Jean Butler
Dancer
Dancer and choreographer best known for starring in the original production of Riverdance. An actress as well as a dancer, she appeared in such films as Goldfish Memory and The Brylcreem Boys.
She began competing as a child in Irish dance competitions, winning numerous regional and national championships.
She studied theater at the University of Birmingham in England.
She and her two siblings were born in Mineola, New York to an Irish mother.
She and fellow Irish American dancer Michael Flatley created a dance piece for the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest that inspired the groundbreaking Irish dance show Riverdance.