Tulip was born on September 11, 1972 in Bombay, India, to a Hindu Gujerati father and a Christian Lebanese mother. As a result she has practiced both Hinduism and Christianity. She participated in and excelled in sports activities. She studied in Bombay, and went to graduate from Mithibai College in Food and Chemistry. She has two sisters, Selphi and Monalisa, and the latter is married to Bollywood actor Rajat Bedi. She has a nephew, Vivaan, and niece, Vera.
She entered the Femina Miss India Contest in 2000. Although she did not make to the final list, her slender figure, and charm were noticed, and she was signed up for a number of TV commercials, including Pepsi, Smirnoff, Siyaram's, Ponds, BPL, Coca Cola etc.. She has also appeared in a video-tribute to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
