Kolak was born and raised in Kraków, Poland. She graduated from the
AST National Academy of Theatre Arts in Kraków in 1980 and later began perform in various stage productions. She also worked as an acting teacher. In 2015 she received a master's degree at the
Łódź Film School. In 1996, Kolak received
Meritorious Activist of Culture and the
Cross of Merit. In 2008 she received Silver
Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture from
Ministry of Culture and National Heritage,
Tomasz Merta. In 2024, Kolak received Golden Medal. Kolak has appeared in more than 70 movies and television series during her career. On television, she starred in
Radio Romans (1994–95),
Pensjonat Pod Róza (2004–06),
Recipe For Life (2011–13) and
Barwy szczęścia (2007–18). She made her big screen debut in 1998 and later played number of supporting roles in various movies. She received two
Gdynia Film Festival Award for Best Supporting Actress for
I Am Yours (2009) and
United States of Love (2016). For
United States of Love, Kolak also received her first
Polish Academy Award for Best Actress nomination. She received her second Polish Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for
Playing Hard (2018). Kolak starred in the 2020 Netflix miniseries
The Woods. She also starred in Netflix films
The Getaway King (2021) and
Too Old for Fairy Tales (2022). In 2023, she was cast in the Polsat comedy series,
Servant of the People. ==Selected filmography==