Quiet Resilience And Design: The Story Of Leslie Lebon

Basic Information

Early Life and Education

Little is publicly recorded about Leslie Lebon’s early years, and that seems by design. What is clear is the trajectory: California roots, a creative affinity, and a rigorous education in architecture at UC Berkeley in the 1980s. The Berkeley ethos—equal parts conceptual daring and practical craft—shaped a designer who trusted both the blueprint and the gut. By the time she graduated, LeBon had the foundations to build not just structures, but a life anchored in craft, community, and quiet resolve.

Architecture Career and Business

By 1991, LeBon’s career was gaining momentum at Wimberly, Allison, Tong & Goo in Newport Beach, a firm known for refined hospitality and destination projects. Those years tuned her eye to detail and client needs. In the 2000s, she launched LeBon Architects, a boutique practice based in Laguna Beach, and later became involved with LeBon Properties (since 2013), extending her purview into property improvements and retail environments. Her portfolio leans toward residential, hospitality, and small-scale retail—projects where space, light, and materiality are orchestrated with a human touch.

LeBon’s approach carries a sustainability conscience—LEED-minded work, sensitivity to coastal contexts, and a knack for adaptive reuse. She has served the local community through design review work in Laguna Beach and maintains a reputation for being both meticulous and imaginative. In a town where architecture must dance with the coastline, she’s been a choreographer who respects the tide.

Sand Sculpting: From Beaches to International Builds

If architecture provided the scaffolding of LeBon’s professional life, sand sculpting supplied the play. She took up the hobby in 1991 and quickly blended engineering savvy with ephemeral art. Early on, she captained a nine-architect crew to “Best Overall” in an AIA Orange County contest with a whimsical piece dubbed “Castle of the Gods.” The competitions scaled up from there—U.S. Sand Castle Opens, head-to-head bouts with fellow sculptors, and even international projects in Japan, where teams carved 25-foot fantasy castles to draw visitors.

Sand became her second studio, an arena where gravity, moisture, and time form a trio of stern reviewers. Few women competed in those circles in the early ’90s; LeBon’s presence and wins marked a subtle, sandy strand of trailblazing. The discipline translated into her architecture: a feel for load paths, a reverence for edges and shadows, and the joy of seeing form emerge from nothing but grit and patience.

Family, Marriage, and the Navarro Years

LeBon’s family life traces two marriages and one son. With her first husband, Greg LeBon, she welcomed Alexander around 1993. Their bond lingers in the origin story of her sand sculpting—learned on a rainy first date in Laguna Beach—and in Alexander’s eventual professional interest in sculpting and sales engineering. The marriage ended before 2001.

That year, LeBon married economist Peter Navarro. For nearly two decades, the couple kept a blended but grounded home in Laguna Beach, where LeBon oversaw renovations of their craftsman-style property, and where a rotating cast of cats added comic relief. There were no shared biological children; Alexander grew up in the household.

By late 2018, strains surfaced. LeBon filed for divorce on November 26, citing irreconcilable differences. The proceedings ran their course until December 31, 2020, ending in an even split of assets: half of Navarro’s pension, joint accounts, and equal division of their roughly $3.3 million home value. Both parties waived spousal support. Afterward, LeBon returned fully to the routines of work, family, and a low-key life, her public presence ebbing like a careful tide.

Financial Snapshot and Professional Standing

LeBon’s financial footing appears steady, anchored by decades of practice and the even division of marital property at the end of 2020. While her exact net worth is private, the structure is visible: a boutique architectural practice, property-related work, and a share of pension rights from the divorce. Industry norms suggest principals of small architecture firms often earn mid–six figures, though LeBon does not publicize her income and keeps her numbers as close as she keeps her drawings.

In 2024, a minor licensing citation related to a 2023 renewal statement was resolved with a $250 administrative fine, and her California license remained active. In a profession governed by compliance and care, it registered as a footnote, not a headline.

Recent Mentions and Online Presence (2024–2025)

LeBon’s name surfaces occasionally in 2025 coverage tethered to Peter Navarro’s ongoing political involvement and in local or professional mentions tied to her architectural practice. Her social media remains sparse: an Instagram account with a few hundred followers, occasional art-and-design posts, and a LinkedIn focused on credentials and project leadership. A smattering of online chatter revisits the divorce when Navarro is in the news, but LeBon herself rarely engages. She is, by inclination, the architect who lets the building speak.

Timeline Highlights

Style and Practice: What Sets Her Work Apart

LeBon’s projects tend to whisper rather than shout. She prefers clarity of line, livable plans, and materials that age well along the coast. Hospitality and residential assignments benefit from her dual lens: the structural rigor of an architect and the aesthetic playfulness of a sculptor. Clients describe her as collaborative and unflappable—someone who can turn a constraint into a hinge, a setback into an elegant workaround.

This understated philosophy extends to her public persona. In a culture that often confuses volume with merit, LeBon has cultivated the opposite—precision, restraint, and fidelity to craft. Her career reads like a carefully detailed elevation: everything in its place, nothing superfluous, all of it serving a coherent vision.

Family Portrait: Compact, Close, and Private

• Alexander remains the core of LeBon’s family narrative—creative, technically curious, and raised in a household where design was dinner-table conversation.
• Her first marriage to Greg introduced the sand-sculpting thread that still runs through her life’s fabric.
• Her second marriage to Peter Navarro intersected with national politics but never defined her work. After the divorce, she steered back to a quieter lane, prioritizing projects, privacy, and a steady routine.

FAQ

Who is Leslie Lebon?

She is a California-based architect, founder of LeBon Architects, known for a low-profile, craft-driven career and for her 2001–2020 marriage to economist Peter Navarro.

When was she born?

March 6, 1961.

Where does Leslie Lebon live?

She resides in Laguna Beach, California.

What is her professional focus?

Residential, hospitality, and small-scale retail projects, with an emphasis on context, sustainability, and craftsmanship.

Is she licensed?

Yes, she holds an active California architect license (C-24832).

Does she have children?

Yes, one son named Alexander from her first marriage.

Did she and Peter Navarro have children together?

No, they did not have biological children together.

When did she and Navarro divorce?

The divorce was finalized on December 31, 2020.

What was divided in the divorce?

Assets were split evenly, including joint accounts, half of Navarro’s pension, and the value of their approximately $3.3 million home; both waived spousal support.

What is known about her finances?

Exact figures are private; her firm work and the equitable divorce settlement indicate a stable, comfortable standing.

Any controversies?

None significant; a 2024 licensing citation resulted in a $250 administrative fine and a still-active license.

Is she active on social media?

Sparsely—an Instagram with modest activity and a professional LinkedIn profile.