Austin Butler was born in Anaheim on August 17, 1991. He began his career in television, initially on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon series and later in recurring roles on Life Unexpected (2010–2011) and Switched at Birth (2011–2012 ).

He gained notoriety for starring in The Carrie Diaries (2013–2014) and The Shannara Chronicles (2016–2017). In the cinematographic field he has worked with such directors as Jim Jarmusch in The Dead Don't Die (2019) and Quentin Tarantino in the acclaimed Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood (2019).

In 2022, Butler received critical and public acclaim for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in the biopic Elvis, directed by Baz Luhrmann, for which he earned the BAFTA for Best Actor in a Leading Role and the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture drama, being nominated for a Critics' Choice Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Academy Award in the Best Actor section.

He is the son of beautician Lori Anne Howell and David Butler. The two divorced when he was seven years old. He has an older sister, Ashley, who starred alongside him in Ned.

At the age of thirteen, he was approached by an acting management company representative at the Orange County Fair who helped him take his first steps into the entertainment industry. Soon after, he began taking acting lessons.

He enjoys creating and recording music and taught himself to play the guitar at the age of thirteen and the piano at sixteen. He was in a relationship with actress Vanessa Hudgens from 2011 to 2020. He has been in a relationship with model Kaia Gerber since 2021. In 2014, his mother died of cancer.