Norbert Leo Butz was born on January 30, 1967, in St. Louis, MO, the seventh child of Elaine and Norbert A. Butz. He has German, French, and Irish ancestry. Norbert went to audition for the Alabama Shakespeare festival in 1993 without using his middle name, but because people kept getting him confused with his father, he quickly decided to add Leo. In 1997 his Broadway career began when he moved with his then wife Sydney and their baby daughter Clara, to become swing in the musical "Rent". After a couple of months in the part, he got the full time lead of Roger. After "Rent", Norbert toured as the Emcee in Cabaret when his daughter Maggie was born. Norbert starred in other shows, such as playing the confused heart-throb Jamie in "The Last 5 Years" and the revenge seeking Camille in "Thou Shalt Not". He got his big break in 2003 as the hot, careless Prince Fiyero in "Wicked". During his Wicked run, however, Norbert and Sydney divorced, and Norbert met his future fiancé and wife, Michelle Federer. Norbert left the show on July 7, 2004 to star in the hit "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels", in which he played the clueless but funny Freddy Benson. Norbert continued that role with the national tour until October of 2006, when he filmed "Dan in Real Life". "Dan in Real Life" opened in theaters October 26, 2007.

Michelle Federer (23 July 2007 - present) ( 1 child)

Trivia

Has a daughter named Clara Virginia
7th of 11 children. Though he has six brothers older than him, he was named after his father.
Went to Bishop DuBourg High School
Originally a journalism major at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Then switched to Webster University. He has degree in theatre
His last show in "Rent" was December 6, 1998. He was a swing and eventually played the role of Roger.
Was snubbed when he was around 7 when five members of his family auditioned for roles in a high school production of "The King and I." Everyone got parts but him.
Grew up in South St. Louis.
Brother of actor 'Jim Butz'.
Achieved a degree in theater from Webster University.
Has a daughter named Maggie Lou.
Spent four years in the company of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
Originated the role of Jamie in Jason Robert Brown's off-Broadway musical The Last Five Years
Was nominated for Broadway's 2002 Tony Award as Best Actor (Featured Role - Musical) for "Thou Shalt Not."
He won the 2005 Best Actor in a Musical Tony for his role in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. His co-star in the musical and fellow Tony nominee was John Lithgow.
Best friends with former "Wicked" co-star, Michelle Federer.
Won the 2005 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."
Is now engaged to Michelle Federer, who played the role of 'Nessarose' to Norbert's 'Fieyro' in the musical Wicked. (Feb. 2007).
He was nominated for a 2001 Joseph Jefferson Award for Actor in a Principal Role in a Musical for "The Last Five Years" at the Northlight Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.
Earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from The University of Alabama/Alabama Shakespeare Festival's Professional Actor Training Program.
In 2009, while Butz was in Seatle performing in the out-of-town previews of the musical "Catch Me If You Can," his sister Teresa (who lived in Seattle with her fiancée, Jennifer Hopper) was raped and then stabbed to death. Hopper was also raped and was severely wounded, but a detective on the case told reporters that Teresa sacrificed herself to save Jennifer. Teresa and Jennifer had planned to get married that September. The Seattle opening of "Catch Me If You Can" was briefly delayed out of respect for the Butz family. When Norbert Leo Butz won the Tony for his lead performance in the musical, he dedicated it to his father and his sister, saying "this is for my father, I based this character on, and for my sister. I love you Teresa. We remember you every night". In 2011, Teresa's murderer, Isaiah Kalebu, was convicted of "aggravated murder" and was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. In 2012, Seattle journalist Eli Sanders of "The Stranger" newspaper won a Pulitzer Prize for feature writing for his article about Hopper and Butz.

I hate sitting around a table and talking about what a play might mean. I'm the person who's always like, 'Can we get up on our feet and just do it?'
I was in the original cast of 'Wicked', and that got a bad review in 'The New York Times,' and it's the most successful thing that's ever been put onstage.
I have 10 brothers and sisters.
If you individualize an audience, it helps up the stakes of your responsibility to that audience.
I don't know if Jesus said it in the Bible, but someone said that 'the love of money is the root of all evil,' and I do think there's a correlation between the ambition that a lot of people have, in terms of financial remuneration, and the loss of core values.
It's thrilling to be onstage and to not know, literally, what the next moment is going to bring. To just submit to the not-knowing-ness of it.
I make decisions quickly.
If you are opening a play, a play that's really about something, a play that's really about ideas, you have to find a way to sell that play.