Lee was born in Los Angeles County, California,[1] the daughter of David Lee Thomas Bass, an American U.S. Army sergeant, and Vassiliki "Voula" Papadimitriou, Miss Greece for the 1960 Miss World event.
[2] Athena Lee took an interest in music around age 20; two years later, she joined the all-female band Hardly Dangerous and the punk group Butt Trumpet.
Lee was voted for, and won, "Best Female Drummer" at the Rock City Awards Show.
[3] In the 7th Annual L.A. Music Awards, she was nominated for "Best Drummer (Males and Females)" category.
She was later married to James Kottak, ex-drummer of the German rock band Scorpions.