Helen Essenhart is an American woman who is well-known as the wife of Dick Butkus, the American former football player, actor, and sports commentator.
Dick Butkus, who was born Richard Marvin Butkus, has been able to gain recognition with his career as a former football player. He has spent about 8 years as a middle linebacker with the Chicago Bears. Dick has so far become a force to be reckoned with, thus thrusting his wife, Helen Essenhart, into the limelight. Everything about the ex-football star’s wife has been revealed in this article.
Summary of Helen Essenhart’s Biography
- Full name: Helen Essenhart
- Gender: Female
- Ethnicity: White
- Nationality: American
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Religion: Christianity
- Marital Status: Married
- Helen Essenhart’s Husband: Dick Butkus (Richard Martins Butkus)
- Helen Essenhart’s Children: Nicole (Nikki) Butkus, Richard M. Butkus Jr., and Matthew Butkus
- Famous for: being the wife of the American former football player, actor, and sports commentator, Dick Butkus
Helen Essenhart Was Born Around 1940s
Despite being in the spotlight, Helen Essenhart has managed to keep details about herself out of the spotlight. With this, her precise age cannot be determined as details of her date, month, and year of birth have been withheld. Also, her place of birth has not been mentioned by her or her husband, however, some sources claim that she was born in America.
Helen Essenhart is reported to be a Christian and practices the religion to date. She has not disclosed who her parents are and it is also not clear if she is the only child or has siblings. This is because she has not revealed the names of her siblings to the media.
Her ethnicity has remained unclear since she has chosen to keep details of her family off the record. Some online sources reported her ethnicity to be white, however, it still remains unclear until she confirms it.
Helen Essenhart has not revealed any information about her childhood. This has made it quite a daunting task to know what her childhood was like.
Helen Essenhart has shielded details about her educational background from the media. Consequently, the names and locations of her basic and high schools remain unclear. It is also unknown whether she obtained a degree as she has kept everyone in the dark about it.
Having kept details of her education away from the media, it has become quite hard to get a glimpse into the career path that she has taken. It is no doubt that she has joined the trend of those who maintain a low profile despite being related to popular people.
She Became Dick Butkus’ Wife in 1963
Although Helen Essenhart and Dick Butkus have not disclosed details of how and when they met , it is known that they met way back in high school and began dating, and eventually got married. Though how long they dated has not been disclosed, they got married in 1963 while they were still students at the University of Illinois.
However, the kind of wedding that they had at that time was not disclosed by any of them. They have lived for 61 years as a couple and have not recorded any marriage scandals. After Dick Butkus retired, he moved to Florida but later relocated to Malibu, California, where he lives with his family to this day.
Her Husband’s Fame Thrust Her Into The Spotlight
Helen Essenhart has been able to gain recognition for being married to a well-known figure, Dick Butkus. Unlike his wife, he has revealed all about himself. He is an actor, sports commentator, and former football player. The former player was born Richard Marvin Butkus on February 9, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois, to John and Emma Butkus.
His father was an electrician at the Pullman Standard railroad car manufacturing company, while his mother worked at a laundry. Dick Butkus is the youngest child out of the nine children born to his parents and also the only one that was born in a hospital. Meanwhile, he grew up in the Roseland neighborhood of Chicago’s South alongside his siblings.
He attended Chicago Vocational High School where he played football, maintaining the position of a punter, linebacker, placekicker, and fullback. Dick Butkus earned a degree from the University of Illinois, where he also played as a linebacker and center. However, in 1965, he began his professional football career after being drafted by the Chicago Bears. After playing with the team for nine years, he was forced to retire in 1974 after sustaining a lingering right knee injury.
Despite his retirement, he is still a die-hard fan of football. However, Dick Butkus has won over four awards in his football career, including the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, Second Team All-Pro, and many others.
As an actor, he is notable for the movies Mother, Jugs and Speed, Hamburger: The Motion Picture, The Stepford Children, and others. His other on-screen credits include Blue Thunder, My Two Dads, Teddy Bear’s Picnic, and others. Dick Butkus, a sports commentator, has worked on the CBS pregame show titled The NFL Today.
Helen Essenhart and Dick Butkus Are Proud Parents To Three Children
Having been married for several years, Helen Essenhart and Dick Butkus have welcomed a total of three children. His children are Nicole (Nikki) Butkus, Richard M. Butkus Jr., and Matthew Butkus.
Nicole (Nikki) Butkus
Nicole (Nikki) Butkus is the first child and only daughter of Helen Essenhart and Dick Butkus, born in 1985. She is not much in the spotlight despite having a popular father. There are not many details about her educational background and the career path that she has taken.
She is currently married to Francis Parrish and welcomed two children named Ian and Garvin with him. Aside from the given information, she has kept other details about herself off record.
Richard M. Butkus Jr.
Richard M. Butkus Jr. is the second child and first son of the couple. His date, month, and year of birth have not been revealed, making his exact age unknown. Details of his education and occupation have not been revealed. He is married to a woman named Renee and welcomed two children named Richard M. Butkus III and Raymond Matthew with her.
Matthew Butkus
Matt Butkus is the last child and second son of Helen Essenhart and Dick Butkus, who also gained the moniker ‘Second Son of 51’. He was born in Chicago but was raised in Florida with his siblings. Just like his mother, his exact age is not known because he has not revealed his date, month, or year of birth.
Details of his basic and high school educational background are not known, but he earned a degree in communications from the University of Southern California. He took his father’s career path and played football in college for the USC Trojans as a defensive lineman. After his collegiate career, he joined the Team Butkus and Butkus Foundation, where he helps his father with charitable and business initiatives.
