[3] In 1978, shortly after secondary school, Terje Pennie began a two-year engagement at the Ugala theatre in Viljandi, leaving in 1980 to further her studies at the Tallinn State Conservatory.
[1] Notable stage roles in productions of works by such international authors and playwrights include those of: Ferenc Molnár, Leonard Bernstein, Anton Chekhov, Mark Medoff, Bogusław Schaeffer, Yukio Mishima, Juhani Aho, Bertolt Brecht, and Sven Holm.
Pennie has also performed in a number of roles in works by such notable Estonian authors and playwrights as: Mati Unt, Jaan Kruusvall, A. H. Tammsaare, August Kitzberg, Hugo Raudsepp, and Ain Kalmus.
Among her more notable roles were as Tekla the 1992 tragicomedy Võlausaldajad, directed by her husband Jaan Kolberg, and adapted from the 1889 August Strindberg play Creditors; as Paula in the 2006 comedy-drama Tabamata ime, which was a collection of six vignettes with six directors and based on Eduard Vilde's play of the same name first published in 1912; as Poe-Liivi in the 2011 Katrin Laur-directed drama Surnuaiavahi tütar; and as a midwife in the 2018 Liina Triškina-Vanhatalo-directed drama Võta või jäta, which was selected as the Estonian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards.
[6] Terje Pennie has made frequent appearances on Estonian television and is possibly best recalled as the character Aino Järvik on the long-running Eesti Televisioon (ETV) drama series Õnne 13; joining the ensemble cast in 2008.