Born in Gija-chon, Eunpyeong District of Seoul, Lee moved to the United States in 1978.
Lee has worked as an actress, appearing in films such as A Night on the Water (1998), Error in Judgment (1998), Chain of Command (2000), Nurse Betty (2000), This Girl's Life (2003), National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure (2003), and as Ferrari in The Girl Next Door (2004).
She has also appeared on television, in the Queen of Swords episode "The Dragon" (2001) and landing roles such as DC Comics villain Lady Shiva in 2002's Birds of Prey and the waitress Sophie on the soap opera Days of Our Lives.
In 2009, Lee appeared in the action film The Art of War III: Retribution (2009) as Sun Yi, and as Crystal in the comedy Tripping Forward (2009).
[1][2] Lee has also had a career in modeling, ranging from high-profile adult magazines such as Playboy (in which she was the first Asian model to feature on the cover) to advertisements for Acer Computers, Chrysler, Brut, Miller Beer, Mountain Dew, Maxwell House and Sunkist Juice.