Francesca Leone was born in Rome into a family of artists, being the daughter of Italian director Sergio Leone.
She began exhibiting in 2007 with an exhibition in the Capitoline Museums; this was then followed by “Riflessi e Riflessioni” (“Reflections and Thoughts”) that took place at the St Bartholomew Lodge of Palermo, in April 2008. At the end of this year, Francesca was dedicated a solo exhibition by Palazzo Venezia in Rome, “Primo Piano” (“Close Up”) that later travelled in 2009 to Castel dell’Ovo in Naples.

In the same year, she was invited to exhibit at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art (MMOMA) and nominated an Honorary Member of the Russian Academy of Fine Arts. She participated in the Venice Biennale in 2011 and 2013. In 2014, Francesca Leone was the protagonist of three solo shows: one at the MAC - the Museum of Contemporary Art of Santiago in Chile – one at the MACBA –the Museum of Contemporary Art in Buenos Aires - and one at the Museum of the Academy of Fine Arts in Saint Petersburg. 2015 opened with a solo exhibition in Singapore and ended with the monumental exposition “Our Trash” at the Triennale of Milan. In 2017 she presented “Giardino” (“Garden”) at the MACRO Museum in Rome. Danilo Eccher curated her show “Monaci” (“Monks”) in the Reale Ospizio dei Poveri in Palermo, simultaneously with Manifesta 12. 2018 ended with a large solo exhibition called “Domus”, at Palacio de Gaviria in Madrid. Curated by Danilo Eccher, this exhibition encapsulates the artist’s working journey over the past three years. In 2021 Andrea Viliani curated her solo exhibition at Gallerie d'Italia, Milan, titled "Ulteriori gradi di libertà, nella città che resiste". In 2022 the collaboration with Danilo Eccher resulted in “Take Your Time”, a collateral event to the 59th Venice Biennale that took place in Salone Verde.