In 1972, against the wishes of her family, she left for Belgrade to study history at University of Belgrade. Soon, she got married, had a son, and remained living in the capital even after she graduated.
In 1988, her book about Serbs in Dalmatia entitled Srpsko-dalmatinski magazin was published.
Still, Prpa, an ethnic Croat, is much more notable as girlfriend of the slain Belgrade journalist and newspaper owner Slavko Ćuruvija with whom she lived in an unmarried union.
Prpa was with her common-law spouse on the day of his murder in April 1999. They were walking hand in hand, about to enter the front door of their apartment building when they were approached from behind by unknown men who murdered Ćuruvija and pistol-whipped Branka Prpa, briefly knocking her unconscious.