Martha Tilaar

Martha Handana, also known as Tjhie Pwee Giok, was born on 4 September 1937 in Gombong, Kebumen, Central Java, then in the Dutch East Indies. She was the eldest of three children. Her mother sent her to learn traditional beauty practice in Yogyakarta with Titi Poerwosoenoe, which kindled her interest in cosmetics.

She attended St Theresia primary and junior schools and St Ursula senior school in Jakarta, then studied education at IKIP Jakarta, graduating in the early 1960s. She taught at a primary school for about two years and lectured at IKIP for three years. In 1963 she married Henry Alex Rudolf Tilaar. In 1964 she accompanied him to the United States, trained at the Academy of Beauty Culture in Bloomington, Indiana, and worked at Campes Beauty Salon at Indiana University for three years.

On returning to Jakarta she opened Martha's Salon on 3 January 1970 in a 4 by 6 metre garage at her father's Menteng house on Jalan Kusumaatmadja, with about one million rupiah in savings and family support. Clientèle grew to include models and officials' wives; a second salon opened in Cipete. European study visits in 1972 informed traditional and herbal lines, including jamu recipes linked to her grandmother Pranoto Liem and the later Kaplet Wulandari product.

In 1977 she co founded PT Martina Berto with Kalbe Farma figures Boenjamin Setiawan and Theresia Harsini Setiady and launched Sariayu Martha Tilaar. The first Pulo Gadung factory opened in 1981; a second followed in 1986. PT Sari Ayu Indonesia handled distribution from 1983. The group later spanned cosmetics, jamu, beauty education (including Puspita Martha), spas and related companies. After the family acquired Kalbe's shares in 1999, the businesses consolidated as Martha Tilaar Group. She served as a commissioner of PT Martina Berto Tbk from 2005.

She received national and international awards for entrepreneurship, quality and culture, and was recognised at a UN Global Compact Leaders Summit for the company's ethics programme. She also developed craft and herbal projects including Prama Pratiwi Martha Gallery in Sentolo, Yogyakarta, and Kampoeng Djamoe Organik in Cikarang.

Martha married Henry Alex Rudolf Tilaar in 1963. After years without children and a medical judgment that she could not conceive, she used traditional jamu and later gave birth to her first child, Wulan Maharani Tilaar, at about age 42. She and her husband also had Kilala Esra Tilaar and two adopted children, Bryan Emil Tilaar and Pingkan Engeline Tilaar.

She founded Yayasan Martha Tilaar to teach beauty skills to women, especially after economic crises, and in 2014 opened Roemah Martha Tilaar in her childhood home in Gombong as a museum and local landmark.

Martha Tilaar died at 06:22 Western Indonesia Time on Wednesday 14 October 2026 at Medistra Hospital in Jakarta. She was 89. The Martha Tilaar Group and family confirmed the death in a statement that day. Indonesian media including Tempo, CNN Indonesia, Liputan6 and Medcom reported the news.

Her body was laid out at the family residence in Patra Kuningan, South Jakarta. Burial was announced for Friday 16 October 2026 at San Diego Hills Memorial Park, Karawang, West Java. A specific medical cause was not detailed in the first public notices.

Tilaar is widely credited with helping to build a modern Indonesian beauty industry rooted in local herbs and jamu rather than only imported Western brands. Sariayu and the wider Martha Tilaar Group became household names across the archipelago and beyond. Her schools, foundation work and public awards underlined a parallel focus on women's skills and cultural pride. Obituaries described her as a pioneer of the national cosmetics sector.