Joanna Szczepkowska (Polish pronunciation: ; born 1 May 1953) is a Polish film and theatre

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

. She appeared in more than thirty films since 1975.

Life and career

She made her debut on televion in 1975 by appearing in episode 1 of the cult 1970s TV series ''

Czterdziestolatek Czterdziestolatek or 40-latek (English: ''The Forty-Year-Old''); broadcast in English by TVP Polonia as ''Being Forty'' is a Polish television comedy series originally broadcast in Poland between 1975-78. The initial series enjoyed so much popu ...

'' (The Forty-Year-Old). The same year, she graduated from the National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw. She worked as a theatre actress for such institutions as Teatr Współczesny in Warsaw (1975–1981), the Polish Theatre (1981–1988), Teatr Powszechny (1988–1992, 2000–2004) and Teatr Dramatyczny (2006–2010). Throughout her career she appeared in numerous films including Jan Batory's 1975 film ''Con amore'',

Janusz Zaorski Janusz Zaorski (born 19 September 1947) is a Polish film director, scenarist and actor, representative of the cinema of moral anxiety ( pl, kino moralnego niepokoju), trend in Polish cinema. Zaorski has directed mainly psychological dramas, comed ...

's 1982 film ''

The Mother of Kings ''The Mother of Kings'' ( pl, Matka Królów) is a 1982 Polish drama film, directed by Janusz Zaorski. It was immediately banned by the Polish Communist regime - having depicted that regime as baselessly hounding and persecuting a loyal and devo ...

'',

Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the ...

's 1986 film '' A Chronicle of Amorous Accidents'',

Krzysztof Kieślowski Krzysztof Kieślowski (; 27 June 1941 – 13 March 1996) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He is known internationally for '' Dekalog'' (1989), ''The Double Life of Veronique'' (1991), and the ''Three Colours'' trilogy (1993 –1994 ...

's 1988 '' Dekalog: Three'', Izabela Cywińska's 1996 film ''Boża podszewka'',

Paweł Komorowski Paweł Komorowski (14 August 1930 – 28 November 2011) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He directed twenty films between 1955 and 2000. Selected filmography * ''Pięciu ''Pięciu'' ("Five") is a 1964 Polish drama film dir ...

's 1998 film '' Syzyfowe prace'', Rafał Wieczyński's 2009 biopic ''Popiełuszko. Wolność jest w nas'' and

Juliusz Machulski Juliusz Machulski (born 10 March 1955 in Olsztyn) is a Poles, Polish film director and screenplay writer. Son of noted actor Jan Machulski, Juliusz became notable for his comedies ridiculing the life in communist-ruled Poland of the 1970s and 198 ...

's 2017 film ''Volta''. In 1997, she published a collecton of poetry titled ''Miasta do wynajęcia''. In 2007, she was awarded the Knight's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...

. In 2010, she was elected President of the Union of Polish Stage Actors (ZASP), the first woman to hold this post. She runs her own theatre named ''Teatr Na dole''.

1989 interview

On 28 October 1989, during a live interview on the main state-run evening news programme ''Dziennik Telewizyjny'' (Television Journal), she made a historic statement in which she publicly announced the end of communism in Poland: This statement went down in history as a symbol of the political changes which took place in the country after the

1989 Polish legislative election Parliamentary elections were held in Poland in 1989 to elect members of the Sejm and the recreated Senate. The first round took place on 4 June, with a second round on 18 June. They were the first elections in the country since the Communist Poli ...

, the first partially free elections in Poland after the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Personal life

She is the daughter of actor Andrzej Szczepkowski.

Selected filmography

References

External links