Lee Evans was born in Avonmouth, Bristol, England to an Irish mother Shirley and a Welsh father, Dave Evans, a nightclub performer.He left Bristol at the age of 11 and then went to the Billericay School in Billericay, Essex. After a spell as a boxer and two years at Thurrock Art College in Essex, he followed his father into entertainment. In his teens he moved to Scarborough, North Yorkshire and also played drums in a punk rock band called the Forgotten Five.

On 22 September 1984, he married Heather Nudds with whom he has a daughter, Mollie (born 1993). They moved to Billericay in 1997 having previously lived in Chalkwell Park Drive, Westcliff-on-Sea in Essex.