Gerard Lee was born in Melbourne and brought up in Brisbane in the 1960s in the inner southern suburb of Dutton Park.
His second novel, Troppo Man (1990), set in Ubud, Bali, was shortlisted for the Vogel's Young Writers Award.
Lee produced and wrote the screenplay for the film My Mistress, starring Emmanuelle Beart and Harrison Gilbertson, which was released November 2014 and sold in many territories.
As of 2021, Lee was working on a screenplay for the Peter Carey novel Theft with Optimism Films (Melbourne).
He has taught creative writing at a range of tertiary institutions including a Masters of Screenwriting at QUT.