Elvira Leite was born in Porto in 1936. She graduated in Painting from the Porto School of Fine Arts. Despite her very early artistic success, she opted for a career as a primary and secondary school teacher, and at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at the University of Porto, as a guest lecturer in Specific Didactics. From 1976 onwards, she dedicated herself to cultural activities; as a UNESCO consultant for arts education in Portuguese-speaking countries, and at the invitation of the Portuguese government, she planned and coordinated training activities with Portuguese women emigrants in various European countries. She received a grant from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to produce educational material in the arts; she was a consultant for the Soares dos Reis National Museum and the Serralves Foundation's Educational Service. Between 1959 and 1976, she exhibited collectively and individually, subsidised by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation; in 1966 she represented Portugal at the 8th São Paulo Biennial in Brazil and in 1968 she won the National Painting Prize. Her work is represented in private and institutional collections at home and abroad. Collaborated with Vantag Galeria as the author of exclusive gallery editions such as the collection ‘A Mão e o Olhar’ and the serigraph ‘Os Descobrimentos Portugueses’. In May 2004 she was awarded the Grand Officer of the Order of Infante D. Henrique.