Lene Tranberg was born in Copenhagen in 1956. In 1977, she was admitted to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture where she studied under Erik Christian Sorensen.

In 1983, one year before graduating, she co-founded Lundgaard & Tranberg with Boje Lundgaard. The firm gained prominence after the turn of the millennium with a number of high-profile buildings in Copenhagen, including most notably the Tietgenkollegiet student residences and the Royal Danish Playhouse. Both are generally considered to be among the most successful Danish buildings of the decade.

In parallel with her career as a practicing architect, Tranberg began teaching at the Academy in 1986 and was employed there as a lector from 1989 to 1998. She has also held numerous positions in the world of Danish architecture, including CEO of the Danish Architecture Centre from 1998 to 2002.