Paetow had studied languages at the university in Hamburg and began working in print at publishing house Carl Hanser Verlag, translating books into German. Her association with children's television included serving as a writer (and later producer) of the German puppet series Hallo Spencer. She spent years as head of children's programming for NRD channels and was an executive producer of the 2005 Australian TV series Blue Water High (which had German co-production involvement and aired on KiKa. She later moved to the drama division and produced the soap opera Rote Rosen up until her death.