Butler attended Hofstra University and earned an Honours Degree in Theatre and Drama from England’s University of Birmingham. In England she met the Irish dancer Colin Dunne, and they performed together at Mayo 5000.
In 1994, under the invitation of producer Moya Doherty, she performed in a seven-minute intermission piece at the Eurovision Song Contest entitled Riverdance. The piece was co-choreographed by Butler with Michael Flatley. The response was so explosive that it was extended into a full show, starring Jean Butler and Flatley. The show toured for about a year. Flatley then abruptly left the show over mutual contractual disputes; six months later, he created his own show, Michael Flatley's Lord Of The Dance. Jean Butler was next joined by Colin Dunne. They then danced at the famous Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York. This was later put on DVD. After a long and extremely successful run with the show, Butler also eventually left Riverdance.
She and Dunne (who had by then also left Riverdance) collaborated again to create the show Dancing on Dangerous Ground, which was based on the ancient Irish legend of Diarmuid and Gráinne. It opened in London in 1999 to critical acclaim, and then in New York. In 1999 she was also awarded the Irish Post Award for "outstanding contribution to Irish Dance."
Butler has also appeared in several films: The Brylcreem Boys, Goldfish Memory, The Revengers Tragedy and Old Friends. In 2001 she married Irish designer Cuan Hanley. She recently earned a Masters Degree in Contemporary Dance. From 2003 to 2005, Butler was Artist In Residence at the University of Limerick's Irish World Music Centre.
In 2005 she released an instructional DVD, Irish Dance Masterclass With Jean Butler.
She received a commission from the Irish Arts Council to create a solo work in 2004 and premiered "Does She Take Sugar?" on 12 April 2007 at the Project Arts Centre in Dublin. With Colin Dunne and George Hook she is a judge on the Radio Telefís Éireann reality series Celebrity Jigs 'n' Reels.
