Growing up in New Zealand, Marion Le received what she regarded as a good education. She says they were made to think, and to question the world they lived in, and as a result, many of them became activists.
Le trained as a teacher and taught on the north-west coast of the South Island for four years, then moved to Australia, living and teaching in Sydney before moving to Canberra for further study at the Australian National University. In 1979 she married Tong Le, a chef and former Vietnamese soldier who arrived on the Song Be in 1977. They have three children and have cared also for four stepchildren, a foster son and several other children from camps and detention centres. In 1980 they opened the Vung Tau Vietnamese restaurant in O'Connor, Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and another in Belconnen ten years later. Le worked in both of these, as well as teaching in Canberra for 19 years.
She has a Graduate Diploma in International Law, and is an active lobbyist and advocate for refugees, seeing her commitment to human rights as fundamental aspect of her Christian belief. Apart from the awards already listed, Le was named the Bicentennial Canberra Citizen of the Year in 1988 and she was awaded the Austcare Paul Cullen Award for Outstanding Contribution to Refugees in 1994.
