Buteau was born in New Jersey to a Haitian father and a Jamaican mother of partial French descent.

[2][3][4][5] She attended college at Florida International University, where she pursued her dream of becoming an entertainment reporter and studied television production.

It wasn’t until three days after the September 11 attacks in 2001 that Buteau finally performed comedy for the first time, having burned out on covering the news.

[16] Buteau was also part of The Comedy Lineup on Netflix where up and coming comedians have 15 minute stand-up sets.

[19][20][21] That same year, Buteau appeared in two television series: First Wives Club[12] and Tales of the City.