Princess Marsi Paribatra was born in Bangkok, Thailand, but spent much of her childhood abroad in Java, Indonesia and England, United Kingdom, as her father left Thailand in the wake of the Siamese Revolution of 1932.

After World War II, she completed her education in Switzerland, France and Spain and was the first female pupil at Aiglon College.

[1] In 1954, she was awarded a doctorate (Docteur ès lettres) at the University of Paris for her thesis Le romantisme contemporain.

In 2004, Marsi Paribatra was partially paralysed by a stroke that stopped her from ever painting again, Marsi Paribatra wanted to establish a charitable foundation in Thailand, but French law would have made money transfers difficult.

Marsi Paribatra died at her home in Annot, southern France, after an illness on 9 July 2013 aged 82.