Dorota Kolak: Movies & Box Office

Dorota Kolak, born on 20 June 1957 in Kraków, Poland, is a renowned Polish actress and professor whose career spans more than four decades. She graduated from the AST National Academy of Theatre Arts in Kraków in 1980, launching a prolific stage career that quickly expanded into television and film. Kolak first appeared on screen in the late 1990s, but it was her extensive work in television series such as Radio Romans, Pensjonat Pod Róza, Recipe For Life and the long‑running Barwy szczęścia that cemented her popularity among Polish audiences. Her filmography exceeds seventy titles, featuring notable performances in I Am Yours (2009) and United States of Love (2016), for which she earned the prestigious Gdynia Film Festival Award for Best Supporting Actress on two occasions. The latter role also brought her the first nomination for the Polish Academy Award for Best Actress, a distinction she repeated with Playing Hard (2018). In addition to her acting achievements, Kolak has contributed to the academic world, obtaining a master’s degree from the Łódź Film School in 2015 and teaching acting at various institutions, earning her the title of professor. Her cultural contributions have been recognized by the Polish state: she received the Meritorious Activist of Culture badge and the Cross of Merit in 1996, the Silver Gloria Artis Medal in 2008, and the Golden Medal in 2024. Internationally, she reached a broader audience through Netflix, starring in the 2020 miniseries The Woods and the films The Getaway King (2021) and Too Old for Fairy Tales (2022). Most recently, Kolak joined the Polsat comedy series Servant of the People in 2023, demonstrating her enduring versatility and appeal across generations.