Edyta Olszówka graduated from the acting department at the State Film, Television and Theatre Academy in Łódź in 1994. She is considered to be one of the most talented actresses of her generation, she appears on stage of her home theatre, Teatr Powszechny, as well as other theatres in Warsaw, and also in films and Television Theatre (Teatr Telewizji). A natural blonde with a distinctive husky voice, she most often plays modern young women.
Although she was still a student when she appeared in her first role (as Jenny in Love Story by Erich Segal, at Teatr Ochoty in 1993), the start of her career was not entirely without its difficulties. For four years, she took small parts in TV series in order to keep acting and testing her abilities. When she had a guest appearance as Dunyashka in Nikolai Gogol's Zhenitba / The Marriage in 1995, audiences and critics took note of her, but she met with real success and received widespread critical acclaim only after she played the role of Jadzia in Maciej Wojtyszko's Żelazna konstrukcja / The Iron Construction at Teatr Powszechny, Estella in Tennessee Williams' The Rose Tattoo (1998), and, above all, the role of Helen in Martin McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan (1999), Kelly in Sam Shepard's Simpatico (1999), Tania in Janusz Głowacki's Czwarta siostra / Fourth Sister (1999) and Blondie in After the Rain by Sergei Belbel (2000).
Edyta Olszowka has everything that one needs in this profession: personality, a sense of truth and good intuition. She is also very hard-working. (...) She was perfectly cast in the plays she did at Teatr Powszechny, Władyslaw Kowalski said of her. ("Rzeczpospolita", 17/02/2000)
In the following years she worked a lot, especially in the Powszechny Theatre. Between 2001 and 2002 alone, she appeared in five plays, among others as Kordelia in Shakespeare's King Lear directed by Piotr Cieplak, and as Evelyn in Neil LaBute's The Shape of Things directed by Grzegorz Wiśniewski. The farce The Italian Straw Hat based on the play by Eugene Labich and directed by Cieplak was a great success (2005).
Later she played also in other Warsaw theatres, often showing her comic talent. In the Komedia Theatre she played in farces such as Move Over, Mrs Markham by John Chapman and Ray Cooney directed by Marek Dutkiewicz (2010) and Nobody's Perfect by Simon Williams directed by Grzegorz Chrapkiewicz (2012). She returned to Powszechny Theatre with the title role in Klara, based on Iza Kuna's play and directed by Aleksandra Popławska (2013).
I believe Klara is authentic. She represents the generation of 40-year olds, that grew up in the grey reality of communism. People who decided to fight for their future: they started careers, developed professionally and some of them started families, but still bear a void inside.
A year later, in Narodowy Theatre, she covered for Małgorzata Kożuchowska as Margaret in the popular staging of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams directed by Chrapkiewicz. The play Jakobi and Leidental by the famous Izraeli playwright Hanoch Levin, directed by Marcin Hycnar was very well received. The story of a love triangle was praised both for the efforts of the young director and that of the actors.
The story, which references Brecht's epic theatre, dotted by songs, becomes a metaphore of loneliness as the human being's greatest suffering. Two friends (Jacek Braciak and Michał Sitarski) try to fight it, as well as the presumed pianist, looking for her break, Rut Szahasz. Edyta Olszówka creates an enchanting portrayal, depicted with bright colours, somewhere between a conscious kitch and heartbreaking despair. Her final monologue, when she fights with all her force to keep her chosen man, makes a powerful impression" - wrote Tomasz Miłkowski ("Przegląd", 23.06.2015).
A year later she collaborated with Hycnar again, this time in the National Theatre, on Opowiadanie brazylijskie / A Brazilian Story, based on Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz's prose.
At the same time, she had success in film, too. When she appeared in Bream in Season by Bogusław Linda (2000), Pół serio / Half Joking by Tomasz Konecki (2000), and Strefa ciszy / Quiet Zone by Krzysztof Lang (2000), cinema-goers noticed her, as well, adding to her popularity and drawing attention to her in the theatre and film community. Olszowka even received international attention when she appeared in an Italian production of Elvis and Marilyn, directed by Armando Manni (1998).
Later on cinema rarely remembered her: only sometimes she played supporting roles, mostly in romantic comedies such as Złoty środek / The Golden Mean directed by Olaf Lubaszenko (2009) or Nigdy nie mów nigdy / Never say never directed by Wojciech Pacyna (2009). He was also one of the protagonists of Tomasz Konecki's Lejdis (2008) and Dobrójska in Filip Bajon's Maidens' Vowels (2010). More often she appeared in television: the audience could enjoy her as the eccentric Pola in Apetyt na życie / Appetite for Life (2011-2013), officer Kobylicka in Ojciec Mateusz / Father Mateusz (2014-2016) and as the mother of three adult kids, starting a new chapter in her life in Aż po sufit (Polish adaptation of Packed to the Rafters, 2015).
People say that Edyta Olszówka is classy, mysterious, charming and sexy. She is able to play a predatory vamp as well as an innocent little girl. She is a multifaceted actress, who feels just as at home in a musical or cabaret. Her distinctive voice is suitable for "Sentymenty" ("Sentiments") by Agnieszka Osiecka, as well as Marcin Wolski's cabaret.
Awards:
- 1993 - Second Prize for her role in Janusz Głowacki's Spacerek przed snem / A Walk Before Falling Asleep in the Garden Theatre Competition, Warsaw
- 1998 - prize for best actress in the Sulmona Cinema Film Festival in Italy for her role in the film Elvis and Marilyn, directed by Armando Manni
- 1999 - award for best actress in the International Adventure Film Festival in Valenciennes for her role in the film Elvis and Marilyn, directed by Armando Manni
- 1999 - first prize for acting for her role as Helen in Martin McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan at Warsaw's Teatr Powszechny, at the Kalisz Theatrical Encounters
- 2000 - prize for her comedic role in the film Pół serio directed by Tomasz Konecki at the Gdańsk Polish Feature Film Festival