Having studied under Jouko Turkka during her "reign" of drama studies in Finland, she nevertheless has never been associated with the "turkkalaisuus" school of acting methodology.
Her breakthrough role was as a tough girl in the generational classic youth film Täältä tullaan elämä (1980) by Tapio Suominen. In 1984, she appeared in Aikalainen. Besides a strong domestic reputation gained through a widely varied list of roles in theater and television drama, film director Aki Kaurismäki"s films have brought Outinen international attention and even adulation, particularly in Germany and France.
Her first work together with Kaurismäki was Shadows in Paradise in 1986.
Outinen worked as a Professor in Acting at the Theatre Academy Helsinki years 2002-2013.
