[2] Poopuu attended school in Kuressaare until age thirteen when the family moved to the town of Türi in Järva County where she completed her studies.
At university, she met students Peep Puks, Paul-Eerik Rummo and Kulle Raig, who were all interested in filmmaking.
[4] After graduation from the University of Tartu, she worked as an economist for the National Design Institute's Estonian Land Development Project from 1964 until 1969.
[5][4] In 1969, Poopuu began work on the Madis Ojamaa directed music documentary Uksed as a production assistant.
One of her first significant, albeit small, roles was in the 1972 Sulev Nõmmik comedy television film Noor pensionär (English: "A Young Retiree") for Eesti Telefilm.