1993—2010: Beginnings Following her graduation, Kulesza worked as an actress at the Teatr Dramatyczny in Warsaw. She made her television debut appearing in an episode of comedy series,
Żegnaj, Rockefeller in 1993 and later guest-starred in German television series
Die Straßen von Berlin and
Liebling Kreuzberg. She made her big screen debut playing the leading role in the Polish comedy-drama film
Człowiek z... directed by
Konrad Szołajski. In 2009 she starred in the short-lived sitcom
Synowie and in 2011 was a regular cast member in the telenovela
Prosto w serce, a remake of Argentine series,
You Are the One. Since 2011, she has regularly performed at the
Ateneum Theatre, also in Warsaw.
2011—2014: Breakthrough In 2011, Kulesza was seen in three drama films:
Ki by Leszek Dawid,
Suicide Room by
Jan Komasa playing the mother of lead character, and
Rose by
Wojciech Smarzowski, playing the titular character.
Suicide Room premiered at the
62nd Berlin International Film Festival and received positive reviews from critics while Kulesza's performance was noted. Meanwhile,
Rose premiered at
Warsaw Film Festival and won Grand Prix and later won seven
Polish Film Awards. For her performance in
Rose, Kulesza received positive reviews from film critics, and was listed as one of the best in 2011 by
Culture.pl. Kulesza won her first
Polish Academy Award for Best Actress for her role Róża, a Masurian widow who falls in love a Home Army soldier. That same year, she was given a special award from the
Ministry of Culture and National Heritage recognising her acting career, as well as the Złota Kaczka awarded by
Film magazine. In 2013, Kulesza starred in the period drama film,
Ida directed by
Paweł Pawlikowski. Playing Wanda Gruz, a
Communist resistance fighter turned state prosecutor, Kulesza received widespread acclaim. David Denby from
The New Yorker noted that "Wanda tells her of her past in brief fragments, and Kulesza does more with those fragments—adding a gesture, a pause—than anyone since
Greta Garbo, who always implied much more than she said."
Dana Stevens wrote that "As played, stupendously, by the veteran Polish TV, stage, and film actress Agata Kulesza, Wanda is a vortex of a character, as fascinating to spend time with as she is bottomlessly sad." Jose Solis from
PopMatters named her Best Supporting Actress writing: "Kulesza also allows her character’s flaws to show in heartbreaking ways, especially when we least expect it to. Watch the way she reacts to Trzebuchowska’s subtle horror upon realizing her parents, fate, it’s a moment where we see the actress hold back out of what we will come to understand as love, or at least the only kind of love she knows how to provide. Where Ida could’ve simply been a film about the effects of WWII in Poland, the characters at its center make it so much more than that, and Kulesza in particular will prove to haunt you for weeks after you’ve seen the film."
Ida won the 2015
Academy Award for
Best Foreign Language Film, becoming the first Polish film to do so. It had been selected as
Best Film of 2014 by the
European Film Academy and as
Best Film Not in the English Language of 2014 by the
British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Kulesza was awarded the Best Actress prize at the 38th
Gdynia Film Festival, and won her second
Polish Academy Award for Best Actress. Kulesza also went on to be nominated for the
Paszport Polityki. Internationally, Kulesza won the
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress,
Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actress, and received nomination for
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress and
European Film Award for Best Actress. In 2014, Kulesza received
Order of Polonia Restituta and
Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture.
2015—present: Continued screen work In 2015, Kulesza starred in the comedy-drama film,
These Daughters of Mine, for which she received another Polish Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. In 2015 she starred in the Polish version of Showtime comedy series,
Web Therapy. In 2016,
Zwierciadło magazine awarded Kulesza their Crystal Mirror award for "acting of the highest quality". That year, she turned down an offer to play Beata in the political satire series ''
The Chairman's Ear. Also in 2016, Kulesza starred in four movies: the critically acclaimed drama The Innocents, the crime drama Dark Crimes opposite Jim Carrey, the crime drama I'm a Killer about serial killer Zdzisław Marchwicki, and the comedy-drama Joy in the World. In The Innocents
directed by Anne Fontaine, Kulesza played Mother Superior, the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival with positive reception. She received positive reviews for her performance. Film critic Stephen Holden from The New York Times wrote: "The most complicated and compelling character is the severe Mother Abbess, who faces an excruciating choice between saving a baby’s life and risking disgrace, or abandoning the infant. Ms. Kulesza’s anguished performance conveys the weight of an almost unbearable choice, which she believes condemns her to eternal damnation." In Dark Crimes
directed by Alexandros Avranas, Kulesza made her American film debut. Despite some praise for the cast, critics panned Dark Crimes
for its pacing, overly downcast tone, and objectionable presentation of abused women. It is one of the worst-reviewed films of 2018, holding a 0% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In I'm a Killer'', Kulesza played the unfaithful wife of main character, for this role she learnt
Silesian language. In 2017, Kulesza starred in the drama film
Once Upon a Time in November directed by
Andrzej Jakimowski playing the homeless mother who with her adult son are evicted from their flat and struggle to find safe place in a homeless shelter. The following year, Kulesza starred in the historical drama film,
Cold War directed by
Paweł Pawlikowski. The film premiered at the
2018 Cannes Film Festival received numerous accolades, including three nominations at the
91st Academy Awards, and four at the
72nd BAFTA Film Awards, as well as six awards from seven nominations at the
31st European Film Awards, winning the main
Best Film Award. Kulesza was nominated for Polish Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance. The same year she played the lead in the drama film
Playing Hard playing the 40-year-old prosecutor Dorota, with alcohol addiction. From 2017 to 2019 she starred in the
AXN crime drama series,
Ultraviolet. From 2018 to 2019 she starred in the
TVN crime thriller series,
The Trap. In 2019, she appeared in the
BBC One war drama,
World on Fire. In 2020, Kulesza starred in five movies: the social thriller
The Hater directed by
Jan Komasa, the comedy-drama
Never Gonna Snow Again by
Małgorzata Szumowska and
Michał Englert, the crime Western
Magnesium by Maciej Bochniak, the dance drama
Parquet by
Aleksandr Mindadze, and the prison drama
25 Years of Innocence by
Jan Holoubek.
The Hater premiered at the
Tribeca Film Festival in the International Narrative Competition and won Best International Narrative Feature award. The film received positive reviews from critics, while Kulesza was nominated for Polish Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In
Never Gonna Snow Again she played wealthy drug-taking widow, for which she received another Polish Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. In
25 Years of Innocence, Kulesza played the mother of falsely accused for rape and was imprisoned for 25 years, receiving positive reviews for her role.
Screendaily critic Tim Grierson wrote in his review: "Avoiding emotional fireworks, Kulesza subtly communicates Teresa’s beaten-down resilience — she conveys how much the son’s imprisonment has taken out of Teresa through quiet, unimaginable weariness." At the
2021 Polish Film Awards, she received award for Best Actress. In 2021, Kulesza starred in the dark comedy film,
The Wedding directed by
Wojciech Smarzowski. The performance gained her another Polish Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Later in 2021, Kulesza began starring in the
Player.pl crime drama series,
The Convict playing the role of Judge Alicja Mazur who accused of a murder she did not commit. The series ended in 2024, after four seasons. In 2023 she appeared in the drama film,
Green Border directed by
Agnieszka Holland. The film competed for the
Golden Lion at the
80th Venice International Film Festival, where it won the
Special Jury Prize. In 2024 she returned to stage starring in the play
Mother. In 2024, Kulesza starred in three movies, the family drama
Where Do We Begin, the biographical drama
Simona Kossak, and the spy-thriller
The Partisan. She starred in the social drama
The Good House directed by
Wojciech Smarzowski set for 2025 release. Kulesza also set to star in the
Disney+ period crime drama series,
Breslau. Later in 2024, Kulesza was cast opposite
Joanna Kulig as Dr. Bożena Hager-Małecka in the
Netflix miniseries,
Olowiane dzieci about 1974
lead poisoning epidemic in Poland. In 2025 she was cast opposite
Bartosz Bielenia in the dystopian romantic drama film
The Time That Never Came. Later in 2025 she was cast as Pani Meliton in the film adaptation of the
Bolesław Prus' novel,
The Doll. == Personal life ==