After a short time in the Melbourne suburb of Preston, the family moved to Shepparton in regional Victoria.
Prior to entering parliament, Powell held a variety of occupations including film processor, television presenter, singer, marketing and sales, office manager and director of the family auto-electrics business.
In 2002, she shifted to the Legislative Assembly, successfully retaining the seat of Shepparton for the National Party upon the retirement of long-serving MP Don Kilgour.
In February 2014 Powell announced that she would not be a candidate at the forthcoming 2014 Victorian State Election,[1] and in a reshuffle of the Coalition ministry in March 2014, her portfolios were allocated to Tim Bull.
[2] In 2022, Powell was appointed Member of the Order of Australia in the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours for "significant service to the people and Parliament of Victoria, and to the community".