Leiber was born Judit Pető in 1921 in Budapest, Hungary, to Helene, a Vienna-born homemaker, and Emil, a commodities broker.

[3] She returned to Hungary before World War II, where thanks to family connections[3] she obtained a traineeship at a handbag company, where she learned to cut and mold leather, make patterns, frame and stitch bags.

[4] Sold at exclusive boutiques around the world, her purses may cost up to several thousand dollars and have become a status symbol for many women, including several Presidential First Ladies to whom she has given them as a present, from Mamie Eisenhower to Barbara Bush and Hillary Clinton.

[5] Animals are a recurring theme in her designs, and often ornament the most expensive purses of the collection, with prices on some animal-shaped minaudières exceeding US$7,000.

Some wealthy women collect them; Bernice Norman, an arts patron in New Orleans, owns close to 300 of the Leiber bags.

[7] In 2010, Leiber received a Visionary Woman Award Archived April 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine from Moore College of Art & Design.

However, some of her collection is available at selected fashion stores like Neiman Marcus, Harvey Nichols, Lane Crawford, Holt Renfrew, Harrods, and Saks Fifth Avenue.