Background
De Leeuw was born in Orange, California, United States to a Dutch mother and a father with dual United States and Dutch citizenship.
De Leeuw was born in Orange, California, United States to a Dutch mother and a father with dual United States and Dutch citizenship.
Since there were few international opportunities for United States. skaters, de Leeuw"s mother decided she should try to compete for the Netherlands. To gain a berth to the 1972 Winter Olympics, de Leeuw was required to finish in the top ten at the 1972 European Championships. She managed to place ninth and made her Olympic debut, finishing 16th.
She then made her first appearance at the World Championships.
De Leeuw"s international breakthrough came in the 1973-1974 season. Her first International Skating Union Championship medal was silver at the 1974 European Championships in Zagreb, behind Christine Errath.
At the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, she carried the Dutch flag and made daily trips to Germany for ice time. After taking bronze at the 1976 World Championships in Göteborg, de Leeuw retired from International Skating Union competition.
She toured with Holiday on Ice and the Ice Follies and then became a coach, working at the Westminster Ice Palace in Westminster, California and Anaheim Ice.