Cropper studied acting at the
Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She made her television debut as Chrysalis in
The Insect Play (1960), based on the 1921 play by Czech brothers
Josef and
Karel Čapek. She appeared in
Emergency Ward 10 three times and on
Coronation Street three times in 1962. She came to prominence playing a young schizophrenic in the television play
In Two Minds (
The Wednesday Play, BBC, 1967) by
David Mercer. which won the
Writers' Guild Award for the Best Television Play of 1967. She played Mary Hodgson, the nurse of
the boys who inspired the creation of
Peter Pan in the BBC docudrama
The Lost Boys (1978). Other television roles included two episodes of the
BBC's
Play for Today, as Norah Palmer in the
James MacTaggart-directed
Robin Redbreast (1970), a Christmas supernatural thriller by
John Bowen and
Dennis Potter's play
Schmoedipus (1974). She appeared in
The Jewel in the Crown (1984) and featured in
Anna of the Five Towns (1985) a 4-part BBC period drama. Her last television credit is for an episode of
Midsomer Murders entitled "
Death's Shadow" (1999). ==Personal life and death==