Ippolita was the only daughter of Carlo Emanuele Teodoro Trivulzio, Count of Melzo and Caterina of Gonzaga-Castelgoffredo.

Her brother married Giovanna Maria Grimaldi, the sister of Honoré II.

In 1615, Honoré II returned to Monaco from Milan, where he had spent his childhood with his Spanish maternal uncle, to resume government after having reached his age of majority.

Marriage to provide an heir was one of the first political issues to be solved, and Ippolita, being the sister-in-law of his sister Jeanne, was successfully introduced to him as a simple and suitable solution.

[1] As Honoré II redecorated the Princely residence from a medieval fortress to a princely palace and introduced several courtly customs and official religious stately ceremonies to create a sense of national and monarchial feelings between the dynasty and the Monegasque population, Ippolita was given a bigger role in public representation than her predecessors."