Gabriela Kownacka

Gabriela Anna Kownacka (née Kwasz) (25 May 1952 in Wrocław – 30 November 2010 in Warsaw) was a Polish film and stage actress, best known for playing in the Polish TV series Rodzina zastępcza. Kownacka was a Lutheran.

Biography She has starred in over 60 television theater roles and starred in over 40 theater productions across the country.

By the decision of the President of the Republic of Poland of August 22, 2005, she was awarded the Cross of Merit.

Kownacka died on 30 November 2010, aged 58, after a long battle with breast cancer that began in 2004. On 7 December 2010, she was interred at the Evangelical Cemetery of the Augsburg Confession in Warsaw.

Illness and death

In 2004, Kownacka was diagnosed with breast cancer. Several months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy proved successful, allowing her to return to work on the set of the television series Rodzina zastępcza.

At the turn of May and June 2008, the disease relapsed and her health deteriorated considerably. On 9 March 2009, a charity concert was held at the National Theatre, Warsaw, with all proceeds donated towards Kownacka's treatment.

Kownacka died on 30 November 2010. She was buried on 7 December 2010 at the Evangelical-Augsburg Cemetery in Warsaw (avenue 41, grave 27).

The funeral ceremony was attended, among others, by Maja Komorowska, Joanna Szczepkowska, Gołda Tencer, Ewa Ziętek, Marian Opania, Wojciech Malajkat, as well as members of the cast of Rodzina zastępcza, including Piotr Fronczewski and Jarosław Boberek. Actor Marcin Hycnar read a farewell letter on behalf of Jan Englert, director of the National Theatre, Warsaw.

Filmography 1972: The Wedding – Zosia 1975: Skazany – Kasia 1976: Trędowata – Rita Szylinżanka 1977: Ciuciubabka – Grażyna 1977: Pani Bovary to ja 1977: Rebus – Ania 1977: Rekolekcje – Myszka 1977: Szarada – Ewa 1978: Hallo Szpicbródka – Anita 1979: I, Claudius − Drusilla (voice, Polish dub) 1980: Urodziny młodego warszawiaka – Jadźka 1980: Ukryty w słońcu – Joanna 1980: Bo oszalałem dla niej – Sylwia 1981: Dziecinne pytania – Bożena 1981: Przypadki Piotra S. – prostitute 1981: Spokojne lata – Iza 1983: Nadzór – Danusia Wabik 1983: Visitors from the Arkana Galaxy − Biba (voice, Polish dub) 1984: Jak się pozbyć czarnego kota – Krystyna Danek 1984: Pismak – Maria 1984: Zamiana – Ola 1985: Kronika wypadków miłosnych – Olimpia 1985: Ga, ga. Chwała bohaterom – blondie woman 1985: Żaglowiec – Michael's mother 1985: Czarny kot 1986: Nieproszony gość 1987: Hanussen – Propaganda chief's wife 1988: Niezwykła podróż Baltazara Kobera – Gertruda 1989: Kapitał, czyli jak zrobić pieniądze w Polsce – Barbara Nowosad 1989: Yacht – wife 1992: Smacznego telewizorku – Teresa Adler 1992: Sauna – Masza 1992: Zwolnieni z życia – Elżbieta 1993: Les Nouveaux Exploits d'Arsene Lupin 1995–1998: Matki, żony i kochanki – Dorota Padlewska-Lindner 1996: Cesarska tabakierka – Baronowa 1996: Dzieci i ryby – Ewelina 1999: Fuks – Alex's mother 1999: Kiler-ów 2-óch – president's wife 1999–2008: Rodzina zastępcza – Anna Kwiatkowska 1999: Baldur's Gate – Viconia DeVir (voice, Polish dub) 1999: Bratobójstwo 2000: Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn – Viconia DeVir (voice, Polish dub) 2001: Pas de deux – Anna Struziakowa 2002: Na dobre i na złe – Lidia Kornecka 2003: Powiedz to, Gabi – actress 2004: The Haunted Mansion – Madame Leota (voice, Polish dub) 2006: Przebacz – mother 2007: Arthur and the Minimoys – Daisy Suchot (voice, Polish dub) 2007: Dwie strony medalu – Jolanta Wysocka 2007: Niania – herself