Lee started playing pool in 1989. She went on to rank as the No. 1 female pool player in the world during the 1990s, and received the Women’s Professional Billiard Association (WPBA) Sportsperson of the Year Award in 1998. She was three times runner-up at the World Nine-ball Championships (women’s), from 1993–96. In addition to many top finishes on the WPBA Tour, she won the gold medal for the United States at the 2001 World Games in Akita, Japan, and won the ladies’ US$25,000 winner-take-all Tournament of Champions twice, in 1999 and 2003. Lee also wrote The Black Widow’s Guide to Killer Pool.

In 2001, Lee challenged Efren Reyes to a race-to-13 exhibition match at nine-ball, in Manila, Philippines, but lost 4-13.

For 2007, she was ranked #4 in Pool & Billiard Magazine’s “Fans’ Top 20 Favorite Players” poll.

As someone who has suffered from scoliosis, Lee is a strong supporter of those affected by the disease, and now serves as the national spokesperson for the Scoliosis Association. Lee appeared on Fox Sports Net’s Sport Science, where she pocketed 12 balls in one trick shot, on March 30, 2008. Orange County Choppers built the Black Widow Bike in Lee’s honor on the TV show American Chopper.

In 2013, Lee was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame.