She attended the Galabov Gymnasium, a German-language secondary school in Sofia, and then studied drama at the Krastyo Sarafov National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts.

This provoked a fierce reaction from the board of censors in Bulgaria, an Eastern Bloc state at the time, and led to Stanev being temporarily barred from exercising his profession In 1987 Spassova was engaged by the State theatre “ Sofia” in Sofia, where she made her debut in the role of Marie in Stanev's production Die Wunde Woyzeck.

In 1990 Spassova moved to Berlin, founded an international theatre company with Stanev and performed at the Hebbel Theater and the Podewil.

Her first roles as a film actress were in Tom Toelle's Bismarck, Stanev's Villa dei Misteri and Luxor Las Vegas and in Castorf's Dämonen and Der Idiot.

In 2012 Spassova played the leading role in the Bulgarian feature film "Az sum Ti" (English: "I am You") and received several awards for her performance.