Joanna Kulig: The Life Story Behind Poland's Star
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Krynica-Zdrój: A Spa Town in the Polish Mountains
Joanna Kulig was born on 24 June 1982 in Krynica-Zdrój, a spa town in the mountains of southern Poland, and she grew up in a place that was, in those years, a quiet, provincial town, with sanatoriums, with mineral water, and with a life that was far from the film studios of Warsaw, and the stages of Kraków. Her family lived in Krynica, and she was a girl who sang, who performed, and who dreamed, in a town where the mountains were always there, and where the idea of leaving, of going somewhere else, was always there, too.
Krynica-Zdrój in the 1980s and 1990s was a resort, a place where people came to take the waters, to rest, and to recover, and where a girl growing up learned to be practical, to be tough, and to make the most of what she had. Kulig has spoken about a childhood that was happy, about a family that supported her, and about a love of music, and of singing, that began early, in the choir, in the school, and in the home, and that would become the centre of her life, and the reason the world knows her name. The mountains were always there, in Krynica, and the music was always there, and the two, together, shaped her, in ways that are visible, in every performance she gives.
She sang in the choir, and she learned, early, that her voice was special, that it could do things other voices could not, and that it was, in a sense, a gift, and a responsibility. The choir was a training, and it was a refuge, and it was the place where she learned to sing in harmony, to listen, and to be part of something bigger than herself. The school was a place where she performed, and where she was noticed, and where the teachers, who saw her talent, encouraged her to study, to learn, and to dream, and the dream, for a girl from Krynica, was to become an actress, and a singer, in Kraków, in Warsaw, and in the world.
After school, she won a place at the State Higher School of Theatre in Kraków, now the AST National Academy of Theatre Arts, one of the most prestigious drama schools in Poland, where she studied acting, and where she graduated in 2007. Kraków was a revelation, and it was the beginning of everything that followed, because it taught her to act, to sing, and to be a performer, and because it gave her the confidence, and the technique, to take on the roles that would make her famous. The girl from Krynica had become a graduate of the theatre school in Kraków, and the graduate would become a star, in Poland, in Europe, and in the world, and the story that began in the mountains would reach the cinemas of the world.
Kraków, Elles and the First Breakthrough
Joanna Kulig’s first great success in film came in 2010, in Elles, known in English as Sponsoring, a French film directed by Małgorzata Szumowska, in which she played Alicja, a Polish student in Paris, who works as a prostitute, in a performance that was a revelation, and that showed the world that Kulig could act, in French, in a film about women, about money, and about survival, opposite Juliette Binoche, one of the great actresses of French cinema. The film was a critical success, it was praised for its honesty, its power, and its truth, and Kulig, as Alicja, was its heart, a woman who is young, who is strong, and who is, in the end, a survivor.
The role mattered because it was a beginning, and because it showed that Kulig, who had been a theatre student in Kraków, could become a film actress, in France, in a language that was not her own, and that the audience, in the cinema, would follow her, as the audience, in the theatre, had followed her. The film was a French film, it was made in Paris, and it was a sign that Kulig was not limited to Poland, or to Polish cinema, but was an international actress, a woman who could work in different countries, in different languages, and who could play characters who are not defined by a single place, or a single language.
She also appeared in Ida in 2013, playing a jazz singer, in a film directed by Paweł Pawlikowski, in a small role, in a film that won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and that became one of the most acclaimed Polish films ever made. The role was small, in terms of screen time, but it was a sign that Kulig was now working with the best directors in Poland, and that she was being noticed, by the people who matter, in the industry, and that the audience, and the critics, were beginning to see her, as a star, in the making. The film was a critical success, and it was a stepping stone, to the role that would define her, five years later, in Cold War.
The early film years were a foundation, and the foundation was solid, because it was built on talent, on training, and on a love of the work, and the work that followed, in the 2010s, would build on that foundation, and would make Kulig one of the most famous actresses in Poland, and in Europe. She also appeared in other films, in supporting roles, in leading roles, and in the theatre, and she built a career that was, in the best sense, a working actress’s career: stage, film, television, one role at a time, with no shortcuts, and with no compromises.
Cold War, Zula and the European Film Award
In 2018 Joanna Kulig starred in Cold War, known in Polish as Zimna wojna, playing Zula, a young singer, in a film directed by Paweł Pawlikowski, about a love affair between Zula and Wiktor, a musician, in Poland, in the 1950s, in a story that spans fifteen years, and several countries, and that is, in the end, a tragedy, about love, about art, and about a Poland that is divided, by the Cold War, and by the Iron Curtain. The film was a critical success, it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where Pawlikowski won the award for Best Director, and it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and Kulig, as Zula, won the European Film Award for Best Actress, the highest honour in European cinema.
Zula is a difficult role, a woman who is a singer, who is passionate, who is flawed, and who is, in the end, a victim, of love, of history, and of herself, and Kulig played her with a total honesty that made the audience love her, even when the character is, in the story, difficult, and even when the world calls her difficult. The performance was a revelation, and it was a validation, and it was a sign that Kulig, at thirty-six, was one of the great actresses of Europe, and that the European Film Award was not a fluke, but a recognition, of a talent that had been visible, since Elles, and that was now, in Cold War, undeniable.
She sang the songs in the film herself, the folk songs, the jazz, and the song “Dwa serduszka”, in a performance that was, for many viewers, the highlight of the film, and that showed her voice, in its full power, in a song that is about two hearts, about love, and about Poland. The singing was a labour of love, it was a part of the role, and it made Zula, who is a singer, into a real singer, and the audience, watching, understood that the voice was real, and that the woman was real, and that the story was real, and that is a rare thing, in film, and it is the reason Cold War is still watched, and still loved, by people who were not born when the story is set.
The film mattered because it was a Polish film, and because it showed the world that Polish cinema, which had been, for decades, a cinema of great directors, and great actors, was still alive, and still making films that matter, and that Kulig, as Zula, was its heart, a woman who is Polish, who is a singer, and who is, in the end, a symbol, of a Poland that is passionate, and that is, in the end, a country that loves, and that loses, and that keeps loving. The film was a critical and commercial success, it was seen around the world, and it confirmed that Kulig, at thirty-six, was a global star, and that Zula was the role she was born to play.
The Eddy, Hanna and the International Career
The years after Cold War brought Joanna Kulig a series of international roles, in films and in television, that showed her as a leading lady, in different countries, in different languages, and that confirmed that she was not only a Polish star, but a world star. In 2020 she starred in The Eddy, a Netflix series directed by Damien Chazelle, playing Maja, a singer, in a jazz club in Paris, in a performance that was central to the series, and that showed her as a singer, as an actress, and as a star, in a role that required her to sing, to act, and to be Maja, in a way that few actresses could, and that earned her a recognition, of a performance that is, by any standard, one of the great performances in modern television.
In the same year, she appeared in Hanna, an Amazon series, playing Johanna, in the second season, in a role that was a supporting one, but that was a sign that Kulig was now being sought by the best producers, in America, and in Britain, and that she was playing the roles that mattered, in the series that mattered, and that the audience, and the industry, respected her, not only as a Polish actress, but as an international one. The series was a success, it ran for three seasons, and it confirmed that Kulig, at thirty-eight, was a star, in television, as well as in film, and that the career was, in every way, a global one.
She also appeared in She Came to Me in 2023, playing Magdalena, in a film directed by Rebecca Miller, opposite Peter Dinklage, in a performance that was a supporting one, but that showed a different side of Kulig, a woman who is a wife, who is a mother, and who is, in her own way, a hero, in a film about love, about art, and about New York. The film was a critical success, and it confirmed that Kulig could play a role in English, in an American film, and that she could do it with a total honesty that made the audience believe in her, and that made the film, which was, in many ways, an ensemble piece, into a showcase for her talent.
The international career has taken her to Paris, to London, to Los Angeles, and to the sets of films that were made in many countries, by directors from many countries, and the travel is part of the job, and it is a job that she has done, for more than fifteen years, without ever settling in one place, and without ever becoming a star of only one country. The films are international, the audience is international, and the actress is international, and that is the point, because the story that began in Krynica, in the Polish mountains, is a story that belongs to the world, and the world has watched it, and will keep watching it.
Languages, Family and the Private Life
Joanna Kulig’s career is, in a sense, a career in three languages, and the languages are part of the story, because they allowed her to work in different countries, in different industries, and to play characters who are not defined by a single language, or a single place. She was born in Poland, she speaks Polish, she learned French in Paris, and she learned English in London and in Hollywood, and she acts in all three languages, in films that are Polish, in films that are French, in films that are English, and in films that are international, and the ability to do that is rare, and it is valuable, because it means she is not limited to one market, or one industry, or one kind of role.
She is married to Maciej Bochniak, a Polish film director, and they have a son, born in 2019, and she has kept her private life private, giving interviews about her work while keeping her family out of the press, and that discipline is part of why she is respected, not only as an actress, but as a person. The private life is not a secret, and it is not a performance. It is a life, lived quietly, alongside the work, and the work is better for it, because the actress who goes home to a son, to a husband, is an actress who knows what matters, and who brings that knowledge to every role she plays.
The languages also matter because they are a skill, and they are a skill that Kulig has worked at, learning French, learning English, and learning to act in languages that are not her own, which is a difficult thing to do, because acting is about language, about the words, about the rhythm, and about the meaning, and to act in a second language, or a third, is to act with a part of yourself missing, and to do it well is a testament to her talent, and to her discipline. The audience may not notice the languages, but they notice the performances, and the performances are real, because the languages are real, and the woman who speaks them is real, and the work is real, and the career is real.
Zula’s Songs: Music in Kulig’s Career
Music is the thread that runs through Joanna Kulig’s career, from the choir in Krynica, to the theatre school in Kraków, to the songs in Cold War, to the jazz club in The Eddy, and it is the reason her performances are, in the best sense, musical, even when she is not singing. She sang in the choir as a girl, and she learned, early, that her voice was special, that it could do things other voices could not, and that it was, in a sense, a gift, and a responsibility, and the choir was a training, and it was a refuge, and it was the place where she learned to sing in harmony, to listen, and to be part of something bigger than herself.
In Cold War, the music is the story, and Zula is a singer, and Kulig sang the songs herself, the folk songs, the jazz, and the song “Dwa serduszka”, in a performance that was, for many viewers, the highlight of the film, and that showed her voice, in its full power, in a song that is about two hearts, about love, and about Poland. The singing was a labour of love, it was a part of the role, and it made Zula, who is a singer, into a real singer, and the audience, watching, understood that the voice was real, and that the woman was real, and that the story was real, and that is a rare thing, in film, and it is the reason Cold War is still watched, and still loved, by people who were not born when the story is set.
In The Eddy, the music is, again, the story, and Maja is a singer, in a jazz club in Paris, and Kulig played her with a total honesty that made the audience believe in her, in a performance that required her to sing, to act, and to be Maja, in a way that few actresses could, and that earned her a recognition, of a performance that is, by any standard, one of the great performances in modern television. The series was directed by Damien Chazelle, and it was a critical success, and it confirmed that Kulig could play a leading role, in television, in a series that was, in many ways, a musical, and that she could do it with a depth that surprises many who knew her only as a film actress.
The music also matters because it is Polish, and because the songs in Cold War are Polish folk songs, and the jazz in The Eddy is, in many ways, an international language, and Kulig, who is Polish, who sings in Polish, and who acts in French and in English, is a woman who speaks, in music, in a language that is universal, and that the audience, in Poland, in France, and in America, understands, even when they do not speak Polish, and even when they do not know the words. The music is the bridge, between the countries, between the languages, and between the audience and the actress, and it is the reason Kulig is loved, not only as an actress, but as a singer, and as a woman who uses her voice, to tell a story, and to move an audience.
The future of the music is bright, and it is also uncertain, as the future always is, but the signs are good: the directors who want to work with her, the scripts that arrive, the songs that are written, and the audience that follows her, from Krynica to Kraków to Cannes to Paris. She is forty-three, she is at the peak of her powers, and she has a career ahead of her that could last for decades, in Polish and in English, in French, on stage and on screen, and the work she does next will be watched, closely, by an audience that has learned to trust her, and that knows, when Joanna Kulig is in a film, the film will be good, and the songs will be worth hearing, and the voice will be worth listening to, for as long as she keeps singing.
My Take:
What I admire most about Joanna Kulig is the voice, and I want to be specific about what that voice means, because it is easy to say a singer has a great voice and hard to show it. She was born in Krynica-Zdrój, a spa town in the Polish mountains, she sang in the choir, she studied at the theatre school in Kraków, she played Alicja in Elles, she played Zula in Cold War, she won the European Film Award for Best Actress, and she sang “Dwa serduszka”, in a film that was seen around the world. The voice is in the choir, in the film, and in the song, and it is the thread that runs through everything she has done, from the first note to the last, and it is the reason the world knows her name.
I also think her Krynica childhood matters more than it is usually given credit for. She grew up in a spa town in the mountains of southern Poland, in a place that was quiet, provincial, with sanatoriums, with mineral water, and with a life that was far from the film studios of Warsaw, and the stages of Kraków. A girl growing up in Krynica learned to be practical, to be tough, and to make the most of what she had. The mountains were always there, in Krynica, and the music was always there, and the two, together, shaped her, in ways that are visible, in every performance she gives. The childhood is in the work, and it is there because she grew up in it, and because she has never tried to hide it.
The Kraków training is the part I think about most, because it is easy to see a drama school as a place where you learn to act, and it is wrong to do so. The State Higher School of Theatre in Kraków taught her to act, to sing, and to be a performer, and it gave her the confidence, and the technique, to take on the roles that would make her famous. The girl from Krynica had become a graduate, and the graduate would become a star, in Poland, in Europe, and in the world. I think the training matters because it is the foundation, and because the foundation was solid, and because the work that followed, from Elles to Cold War, was built on it, and would not have been possible without it.
Elles is the film I return to most, because Alicja is a Polish student in Paris, who works as a prostitute, and Kulig played her with a total honesty that made the audience understand her, even when the story was painful, and even when the history was brutal. The film was a critical success, it was praised for its honesty, its power, and its truth, and Kulig, as Alicja, was its heart. I think the film matters because it is the beginning, and because it shows that Kulig, who had been a theatre student in Kraków, could become a film actress, in France, in a language that was not her own, and that the audience, in the cinema, would follow her, as the audience, in the theatre, had followed her.
Cold War is the film I think about when I consider her as a star, because Zula is a young singer, in Poland, in the 1950s, in a love affair that spans fifteen years, and several countries, and that is, in the end, a tragedy, about love, about art, and about a Poland that is divided. Kulig played her with a total honesty that made the audience love her, even when the character is difficult, and even when the world calls her difficult. The performance won her the European Film Award for Best Actress, and it made her, at thirty-six, one of the great actresses of Europe. I think the film matters because it is a Polish film, and because it showed the world that Polish cinema was still alive, and still making films that matter, and that Kulig, as Zula, was its heart.
The singing in Cold War is the part I enjoy most, because she sang the songs herself, the folk songs, the jazz, and the song “Dwa serduszka”, in a performance that was, for many viewers, the highlight of the film, and that showed her voice, in its full power, in a song that is about two hearts, about love, and about Poland. The singing was a labour of love, it was a part of the role, and it made Zula, who is a singer, into a real singer, and the audience, watching, understood that the voice was real, and that the woman was real, and that the story was real. I think the singing matters because it is a rare thing, in film, for an actress to sing her own songs, and to do it well, and it is the reason Cold War is still watched, and still loved.
The Eddy is the series I admire for its ambition, because Maja is a singer, in a jazz club in Paris, and Kulig played her with a total honesty that made the audience believe in her, in a performance that required her to sing, to act, and to be Maja, in a way that few actresses could. The series was directed by Damien Chazelle, and it was a critical success, and it confirmed that Kulig could play a leading role, in television, in a series that was, in many ways, a musical, and that she could do it with a depth that surprises many who knew her only as a film actress. I think the series matters because it shows that she can sing, and act, and be a star, in television, as well as in film, and that the range is the point, not the exception.
Hanna is the series I return to most, because Johanna is a supporting role, in the second season, and Kulig played her with a total commitment that made the audience believe in her, even though the role was small, and even though the series was, in many ways, an ensemble piece. The series was a success, it ran for three seasons, and it confirmed that Kulig, at thirty-eight, was a star, in television, as well as in film. I think the series matters because it is a sign that she was now being sought by the best producers, in America, and in Britain, and that she was playing the roles that mattered, in the series that mattered, and that the audience, and the industry, respected her, not only as a Polish actress, but as an international one.
The languages are the part I think about when I consider her future, because she speaks Polish, French and English, and she acts in all three, in films that are Polish, in films that are French, in films that are English, and in films that are international, and the ability to do that is rare, and it is valuable, because it means she is not limited to one market, or one industry, or one kind of role. A Polish woman who speaks three languages, and who acts in English, is a woman of the world, and that is part of what makes her interesting, as an actress, and as a person, and it is the reason she has worked in so many countries, with so many directors, and in so many films, and will keep working, for as long as there are stories worth telling.
What I take from the whole story, finally, is a picture of a career built on a voice, on a childhood, and on a refusal to be defined by a single role. Kulig takes the work seriously, she sings, she acts, she plays Alicja and Zula and Maja and Johanna, and she does it with a commitment that has lasted for more than fifteen years. That is a rare combination, and it is the reason her career matters beyond the awards and the acclaim. She is not only a singer. She is an actress, and a mother, and a woman who left Krynica, and who became a star, without ever forgetting where she came from. I expect her to be remembered, and I expect the films to be watched, for as long as people watch films, because the pattern so far is that the best work is always the work she has already done, and the work she has done is extraordinary.
If I were recommending Joanna Kulig to a new viewer, I would start with Cold War, because it is the beginning, and then I would watch Elles, because it shows her soul, and then I would watch The Eddy, because it shows her voice, and then I would watch Ida, because it shows her range. That is my honest path through her work, and I think it gives a new viewer the four corners of the story: the singer, the student, the jazz singer and the jazz singer in the bar. Each one is real, and each one is worth your time, and together they make a career that is among the finest of any actress from Poland.
I also think about what she means for Poland, because she is one of the most famous actresses from the country, and she has never hidden where she came from. She is Polish, she is a singer, she is an actress, she is a mother, and she is all of those things at once, without apology. That is a remarkable life, and it is a life that deserves to be celebrated, not only for the performances, but for the person behind them, who has lived with honesty, with humour, and with a refusal to be defined by anyone else.
Finally, I want to say why this story stays with me. It stays with me because it is a story about a girl from Krynica who sang in a choir, who went to Kraków, who became Alicja, who became Zula, who won the European Film Award, who sang “Dwa serduszka”, and who is still working, at forty-three, with a son, with a husband, and with a career that is still going strong. That is not a straight line. It is a winding road, and it is a road that was walked with a voice, with work, and with a refusal to forget. The girl from Krynica is still with us, and the films are still with us, and the story is still being told, and it will be told, for as long as people watch films, and for as long as there are girls from small mountain towns who dream of Kraków, and of the world, and who sing, and who act, and who become, in their own way, stars.
I also think about what she means for the next generation, because she is a woman who left Krynica, who studied in Kraków, who became a star in Poland, in France, and in America, and who did it by singing, by acting, and by refusing to be defined by anyone else, and that is a story that a girl from a small town, in Poland, or in any country, can hear, and can believe, and can follow, and that is a rare thing, for a story, and for a star, and it is the reason Kulig matters, not only for the films, but for the girls who will watch them, and who will dream, and who will sing, and who will become, in their own way, stars, and who will sing “Dwa serduszka”, and who will know that a girl from Krynica can become a star, and that the star can be a mother, and a wife, and an actress, and a singer, all at once, without apology, and without fear, and with a voice that is worth hearing, for as long as there are songs worth singing.
I also think about her future, because she is forty-three, she is at the peak of her powers, and she has a career ahead of her that could last for decades, in Polish and in English, in French, on stage and on screen, and the work she does next will be watched, closely, by an audience that has learned to trust her, and that knows, when Joanna Kulig is in a film, the film will be good, and the songs will be worth hearing, and the voice will be worth listening to, for as long as she keeps singing, and for as long as there are stories worth telling, and songs worth singing, and audiences worth moving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where was Joanna Kulig born?
She was born on 24 June 1982 in Krynica-Zdrój, a spa town in the mountains of southern Poland. She sang in the choir as a girl and studied acting at the State Higher School of Theatre in Kraków, graduating in 2007.
What was Joanna Kulig’s breakthrough film?
Her breakthrough was Elles in 2010, known in English as Sponsoring, in which she played Alicja, a Polish student in Paris working as a prostitute, opposite Juliette Binoche. She had a small role in Ida in 2013, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Who did Joanna Kulig play in Cold War?
She played Zula, a young singer, in Cold War in 2018, directed by Paweł Pawlikowski, opposite Tomasz Kot as Wiktor. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and she won the European Film Award for Best Actress for the role.
Did Joanna Kulig sing the songs in Cold War herself?
Yes, she sang the songs herself, including the folk song “Dwa serduszka”, in a performance that was widely praised. Singing was central to the role, since Zula is a singer, and Kulig had sung in a choir since childhood.
Who did Joanna Kulig play in The Eddy?
She played Maja, a singer in a jazz club in Paris, in the Netflix series The Eddy in 2020, directed by Damien Chazelle. She also appeared as Johanna in the second season of the Amazon series Hanna in 2020.
Is Joanna Kulig married?
Yes, she is married to Maciej Bochniak, a Polish film director, and they have a son, born in 2019. She keeps her private life largely out of the press.
