She had two younger half-siblings from her father's second marriage; Jaak Kaarma (born 1943), who became a publisher and was a former Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic communist party politician; and a half-sister, Krista, who died in infancy.

Among her graduating classmates were actors Jüri Järvet, Heikki Haravee, Ellen Alaküla and future husband Gunnar Kilgas.

[5] Although praised for her ability as an actress, Kaarma's relationship with Ird was turbulent and the two were frequently at odds with one another and mired in personal and professional disputes.

[7] In 1957, Kaarma was cast as Salme in the Aleksandr Mandrõkin directed black-and-white feature film drama Pöördel for Tallinna Kinostuudio.

The film centered around a communist party official, portrayed by Kaarma's former husband Gunnar Kilgas, who is sent to revive the faltering productivity of a collective farm.

In 1971, she had a small role in the Kalju Komissarov directed drama film Metskapten, starring former Estonian State Theatre Institute classmate Jüri Järvet.

The following evening, Kaarma began drinking at a friend's apartment on Vallikraavi Street when she succumbed to what was officially recorded as a stroke at age 45.