Liane Zimbler was born in Czechoslovakia in 1892. She studied Art and Architecture at the State Art School in Austria, became the first women in Europe to be awarded an architect's license, and opened offices in Vienna and Prague. Her work ranged from bank buildings, offices, and stores to homes and designs for multi-purpose, mass-produced furniture. Her other activities included serving as chairman of the Austrian board of the International Housing Society and giving lectures on the sociological and artistic aspects of housing to students and various women's clubs.

Fleeing the Nazi invasion of Austria, Zimbler moved with her family to Los Angeles, California in 1938. There she worked with interior decorator Anita Toor and began to pursue a career in interior design. She soon headed her own design firm, did considerable lecturing and wrote articles on topics connected with decorating problems, and regularly took part in design shows and exhibitions. Her daughter, Eva Zimbler Huebscher, joined her as an apprentice in 1958 and thereafter became her associate. They became well known as a mother-daughter team.

Zimbler was a member of the American Institute of Interior Designers and the Association of Women in Architecture. Her work was published in various architecture and design periodicals (such as Interior Design, Designers West, and The Architectural Digest) and in the home section of daily newspapers (such as the Los Angeles Times). She also contributed articles and columns to various publications.

Zimbler carried on her design work until she was well into her seventies. She died in 1987 in Los Angeles.