Lee Atwater nasceu o 26 de fevereiro de 1951 em Atlanta, Geórgia, EUA. Foi casado com Sally Dunbar. Morreu o 29 de março de 1991 em Washington, Distrito de Columbia, EUA.
[shortly before his death] Mostly I am sorry for the way I thought of other people. Like a good general, I had treated everyone who wasn't with me as against me.