Photograph by Petri Kutvonen, 2014
Lea was born in Karhula but moved to Helsinki to study computer science as a major after her matriculation. Lea received her PhD in computer science in 1998 at the University of Helsinki. She has the title of docent and is currently a senior university lecturer at the Department of Computer Science at University of Helsinki. Lea has also been active in scientific societies and international standardisation organisations. At the university, she met Antti Petri Heikki Kutvonen. They got married in 1992 and have one daughter, Susanna Maria Helena Kutvonen.