
  28. Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (TV Series 2020– ) - IMDb, retrieved 2020-06-23
  29. Mason, Amelia (November 2, 2017). "Comedy Wives Cameron Esposito And Rhea Butcher Are Scripting Their Own Story". WBUR.
  30. Wellen, Brianna (August 17, 2016). "Two wives are better than one on Take My Wife". The Chicago Reader. Retrieved January 31, 2018. In August 2018, Butcher and Esposito announced their separation to "live individual lives." Their split was covered in a Vanity Fair article. Butcher, Rhea August 8, 2018). "Cameron & I are separating to live individual lives for a time. We care very much about each other & that’s why we’re doing this. We’re gonna talk to our friends about it & be pretty private in public. Thanks for your kindness and understanding." Twitter. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  31. Harwood, Erika. "Comedians Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher Announce Their Split". Vanity Fair.
  32. Esposito, Cameron (September 13, 2019). "New Hope, New Pain, Same Old Divorce" – via NYTimes.com.
  33. Long, Sarah (February 24, 2017). "Get to Know Nonbinary Comedian Rhea Butcher & Her Other Political Beliefs". SheKnows. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  34. Butcher, Rhea (March 6, 2017). "Seeing The Positive In The Future Of Trans Rights". Bustle. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  35. Butcher, Rhea (March 30, 2018). "FYI I use they/them/their pronouns now". Twitter. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  36. Bacle, Ariana (July 19, 2016). "Cameron Esposito promises 'no lesbians die' in new show 'Take My Wife'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
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