She was born Hadassah Freilich in a refugee camp in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Her parents were both Holocaust survivors. Her father was Samuel Freilich a lawyer and rabbi from Munkács, in the Carpathian Ruthenia (now Mukachevo in Ukraine. Her mother, Ella (Wieder) Freilich, had survived both Auschwitz and Dachau. Hadassah was named for her maternal grandmother, who died at Auschwitz.

Samuel Freilich brought his family to the United States in 1949, settling in Gardner, Massachusetts, where he was the rabbi of Congregation Ohave Shalom.

Haddasah Liberman received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and Dramatics from Boston University in 1970, and an MA in International Relations from Northeastern University the following year. She was as a Research Analyst at Lehman Brothers, a Director of Policy, Planning, and Communications at Pfizer, and a Senior Program Officer at the National Research Council. She spent worked on health issues, assisting non-profit organizations, improving educational standards, and promoting international understanding. She has served on several national nonprofit councils and boards. Lieberman continues to be a voice on many issues, including improving women's health, reducing hurdles faced by immigrants, and the challenge of caring for aging parents.

Lieberman was also a member of Parent's Music Resource Center. Rolling Stone magazine stated she "is an active proponent of the V-Chip and [has served] on the board of the PTC."

She worked for the lobbying company, APCO Associates, which serves many pharmaceutical and healthcare corporations, as well as four major drug companies. In March 2005, Lieberman was hired by Hill & Knowlton as "senior counselor" in the firm's "health care and pharmaceuticals practice." Her work with the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries led to controversy over her involvement with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Lieberman also served as Chairman of the Ambassador's Ball for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and as Honorary Board Member for Society for Women's Health Research.

She was actively involved in her husband's vice-presidential campaign in 2000, making campaign stops nationwide, including Chicago's Taste of Polonia over the Labor Day Weekend, where she appeared along with Tipper Gore and Dick Cheney .

Hadassah Freilich first married Rabbi Gordon Tucker, by whom she has a son, Ethan Tucker. They divorced and she married Senator Joseph Lieberman, with whom she has a daughter, Hana Lieberman.

She co-authored "An Amazing Adventure: Joe and Hadassah's Personal Notes on the 2000 Campaign" with her husband, Senator Lieberman.