Lee Armstrong was born in Winterset, Iowa, birthplace of actor John Wayne. Raised as a dependent in a military family, Lee relocated frequently while growing up, attending North Chicago High School where he remembers winning Best Character Actor in his sophomore year for playing Bottom in "A Midsummer Night's Dream." He graduating from Nile C. Kinnick High School in Japan. He got his Bachelors in theatre from the prestigious program at Illinois State University, and his Masters in theatre from the University of Iowa. After graduation, Lee moved to Burbank CA and spent the 80s doing lots of Equity-waiver, TV and films. He became a member of SAG-AFTRA in 1983. In Los Angeles, his most influential acting study was with Jeremiah Comey. He married Roselyn Van Benschoten in 1984, an Occupational Therapist, who passed in 2007. He relocated to North Carolina in 1991. He has one daughter, Ozanne.