Fatimah binte Sulaiman was born in Malacca, Malaysia, to a family of successful traders. Her year of birth is not certain, but is believed to be 1754. After the collapse of an unsuccessful first marriage, she married Daing Chanda Pulih, a Bugis prince and merchant from South Sulawesi (then known as Celebes). Pulih had a trading post in Singapore, and brought Fatimah binte Sulaiman with him to the island. Pulih died while Fatimah was still young, and she combined his business with her own boats and built a successful steamship and sailboat-based trading operation.