Joanna Kulig

Joanna Kulig (; born 24 June 1982) is a Polish actress and singer, best known for her role in the 2018 historical drama film ''Cold War'', which earned her the European Film Award for Best Actress. Her other notable credits include the films ''Elles'', ''The Woman in the Fifth'', ''Ida'' and '' The Innocents'', as well as the Netflix series ''The Eddy''.

Early life and education

Kulig was born on 24 June 1982 in Krynica, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland. Her mother worked as a cook at a local kindergarten and her father was a folk poet. She was raised with four siblings in Muszynka. Her younger sister, Justyna Schneider, is also an actress and adopted their great-grandmother's surname to avoid confusion as their first names are similar.

While still living in Krynica, Kulig graduated from the Frédéric Chopin First Degree State Music School where she studied piano. At 18, she moved to Kraków, and enrolled at the Mieczysław Karłowicz State Music School Complex, from which she graduated in singing. In the meantime, she also completed the Kraków Vocational Technical High School for Hotel Administration. In 2007, Kulig earned an acting degree with a specialisation in singing from the AST National Academy of Theatre Arts in Kraków. She was the first in her family to graduate from a university.

Career

In 1998, Kulig won an episode of the Polish television talent show '' Szansa na sukces'' by performing Grzegorz Turnau's song "Między ciszą a ciszą". She took part in the show's annual final, and came third. Turnau later invited her to sing with him on his 2002 album ''Nawet''. Kulig also participated in season two of the Polish television talent show ''Idol'' in 2002. She was eliminated in the semi-finals.

Kulig made her stage debut in 2006 as Hermia in the play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' at the Helena Modrzejewska National Stary Theater in Kraków. She made her film debut in 2007 in Grzegorz Pacek's drama ''Wednesday, Thursday Morning'', which earned her the Gdynia Film Festival award for Best Debut. In 2011, she played Alicja opposite Juliette Binoche in Małgorzata Szumowska's drama ''Elles''. Her performance earned her the Polish Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and another recognition at the Gdynia Film Festival for Best Supporting Actress. Kulig also starred alongside Ethan Hawke and Kristin Scott Thomas in the 2011 drama ''The Woman in the Fifth'' directed by Paweł Pawlikowski. In 2013, she appeared in Jacek Borcuch's drama ''Lasting'', and in Pawlikowski's Academy Award-winning drama ''Ida''. She received her second Polish Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the former. In 2016, she portrayed Sister Irena in Anne Fontaine's critically acclaimed drama '' The Innocents''.

Kulig's international breakthrough came in 2018 when she starred in Pawlikowski's historical drama film ''Cold War''. The part of Zula, a woman in post-war Poland who joins a folk music touring group, was written specifically for her. Mark Kermode of ''The Observer'' wrote that she "delivers a star-making performance of astonishing range and depth", and Mick LaSalle of ''San Francisco Chronicle'' stated that "she takes the role of a lifetime between her teeth, chomps on it, pounds it into the ground and never lets go for a second." According to Scott Feinberg of ''The Hollywood Reporter'', "in a fair world ... Kulig would not only be a serious contender for a best actress nom, but would quickly become an in-demand actress in Hollywood, too." Kulig received the Best Actress Award at the 31st European Film Awards, and the Polish Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance. That same year, she played local priest's girlfriend with whom she gets pregnant in Wojciech Smarzowski's controversial film ''Clergy''. In 2019, Polish magazine ''Wprost'' ranked her fourth on its list of the 50 most influential Polish women.

Kulig starred as jazz singer Maja in Damien Chazelle's 2020 Netflix musical drama series ''The Eddy''. She served as one of the jurors of the Un Certain Regard section at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. That year, she also starred in the well-received action thriller ''Kompromat'' directed by Jérôme Salle. Kulig is set to star in Rebecca Miller's romantic comedy ''She Came to Me'' alongside Anne Hathaway, Tahar Rahim, Marisa Tomei and Matthew Broderick, and in Michael Keaton's noir thriller ''Knox Goes Away''. She will also make a guest appearance in the upcoming Apple TV+ miniseries ''Masters of the Air''.

Personal life

In 2009, Kulig married film director and screenwriter Maciej Bochniak. She gave birth to their son in February 2019.

Acting credits

Film

Television

Stage

Radio

Awards and nominations

See also

*Cinema of Poland
*List of Poles

Footnotes

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kulig, Joanna
1982 births
21st-century Polish actresses
European Film Award for Best Actress winners
Living people
People from Krynica-Zdrój
Polish film actresses
Polish stage actresses
Polish television actresses