Leslie Elliottsmith grew-up in New Orleans; drawing and painting since childhood, she always wanted to be an artist. Elliottsmith lived in Baton Rouge for ten years, and has resided in Alexandria, Louisiana, since 1983 when she became education curator for the Alexandria Museum of Art.

Elliottsmith attended Louisiana State University and received a BS in art education and a Master of Fine Arts in printmaking/painting. Throughout the years she has taught in various capacities, including a series of residencies across Louisiana. For twenty-five years she taught through the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts Virtual School program and was named director of the program in 2013 before retiring in 2015.

In 1994, Elliottsmith received the Louisiana State Visual Artists Fellowship for painting. Her artworks are part of many public and private collections and she has been in more than 150 exhibitions. She has been commissioned to create outdoor murals in Shreveport, Baton Rouge, and several in Alexandria. Her art works are represented by LeMieux Galleries in New Orleans.