Tripp was born to the jurist William Leigh in Devonshire in England.
In 1831, she married her cousin, the lawyer William Upton Tripp (d. 1873), with whom she had five daughters and a son.
In 1859, she separated from her spouse, and opened a school for girls in Melbourne with the help of her daughters.
Tripp died at her home, 12 Bruce Street, Toorak, on 25 September 1899.
[1] Her funeral was held at St. John's Church, Toorak, with burial at the Melbourne General Cemetery.