[6][7] Lee was born in Melbourne, Victoria, the daughter of Kerry, a psychologist, and Kim Kershaw, who played in the Victorian Football League for Richmond and Hawthorn.

[12] She grew up in Kensington, Victoria and attended St Michael's Catholic Primary School in North Melbourne.

[13] Lee has said that she "did not come from wealth" and had various jobs while a teenager, including working at a fun fair, as a grocery clerk,[14] and at a McDonald's.

[19] Lee made her debut in the 2008 New York Fashion Week, managing to walk a total of 29 shows for designers such as Oscar de la Renta, Halston, and notably closing for Rodarte.

[24] On 15 November 2008, in Miami, she made her international TV appearance at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, modelling in the "Pink Planet" segment.

[citation needed] Lee had to sit out the Autumn 2009 shows due to a knee injury: she had torn ligaments and could barely walk.

[34] She took her own self-portrait for the new Rag & Bone Do-It-Yourself ad campaign spring 2011 along with models Sasha Pivovarova, Edita Vilkeviciute, Karolina Kurkova, Candice Swanepoel and Lily Aldridge.

[4] The magazine called Lee "the biggest fashion export from Down Under since Elle Macpherson joined the ranks of Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington.

[38] Lee appeared in the Fall/Winter 2013–14 campaign for Gucci alongside male model Adrien Sahores, shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.

[citation needed] In May 2014, Lee once again appeared on the cover of Vogue Australia and starred in two editorials on the same issue, in which her acting debut was celebrated.

In August 2014 Models.com moved Abbey to the Industry Icon list considering her still going presence in fashion with big fragrances contracts as Flora By Gucci and Versace's Yellow Diamond, although she was absent from runways and editorials to film Mad Max and Gods of Egypt.

In 2016, she had major roles in the films Gods of Egypt, alongside Gerard Butler,[39] and the Nicolas Winding Refn-directed thriller The Neon Demon, with Elle Fanning.

[47] In 2023, she played the lead role of Delly West in the crime series Florida Man, opposite Edgar Ramirez.

[48] Lee stated that she was a driven child with big hopes and dreams but her complicated household meant that her parents struggled to put food on the table and there was no music or art in their home.

[1][46] Her role in Mad Max opened her eyes to how acting combines expression, sound, movement, performance and "everything she loved".