Karanović received international acclaim and a nomination for European Film Award for Best Actress for her role in Žbanić's Grbavica.

Karanović's directorial debut, A Good Wife (Dobra žena), had its world premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.

She made her screen debut in the 1980 film Petrijin venac ("Petrija's Wreath"), earning accolades for her portrayal of an illiterate Serbian woman.

In 2005, she appeared in the film Grbavica by the Bosnian director Jasmila Žbanić, in which she played a Muslim woman who had to come to terms with her teenage daughter regarding the nature of her birth.

[2] She is one of the founders of Incest Trauma Center, which provides psychological assistance to child and adult survivors of sexual violence and their supportive persons.