lee was born in scotland. her father was a presbyterian minister and her childhood was shared between the united kingdom and australia. she studied classics at the university of newcastle, new south wales, graduating ba(hons) in 1975 before completing a bd(hons) in 1984 and a phd in 1991 at the university of sydney. she was ordained as a minister of the uniting church in australia in 1984 before being received into the anglican church of australia in 2008.