Life and work
She was born on 18 December 1952 in Starachowice, Polish People's Republic. She graduated from the Wojciech Gerson State High School of Fine Arts in Warsaw (Polish: Zespół Państwowych Szkół Plastycznych im. Wojciecha Gersona w Warszawie), and in 1975 she graduated from the State Dramatic Arts College in Warsaw (currently the Aleksander Zelwerowicz State Theatre Academy). She made her acting debut in 1974 playing the role of Maria Kulygina in Anton Chekhov's play Three Sisters, directed by Aleksander Bardini and broadcast in a Television Theatre production. In the same year, she played the role of Mannequin 34 in a street grotesque play The Ball of Mannequins by Polish futurist poet Bruno Jasieński, directed by Janusz Warmiński. In 1976, she played in the role of Dorian Gray based on Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, adapted by John Osborne and directed by Andrzej Łapicki in Warsaw's "Little Theatre". In the years 1976–1987 she worked as an actress in the Ateneum Theatre in Warsaw.
She made her film debut in 1973, when she starred in the historical-based TV series Czarne chmury ("Black Clouds"), but a turning point in her acting career came with the role of Agnieszka in Andrzej Wajda's Man of Marble (1976). She became known for portraying strong and determined female characters with complex personalities in her film roles. Apart from Man of Marble, her most memorable roles include characters in critically acclaimed films like Man of Iron, Interrogation and My Mom's Lovers.
She also embarked on a career as a singer and made her debut in 1977 during the 15th National Festival of Polish Song in Opole, where she sang the song Guma do żucia ("The Chewing Gum") with lyrics written by Marek Grechuta.
In the 1980s she appeared in numerous films and stage productions and started working as a film and theatre director herself. In 1995 she directed the film Pestka based on a novel by Anka Kowalska. During her professional career she has played over 60 theatre roles in virtually all the major theatre genres as well as appeared in around 100 films. Her role in Euripides's Medea is considered among her most successful ones. She is particularly known for her artistic collaboration with renowned Academy Award-winning filmmaker Andrzej Wajda. She starred in six of his films altogether: Man of Marble (1976), Man of Iron (1981), Without Anesthesia (1978), The Orchestra Conductor (1980), Solidarity, Solidarity... Man of Hope (2005), and Sweet Rush (2009).
In 1993, she was a member of the jury at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival.
Throughout her career, she has received numerous prestigious awards, such as Best Actress at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival, Silver Shell for Best Actress at the San Sebastian Film Festival for her role in Waldemar Krzystek's film Zwolnienie z życia, Best Actress Award at the 1987 Montreal World Film Festival for the role in Helma Sanders-Brahms's Laputa, Best Actress Award at the Belgrade Film Festival for Interrogation, the Zbigniew Cybulski Award for best young Polish actress, as well as 4 Golden Duck Awards. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest actresses in the history of Polish cinema and was selected in a 1998 Polityka magazine survey among the greatest actresses of the 20th century.
In 2000, she embarked on one of the biggest tours in the history of Polish theatre, entitled Sto twarzy Krystyny Jandy (One Hundred Faces of Krystyna Janda). She performed in 48 different plays in Poland's eight largest cities within the space of two months.
In 2005, she established her own private Polonia Theater in Warsaw. She is also the founder and head of the Krystyna Janda Cultural Foundation. In 2010, her foundation opened another theatre in Warsaw, the Och-Teatr in the district of Ochota. She has also worked as a columnist in a number of magazines such as Poradnik domowy, Pani, and Uroda. She is also a member of the supervisory board of the Fundacja Okularnicy, which is a foundation dedicated to the promotion and popularization of Agnieszka Osiecka's poetic legacy.
In 2019, she received the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting for her role in Jacek Borcuch's film Dolce Fine Giornata at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.
