Biography:

Joanna Dorota Kołaczkowska née Chuda, primo voto Matysik (born June 22 , 1966 in Polkowice , died July 17, 2025 [ 1 ] ) – Polish cabaret and theater actress , songwriter and radio presenter .

In 1988–1989 she performed in the Drugi Garnitur cabaret , and for the next 10 years she was an actress of the Potem Cabaret , with whose members she created the independent film company A’Yoy . Since 2002, she has been an actress of the Hrabi Cabaret .

Curriculum vitae

Early years

Her mother was an accountant at the Mining Company in Lubin [ 2 ] , and her father died when she was five years old [ 2 ] [ 3 ] . She had a sister, Agnieszka [ 2 ] , who was a year older than her, and married Dariusz Kamys [ 4 ] .

In her youth, she performed with a folk dance group [ 3 ] and practiced figure skating and speed skating [ 5 ] . She graduated from a horticultural technical school in Głogów [ 6 ] and a two-year teacher training college in Legnica [ 3 ] [ 7 ] . She graduated in cultural and educational pedagogy from the Higher Pedagogical School in Zielona Góra [ 8 ] .

Career

During her studies, she met Adam Nowak , who in 1987 encouraged her to audition for the Drugi Garnitur cabaret . [ 9 ] She performed in the group until 1989, then became an actress in the Potem Cabaret and wrote lyrics for some of the group’s sketches . From 1991 to 1993, she performed with the Potems as a support act before Stanisław Tym’s performances at the Rampa Theatre . [ 10 ] In 1999, the group disbanded.

From 1993, she performed the role of Dorin Owens in the improvised program Spadkobiercy [ 11 ] [ 12 ] . In 1994, with members of Kabaret Potem, she founded the independent film company A’Yoy , for which she directed several short films and a feature-length film entitled Nakręceni (2002), in which she played the role of Eli. She also appeared in the company’s other films: Robin Hood – the Fourth Arrow (1997), Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde according to the A’Yoy Studio (1999), and A Tale of People from Here (2003). She recorded radio sketches under the banner of Wytwórnia Dźwięków Trrrt [ 13 ] .

Since 2002, she has been an actress of the Hrabi Cabaret [ 14 ] . She co-created programs presented by the group and wrote many of the group’s cabaret songs, including: “Song popuszcznej” [ 15 ] , “Bakteria w całusie “ [ 16 ] , ” Nie Ciąg ” [ 17 ] , “Krowa” [18], “Wątpliwy Młodej “ [ 19 ] , “ Rydwany pamięci” [ 20 ] , “Tango sromotnik” [ 21 ] , “Szuszuszu” [ 22 ] , “Cubana” [ 23 ] , “Huzia na Józia” [ 24 ] and “Piosenka ciążowa” [ 25 ] . In 2005 she received an individual award at the 1st Cabaret Festival in Zielona Góra [ 26 ] , and in 2006 she was awarded the title of Honorary DebeŚciaK at the Dąbrowska Ściema Kabaretowa festival.

In the years 2009–2010 she performed on the stage of the Polonia Theatre in Warsaw , in plays directed by Stanisław Tym : Earthworms Come Out onto the Asphalt (2009) [ 27 ] and Woman with a View on the Terrace (2010) [ 28 ] . In 2011 she played Mrs. Zerżniewska in the play Smuteczek, czyli Ostatni naiveni (dir. Maciej Stuhr ), staged at the Dramatyczny Theatre in Warsaw [ 29 ] . In 2017 she was in the cast of the play Dzień świra by Marcin Kołaczkowski, staged at the Kamienica Theatre in Warsaw [ 30 ] . On July 30, 2019, she premiered a solo recital entitled Pączek w Maśle [ 31 ] .

In 2013, she lent her voice to the audiobook recording of Barbara Stenka’s book “Adventure Butter” [ 32 ] . In 2016, she sang the song “Cebula Celestyna” on the children’s album ” Vegetables and Friends” [ 33 ] .

In 2010, she became a columnist for the blog “Blog Partyzancki” [ 34 ] , and two years later she started recording a series of programs for Radio Trójka called “Myśl, sobie myśli,” which was an audio version of the columns she had written. From July 2020, together with Wojciech Malajkat, she hosted the program “Koncert życzeń” on Radio Nowy Świat [ 35 ] . She was one of the actresses reading her original crime series entitled ” Porucznik Jagoda Hyc” on RNŚ [ 35 ] . On December 24, 2024, she performed in RNŚ’s Christmas Eve concert, among others, together with Adam Nowak , Mery Spolsky , Wojciech Waglewski and Zbigniew Zamachowski [ 36 ] . In the years 2021–2025, together with Szymon Majewski, she co-created the podcast “Szę się” [ 37 ] .

Private life

She lived in Warsaw. Divorced twice, her second husband was Krzysztof Kołaczkowski [ 38 ] , whom she married in the late 1990s [ 39 ] . She had a daughter, Hanna [ 40 ] .

In April 2025, members of the Hrabi Cabaret announced that Kołaczkowska was struggling with cancer and was suspending her public activity [ 41 ] [ 42 ] . In May, as part of the “Potemowe piosenki” tour, three special concerts for Kołaczkowska were held, in which, apart from the Hrabi members , Hanna Śleszyńska , Artur Andrus , Maciej Stuhr , Adam Nowak, Janusz Radek , Władysław Sikora , Szymon Majewski, Maciej Miecznikowski, among others, performed [ 43 ] [ 44 ] . In June, Hrabi, RNŚ and the Contemporary Theatre in Warsaw organized a charity concert “For You I Could Do Everything” also dedicated to Kołaczkowska [ 45 ] .

On July 17, 2025, Hrabi members announced the artist’s death [ 46 ] [ 47 ] .

Credits:

Wikipedia