After her husband's death, she became the Saopha in lieu of her adolescent son and became one of the most powerful women in Kenghkam, controlling the state economically and politically.

[3] Tip Htila was born in 1871 as the only daughter of Sao Kawng Tai II, Saopha of Kengtung.

Her brother Sao Kawn Kham Hpu died in 1895, and his successor, Kawng Kiao Intaleng, was too young to be Saopha, so she temporarily ruled over Kengtung on his behalf.

[6] Along with Kawng Kiao Intaleng, she attended the Delhi Durbar in 1903 in celebration of the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.

Tip was a powerful businesswoman, frequently involved in trading elephants and motor cars and later in teak extraction and road-building.