Butler was homeless after Grace Under Fire

Actress Brett Butler hit rock bottom after her hit sitcom Grace Under Fire wrapped - she ended up living on the streets fighting a drug addiction.

The comedienne shot to fame as the star of the TV series, which was cancelled in 1998 amid Butler's ongoing battle with substance abuse.

After several failed stints in rehab, Butler relocated to a farm in Georgia where she lived until she ran out of money and was forced to move into a homeless shelter.

She tells news show Entertainment Tonight, "I almost died like Michael Jackson... I was dying of addiction. I did everything but crack and needles pretty much. I had a variety of things given to me by doctors, and other things. I'm not doing it to be coy, but I'm not going to go through what I did. I did it 'til the wheels came off."

Butler now regrets her demanding behavior at the height of her fame and hopes her former colleagues and staff will forgive her.

She recalls, "(I would make) someone's day miserable over the choice of a word in a 22-minute show. A lot of times, I'd be an a** and didn't even think I was. Like, I'd call my managers and go, 'There's a white limo out here for an awards show,' and he'd say, 'Oh my god, don't get in it.' He should have said, 'You ungrateful cracker, go get in the car. Go to the show, and they'll drop you out back.'"

Butler is now plotting a showbiz comeback as she returns to stand-up comedy and develops a reality show about her psychic abilities.

She adds, "I really feel like an old dog, though. It's almost like I was a horse that ran in the derby once. The kids are coming up and going, 'Are you still doing this?' I don't think about what I survived. I hope I forgive, I hope I'm forgiven, and I'm just really glad that I think things are funny and there's no end to that."