---
name: "Joanna Kulig"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/joanna-kulig"
fi1m_id: "joanna-kulig"
imdb_id: "nm2251846"
tmdb_id: 908548
wikidata_id: "Q3179653"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "24 June 1982"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 83
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-21T01:17:13.838328+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Joanna Kulig

## Identity

Joanna Kulig

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/joanna-kulig
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** joanna-kulig
- **IMDb ID:** nm2251846
- **TMDB ID:** 908548
- **Wikidata ID:** Q3179653
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joanna_Kulig, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3179653, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2251846/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/908548

Actor. Born 24 June 1982 in Krynica-Zdrój, Poland.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 24 June 1982, Krynica-Zdrój, Poland
- **Active:** 2013–present
- **Also known as:** Joanna Kulig-Bochniak
- **Frequently works with:** [Agata Kulesza](https://film.one/person/agata-kulesza.md), [Ewa Puszczyńska](https://film.one/person/ewa-puszczynska.md), [Paweł Pawlikowski](https://film.one/person/pawe-pawlikowski.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 83, as actor, over 3 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2010s 85 (2), 2020s 80 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 83 to 84 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 0 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 1 of 2 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 3, History 1, Music 1, Romance 1
- **Screen time:** 4 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $34m across 2 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joanna_Kulig, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3179653, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2251846/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/908548

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Cold War*](https://film.one/film/cold-war.md) (85)
- **Apple TV:** [*Ida*](https://film.one/film/ida.md) (85)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Joanna Kulig

> Joanna Kulig makes restlessness persuasive. In *Cold War*, her singing and dancing matter, but we value just as much the impatience that unsettles the careful compositions and makes a difficult romance worth taking seriously.

In *Cold War* (2018), Joanna Kulig’s Zula seems impatient with the care Paweł Pawlikowski has taken over the picture. Her appetite and restlessness disturb those careful compositions, making her presence felt without any need for the film to announce it. With Tomasz Kot’s Wiktor so persistently drawn to her, Kulig has to make the attraction convincing without making Zula agreeable. She does, and we recommend the film for the difficult affection between them.

Pawlikowski had already cast her as Ania in *The Woman in the Fifth* (2011) and as a singer in *Ida* (2013). *Cold War* gave her a leading role written for her, and brought her international breakthrough. Singing and dancing recur in her work, but here they belong to a performance that follows Zula across fifteen years. The musical accomplishment is worth attending to, though it would be a mistake to let it distract from how much Kulig conveys through her impatience.

We were moved by *Cold War* because Kot makes his longing feel exhausting, while Kulig makes it easy to understand why he cannot put it aside. Pawlikowski gets something valuable from their different temperaments: her restlessness makes his persistence harder to watch. Neither actor insists on being liked, which leaves us free to take the couple’s feelings seriously without excusing their behaviour. Our reservation is with the gaps between scenes, which sometimes leave too much of the change in those feelings unexplained.

Her work in Polish, French and English opens up plenty of possible directions, and international film and television parts have followed *Cold War*. We would be wary of a role that gave her songs but none of the awkwardness she brings to Zula. The attraction of watching her is that she allows a character to be talented, wanted and troublesome at once. Give her another part that does not require her to behave.

## Biography

Joanna Kulig, also credited as Joanna Kulig-Bochniak, is a Polish actress and singer. She graduated from the AST National Academy of Theatre Arts in Kraków in 2007 with a specialisation in popular music vocals.

She made her film debut in *Wednesday, Thursday Morning* (2007), for which she received a Best Acting Debut award at the Gdynia Film Festival. Kulig is known for her role as Zuzanna 'Zula' Lichoń in *Cold War* (2018), as well as appearances in *Elles* (2011), *Ida* (2013) and *Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters* (2013). She has received a European Film Award and two Polish Film Awards. She has collaborated several times with director Paweł Pawlikowski.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, vanityfair.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Fatherland* (2026), Fi1m 80, as Singer in a jazz band — [page](https://film.one/film/fatherland.md)
- *Cold War* (2018), Fi1m 85, as Zuzanna 'Zula' Lichoń — [page](https://film.one/film/cold-war.md)
- *Ida* (2013), Fi1m 85, as Singer — [page](https://film.one/film/ida.md)

## Complete filmography (49)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Wild Wild East* (2026), Actor
- *Fatherland* (2026), as Singer in a jazz band — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/fatherland.md)
- *Lead Children* (2026), series, as Jolanta Wadowska-Król
- *Island* (2025), as Joanna
- *Woman of...* (2024), as Iza
- *Knox Goes Away* (2024), as Annie
- *Masters of the Air* (2024), series, as Paulina — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/tv/masters-of-the-air.md)
- *She Came to Me* (2023), as Magdalena Szyskowski
- *Kompromat* (2022), as Svetlana
- *Everyone Knows Better* (2022), as Ania
- *The Office PL* (2021), series, as Michalina Biegun
- *The Spider's Web* (2021), series, as Kornelia Titko
- *The Eddy* (2020), series, as Maja
- *Safe Inside* (2019), as Sylvia
- *I Am Lying Now* (2019), as Agentka
- *Hanna* (2019), series, as Johanna
- *Love Is Everything* (2018), as Magda Rodzińska
- *7 Emotions* (2018), as Mama Gosi
- *Clergy* (2018), as Hanka Tomala
- *The Trap* (2018), series, as Justyna Mateja
- *Play* (2018), as Mother
- *Cold War* (2018), as Zuzanna 'Zula' Lichoń — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/cold-war.md)
- *Pitbull: Tough Women* (2016), as 'Zuza'
- *The Innocents* (2016), as Nun Irena
- *Disco Polo* (2015), as Anka "Gensonina"
- *Warsaw by Night* (2015), as Marek's Ex-Lover (segment "Iga")
- *The Crime* (2014), series, as Posterunkowa Monika Krajewska
- *O mnie się nie martw* (2014), series, as Iga Małecka
- *Sophie Seeks 7* (2014), as Patrycja
- *Way Back Home* (2013), as Yalka
- *Ida* (2013), as Singer — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/ida.md)
- *On the Edge* (2013), series, as Sylwia Zawada, żona Edwarda
- *Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters* (2013), as Red Haired Witch
- *Spies of Warsaw* (2013), series, Actor
- *Lasting* (2013), as Marta, koleżanka Kariny
- *Remembrance* (2011), as Magdalena Limonowska
- *The Woman in the Fifth* (2011), as Ania
- *Elles* (2011), as Alicja
- *Dance Marathon* (2011), as Agnieszka
- *Million Dollars* (2011), as Zuzanna
- *Los numeros* (2011), as Sylwia, siostra Ani
- *Szpilki na Giewoncie* (2010), series, as Wika Bura
- *Janosik* (2009), as Girl
- *Days of Honor* (2008), series, as Mucha
- *Trzeci oficer* (2008), series, as Halina
- *Teraz albo nigdy!* (2008), series, as Zyta
- *Wednesday, Thursday Morning* (2008), as Teresa
- *Ekipa* (2007), series, as Magdalena Nowasz, Magdalena Nowasz, córka Henryka
- *Trivial Of My Life*, as Katarzyna Zielińska

## Gallery

- ![Joanna Kulig](https://film.one/media/person/128230/gallery-eaa1df8ad9f3.jpg) Joanna Kulig — BellaTOFIFEST International Film Festival, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Bella_Tofifest_Dzie%C5%84_2_Isola_-_Joanna_Kulig_i_Nora_J%C3%A4nicke_fot._Ada_S%C3%A4nger-40_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Cast and crew of the film Cold War at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival](https://film.one/media/person/128230/gallery-522b30844a70.jpg) Cast and crew of the film Cold War at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival — Joan Hernandez Mir, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/2018-05-10-Cannes-L%27%C3%A9quipe_du_film_Cold_War_de_Pawel_Pawlikowski_-2279.jpg/1280px-2018-05-10-Cannes-L%27%C3%A9quipe_du_film_Cold_War_de_Pawel_Pawlikowski_-2279.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![fot. Ada Sänger (2026)](https://film.one/media/person/128230/gallery-4a6b94173ee2.jpg) fot. Ada Sänger (2026) — BellaTOFIFEST International Film Festival, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Bella_Tofifest_Dzie%C5%84_2_Isola_-_Joanna_Kulig_i_Nora_J%C3%A4nicke_fot._Ada_S%C3%A4nger-40.jpg/1280px-Bella_Tofifest_Dzie%C5%84_2_Isola_-_Joanna_Kulig_i_Nora_J%C3%A4nicke_fot._Ada_S%C3%A4nger-40.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Jurors of the Un Certain Regard section at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival: Benjamin Biolay, Valeria Golino, Joanna Kulig, Debra Granik and Édgar Ramírez (left to](https://film.one/media/person/128230/gallery-1be4ed8375d8.jpg) Jurors of the Un Certain Regard section at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival: Benjamin Biolay, Valeria Golino, Joanna Kulig, Debra Granik and Édgar Ramírez (left to — Canal22, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/Benjamin_Biolay%2C_Valeria_Golino%2C_Joanna_Kulig%2C_Debra_Granik_and_%C3%89dgar_Ram%C3%ADrez_at_2022_Cannes_Film_Festival_Day_2.jpg/1280px-Benjamin_Biolay%2C_Valeria_Golino%2C_Joanna_Kulig%2C_Debra_Granik_and_%C3%89dgar_Ram%C3%ADrez_at_2022_Cannes_Film_Festival_Day_2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Joanna Kulig](https://film.one/media/person/128230/gallery-bbc0ee9e623c.jpg) Joanna Kulig — Image via TMDB
- ![Joanna Kulig](https://film.one/media/person/128230/gallery-cf38cf694aed.jpg) Joanna Kulig — Image via TMDB
- ![Joanna Kulig](https://film.one/media/person/128230/gallery-7b91f0962aeb.jpg) Joanna Kulig — Image via TMDB
- ![Joanna Kulig at Berlinale 2023](https://film.one/media/person/128230/gallery-5875111fdcb4.jpg) Joanna Kulig at Berlinale 2023 — Elena Ternovaja, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/Joanna_Kulig%2C_Berlinale_2023-1.jpg/1280px-Joanna_Kulig%2C_Berlinale_2023-1.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Joanna Kulig at Berlinale 2023](https://film.one/media/person/128230/gallery-9c860aad85ea.jpg) Joanna Kulig at Berlinale 2023 — Elena Ternovaja, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/Joanna_Kulig%2C_Berlinale_2023-1_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Joanna_Kulig%2C_Berlinale_2023-1_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Other awards — 1 won, 1 nominated

- European Film Award – People's Choice Award for Best European Film 2019: European Film Award – People's Choice Award for Best European Film (nominated), for *Cold War*
- European Film Award for Best Actress 2018: European Film Award for Best Actress (won), for *Cold War*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/joanna-kulig