Tan was born in Toronto, Ontario, to a Malaysian mother and a Filipino father, Kenneth Tan, who is also a businessman and co-principal of their racing team. She has a brother, Kevin, who is pursuing a career in STEM. While competing in her early racing years, Tan studied at UC Irvine, where she earned an economics degree. Alongside racing, she co-owns auto tuning shop STR38 Motorsports with her father.
Tan began racing at age 16 under the National Auto Sport Association, competing in the Performance Touring E category with a modified 1991 Honda Civic. She moved to the 2014 Canadian Touring Car Championship with a Mini Cooper before making her Pirelli World Challenge debut in 2015, racing a Kia Forte Koup in the TCA class. In 2016 she returned to the same class in a Honda Civic Si, finishing sixth overall. Her first BMW campaign came in 2017, driving a BMW M235iR for a full season, scoring 29th in class.
In 2018 Tan and regular co-driver Nick Wittmer moved up to GT4 machinery, competing in the SprintX GT Championship in a BMW M4 GT4. Competing at Circuit of the Americas and Virginia International Raceway, they scored points in all four available races and took a pole position and podium at COTA. Tan continued to develop through the GT4 America Series in 2019 and 2020, finishing in the top three of the standings in both seasons with teammates Jason Wolfe and Jon Miller.
In 2021 Tan made her first foray outside North America, entering the 24H Series. Racing with teammates Chandler Hull and Jon Miller, she won three races including the Dubai 24 Hour. That campaign delivered both the 24H GT Series drivers' title and the teams' title, the first championships of her career as both a driver and team owner.
From 2022 Tan stepped up to GT3 machinery, competing in the GT World Challenge America alongside Wittmer. At the 2022 Indianapolis 8 Hours, Harry Gottsacker joined the pair and the team finished tenth overall as the only Silver-class entry. That year also brought her debut at the Spa 24 Hours, where she shared the car with Wittmer, Gottsacker, and Maxime Oosten, finishing 36th overall and ninth in class. In 2023 she competed in both the GT World Challenge America and GT World Challenge Europe series.
In 2024 Tan continued in the GT World Challenge America with Neil Verhagen, secured a class win in the Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie, and made a GT4 European Series appearance at Spa-Francorchamps. In 2025 she debuted at Circuit de La Sarthe for the Road To Le Mans in the Le Mans Cup, finishing sixth and fourth across her appearances. She also achieved a class podium on her first Nürburgring 24 Hours start and won the GTDX Bronze category in the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, securing several overall GTDX podiums in BMW GT3 machinery.
In December 2025, Tan announced a partnership between ST Racing and Random Vandals Racing for the 2026 Michelin Pilot Challenge. She will share the number 38 BMW M4 GT4 Evo with factory driver Bill Auberlen.
Samantha Tan's career demonstrates sustained progression from club-level touring cars to international endurance racing and GT3 competition within roughly a decade. Her dual role as driver and co-team-owner through ST Racing, combined with her BMW M Motorsport ambassadorship, places her among the more entrepreneurially active figures in North American sports car racing.