Mary Leunig grew up in Maidstone, Melbourne where she attended Footscray North State School and Maribyrnong High School. Leunig has two sisters, and her brother, Michael Leunig (1945–2024), was also a popular and accomplished cartoonist and poet.
She began studying art at Prahran Institute of Technology, and later Preston Institute of Technology, where she completed her studies, majoring in drawing and printmaking.[1] Her future husband was also a student at Prahran.[4]
Her cartoons are drawn in pen and watercolour with black lines and vibrant colours.[5] Her work often includes political and feminist themes and usually contains elements that are humorous or confronting.[6]
^"Daze of our Lives". Woroni. Vol. 48, no. 9. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 10 October 1996. p. 19. Retrieved 8 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Radio National (16 January 2017), There's something about Mary Leunig, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, retrieved 8 March 2017