Born and raised in New York, she attended the School of Visual Arts and was awarded a full scholarship to study at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Fleishman's professional career began when her first body of work, created during her senior year in college, was published in The New York Times Magazine at the age of 22. She has been a visiting artist at The School of Visual Arts, New School, International Center of Photography and Rochester Institute of Technology. She is a regular contributor to M, le magazine du Monde, The New York Times and Time Magazine. Her first book, The Lovers, was published in 2015 by Schilt.