Leslie Hornby was born on September 19, 1949, in Neasden, a working-class suburb of London. The youngest of three girls, each born seven years apart, Lesley became interested in fashion and learned to sew at an early age so that she could make herself clothes that would keep her on the cutting edge of fashion trends.

In 1965, 15-year-old Leslie met Nigel Davies, a man 10 years her senior. Nigel and his brother Tony worked in a hair salon, and it was apparently Tony who gave Leslie her nickname. Due to her ultra-thin frame, he first referred to her as "Sticks," then "Twigs," and finally settled on the moniker that would stick with her for life,