Danuta Stenka

Danuta Stenka was born in 1961 in Sierakowice, Poland, and is one of the country's best-known theatre and film actresses. Beginning in 1991, she could be seen on stage at Teatr Dramatyczny in Warsaw, where she stayed for a decade before taking various roles at TR Warszawa. She regularly worked with the director and founder of the Nowy Teatr Warsaw, Krzysztof Warlikowski, and became a member of the ensemble at the National Theatre in Warsaw in 2003, where she appeared in productions by directors Robert Wilson, Grzegorz Jarzyna, and Maja Kleczewska. She has appeared in numerous films and TV series and has been considered the Bridget Jones of Poland following the film adaptation of the bestseller Niemals im Leben, by Polish author Katarzyna Grochola. In 2002, Danuta Stenka became known internationally through her role of George Sand in Jerzy Antczak's drama Chopin – Desire for Love, for which she was awarded the Polish Film Prize for Best Actress in a Leading Role. In 2008, she received the same Best Supporting Actress Award for Andrzej Wajda's war drama Katyń, which was nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Danuta Stenka was introduced to German-speaking theatre audiences at the Vienna Festival in 2016 through her role in Yana Ross' production of Franz Xaver Kroetz's Request Concert. She will tour throughout Europe with this production, which can also be seen at the Schauspielhaus Zurich.