Born the youngest of five girls in a traditional Chinese-American family, Patti Lee did the unthinkable and went into show business. She debated between a medical career and one in the Arts, but after enduring a chemistry class, Patti quickly chose the latter. Following a Bachelor’s degree from UCLA film school, she began her career lighting feature films, commercials, music videos and television shows, working first as a set lighting technician then becoming a gaffer. All during that time, she continued to sharpen her skills as a cinematographer on independent projects, including the Independent Spirit Award nominee, BUNNY. Patti got her first big break as Director of Photography on “The Bernie Mac Show.” Since then, she has been busy shooting both single and multi-camera television and has received Emmy® nominations for her work on “Bob Hearts Abishola", "Call Me Kat" and "Superior Donuts.”
In addition to her work as a DP, Patti Lee produced the Emmy® nominated feature documentary, A SMALL ACT, which premiered at Sundance and aired on HBO. The film was named by Roger Ebert as one of “The Best Documentaries of 2010.”
Patti Lee lives in Los Angeles with her wife, director Jennifer Arnold.
