[2] Tsunaina was raised by her mother who is a Kirati Limbu, Yakthung (ᤕᤠᤰᤌᤢᤱ), a Tibeto-Burman indigenous tribe of the Himalayan region of eastern Nepal, Sikkim, and western Bhutan.

[2][3] After being scouted for modelling, Tsunaina initially gained recognition for her visual storytelling on Instagram and as the muse of Pat McGrath.

[1][6][14][15] Shortly after gracing the cover of Harper's Bazaar, she went on to be shot by Paolo Roversi, Tim Walker, Zhong Lin, and Frank Lebon.

[3] She has named electronic and trip hop acts, Tricky, Cocteau Twins, and Goldfrapp, alongside strong non-conformist female artists such as Nina Simone, Bjork, and Kate Bush, as major influences; later, discovering more experimental works of Arthur Russell, Iannis Xenakis, and Kenji Kawai.

[3][21] She has also stated that "there is definitely a fantastical, maybe magical realism, element to what hits me and what I want to make…I imagine from all the folk stories, mythology, and video games and films that made me".