Tibbo was born in Pago Pago, grew up in Samoa and later lived in Fiji. In 1945 she moved to Auckland with her husband and eight children. During the 1960s and in her 70's Tibbo began painting, without any formal training after one of her daughters became interested in art. Pat Hanly introduced Tibbo to Barry Lett, who became her dealer and showed her work at Barry Lett Galleries; her first solo exhibition was in 1964. Her work often depicted leisure activities from her Samoan childhood, such as fishing, cricket, swimming, church and picnics.

During this time her works were exhibited alongside those by leading New Zealand artists of the day including Colin McCahon, Ralph Hotere and Don Binney. Her works are now held in the permanent collections of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and the National Gallery of Australia.

In 2002 a retrospective of her work, Keep It in the Heart: The Paintings of Teuane Tibbo was held in Auckland at Lopdell House. In 2009 Tibbo's daughter Audie Pennefather published a biography of Tibbo's life, A True & Strange Story : The Life of Teuane Ann Tibbo, artist 1895 -1984.