Aleksandra Gintrowska (born March 28, 1991) is a Polish singer and actress also appearing under the pseudonym O.L.A. which translates as ''"the heart of the word POLAND".''

Early life and education

Gintrowska was born in Szczecinek in 1991. She comes from a family rooted in musical traditions. One of her grandparents sang in a choir, another played the violin. Her mother was a singer and her sister plays the cello. She studied singing at schools in Szczecinek. During her primary school education, she learned to play the piano. Then she studied at the Private High School and the 'Opera Singing Department' of the 'Secondary Music School of Oskar Kolberg'. She consequently left for

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

where she passed her international high school diploma. She then enrolled in Kingston University, where she obtained a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in drama and opera singing. During her student days, she performed in choir and academic performances in such venues as

The Fighting Cocks The Fighting Cocks is a music venue built prior to 1890,, active since the 1930s and located in Kingston upon Thames, the administrative center of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Royal Borough of Kingston, southwest London, England.,,, ...

as well as in musicals such as ''This Is Musical'', ''Gems from the Shows'' and

Cell Block Tango "Cell Block Tango" is a song from the 1975 musical ''Chicago'', with music composed by John Kander and lyrics written by Fred Ebb. Description At the Cook County Jail women's annex, six women explain their presence in the jail, all of whom stand ...

, staged at theaters in London.

Music career

Ola_Gintrowska_during_Polish_selection_for_Eurovision_2016_2

In 2015, she released the single "Missing" composed by

Robert Janson Robert Janson (born June 7, 1965 in Czeladź) is a Polish composer, singer, guitarist, leader and co-founder of pop band Varius Manx. He is a member of Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. In 1989, Robert Janson formed Varius Manx with th ...

which was used by Polsat as the theme song for their show ''Must Be the Music''. In 2016, she qualified with the song to the finals of the national

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

Qualifiers. The

mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are sometimes asso ...

costume in which she appeared in the preliminaries became the subject of nationwide media publications. In August 2016, she released the single "Best That I've Felt," which was produced by Ryan Tedder. In December 2016, she published the song "Rowdy", and at the end of January 2017 she presented her first Polish-language single – "White Magic", which was created in collaboration with

. On December 17, 2019, she performed live at the ‘''Most Beautiful

Carols A carol is a festive song, generally religious but not necessarily connected with Christian church worship, and sometimes accompanied by a dance. A caroller (or caroler) is someone who sings carols, and is said to be carolling (or caroling). T ...

’'' televised concert, which took place in the '''Parish Church of Our Lady of

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ; german: Tschenstochau, Czenstochau; la, Czanstochova) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta River with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship (admin ...

Lubin Lubin (; german: Lüben, szl, Lubin) is a city in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in south-western Poland. It is the administrative seat of Lubin County, and also of the rural district called Gmina Lubin, although it is not part of the territory of ...

on Christmas Eve and during the

New Year New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system to ...

's televised concert in

with the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

both broadcast on

TVN TVN may refer to: * TVN (Australian TV channel), a former horse racing channel * Televisión Nacional de Chile, a public broadcaster * TVN (Indonesia), a former television station; predecessor of Rajawali Televisi * TVN (Norway), or TVNorge, a comm ...

Discography

* 2015: – ''Missing''. * 2016: – ''Best That I’ve Felt''. * 2016: – ''Rowdy''. * 2017: – ''Biała magia''.

Filmography

Gintrowska played Monika in

Barbara Sass Barbara Sass-Zdort (14 October 1936 – 2 April 2015) was a Polish screenwriter and film/stage director. In 1975, she graduated from the National Film School in Łódź. She was married to the cinematographer Wiesław Zdort. Mother of famous Polish ...

’ film '' In the Name of the Devil'' (2011) and Jola in the film Gwiazdy by Jan Kidawa-Błoński (2017). In 2018, she played supporting roles in television series such as in Pierwsza miłość (English: First Love), a Polish soap opera set in

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

or in M jak miłość (lit. L for Love) broadcast on the international channel TVP Polonia and revolving around the multiple generations of the Mostowiak family. This show has been the most-watched drama on Polish television since and its popularity led to a

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n adaptation, entitled ''Lyubov kak Lyubov''. The same year she also starred in two episodes of the Polish thriller

medical drama A medical drama is a television show or film in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic programming go beyond the events pertaining to the chara ...

Diagnosis Diagnosis is the identification of the nature and cause of a certain phenomenon. Diagnosis is used in many different disciplines, with variations in the use of logic, analytics, and experience, to determine " cause and effect". In systems engin ...

(original title: Diagnoza) produced by

. She was a participant in Polsat's entertainment program Twoja twarz brzmi znajomo (season 8) (based on the Spanish series: Your Face Sounds Familiar, 2017) and a juror in the

Talent competition A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...

Śpiewajmy razem. All Together Now (2019) based on the British show All Together Now. Film Television

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gintrowska, Aleksandra Polish pop singers 1991 births Living people Polish film actresses Polish Roman Catholics 21st-century Polish actresses 21st-century Polish singers 21st-century Polish women singers Alumni of Kingston University People from Szczecinek Actors from West Pomeranian Voivodeship Polish expatriates in England