[3] Her paternal grandfather, Satiran, was a soldier of the royal palace of Yogyakarta who fled after the rebellion of the followers of Prince Suryegalaga.

[1][2] She later returned to live with her grandparents in Kali Baru and with the help of an Arab man and Dutch women, Dja's grandfather established a troupe called Stambul Pak Adi in the 1920s.

[8] On October 30, she appeared in The Rose of Serang in Semarang as Hoo's daughter and received a positive response from Djawa-Tengah newspaper.

[12] During her stay in Yogyakarta, she also staged several plays adapted from American films, such as The Three Musketeers, The Thief of Baghdad, The Son of Zorro, and Count de Monte Christo, as well as several plays from social life in the Dutch East Indies, such as Kembangnja Kota Fort de Kock, Lily dari Tjikampek, and Setangan Berloemoeran Darah, until February 20.

[13] In late February and early March, Dja performed in Surakarta at the north square of the Susuhunan Palace.

This was followed with a visit to Rangoon and India, where, in May 1937, Dja danced in the presence of Jawaharlal Nehru, the future prime minister.

Following the outbreak of World War II and the occupation of Indonesia by Japanese troops, they were unable to return home and were effectively stuck in the US.

[17][18][19] In 1947, Dja met Sutan Sjahrir who, as prime minister, was leading the Indonesian delegation to the United Nations in New York to fight for international recognition of Indonesia's independence.

[17][18][20] She married Acee Blue Eagle, a Native American artist, but the marriage was short-lived, allegedly because he did not like her continuing to interact with Indonesians in the US.

After they divorced, she moved to Los Angeles, but failed to break into the movie industry, obtaining only a few bit parts, despite establishing friendships with stars such as Greta Garbo, Gary Cooper, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, and Bing Crosby.

In 1960, she teamed up with modern dance pioneer, Ruth St. Denis, to present the first Balinese shadow puppet play in the United States.