Barbara Kurdej-Szatan

Barbara Kurdej-Szatan was born on 22 August 1985 in Opole, Poland,^[1][2] to Janusz Kurdej and Eliza Wyszomirska-Kurdej. She has a sister, Katarzyna Kurdej, who is also an actress. Her maternal grandfather was the writer and poet Bogumił Wyszomirski.^[1]

As a child, she sang for seven years in the choir Cantores Opolienses "Legenda", with which she performed in numerous national and international contests. She also attended Andrzej Głowacki's acting classes, as well as musical school for two years, where she played violin. Later, she performed in the Opelskien Studio Piosenki (Opole Song Studio) and in the Opole Gospel Choir, with which she took part in concerts such as the Opole National Festival of Polish Song.^[3] In 2009, she graduated in acting from the National Academy of Theatre Arts in Kraków. While studying, she sang in the music group Marsels.^[4][2]

From 2008 to 2010, she performed in the New Theatre in Poznań, and since then, in the 6th Floor Theatre in Warsaw. In 2012, she begin performing in the Roma Musical Theatre.^[5][6] Additionally she appeared in television series such as Plebania (2006), Two Sides of the Coin (2006), Na dobre i na złe (2011), The Clan (2011), Barwy szczęścia (2012–2013), and First Love (2014), as well as in feature films Enen (2009), and Ciacho (2010).^[2] In 2012, she competed together with band Soul City in the TVN talent show X Factor.^[7][8]

She achieved a nation-wide recognizability, though her appearances in series of commercials of Play cellular network company, aired from 2013 to 2022. There she portrayed a store salesperson together with Maciej Łagodziński.^[9][10]

She portrayed the main role in a 2014 romantic comedy film Dzień dobry, kocham cię!, for which she also recorded the theme song together with Liber.^[11] From 2014 to 2021, she also played Joanna Chodakowska, one of main characters in TVP2 soap opera television series L for Love.^[12] In 2014, she also begun working with Polish Television, for which she hosted or co-hosted shows such as: Kocham cię, Polsko! (2016–2018), The Voice of Poland (2016–2018), The Voice Kids (2018–2019), and Dance Dance Dance (2019).^{[13][14][15][16]} Additionally, in 2014, she co-hosted the 51st Opole National Festival of Polish Song and the concert Sabat Czarownic in Kielce.^[17] In 2019, she stopped working with the Polish Television, which was unofficially speculated to be related to her participation in anti-government protests and her endorsement of Rafał Trzaskowski, an opposition candidate in the 2020 presidential election.^[18][19]

Since 2015, she has performed in the Kraków Variété Theatre.^[6][20] She portrayed Jadźka Zarówna in the 2015 film Wkręceni 2, and Andżela in the 2017 film Things That You Don't Know About Men.^[21][22] Between 2017 and 2020, she played Maria Biernacka, one of the main characters in the Polsat television series W rytmie serca, and in 2018, she played a secondary character of Weronika in the film Being Unlucky Is Not a Sin, and Kasia in Narzeczonym na niby.^[23][24][25] Additionally, she and her husband, Rafał Szatan, appeared in the Polsat talk show The Story of My Life. Historia naszego życia, and in 2019, she was a contestant in the talent show Dancing with the Stars. Taniec z gwiazdami, and co-hosted the concert Przebojowe Opole. Jedziemy na wakacje, which aired on Polsat.^[26][27][28] During the COVID-19 pandemic, she took part in a series of online concerts streamed on Instagram, as well as an online campaign focused on reading fairy tales to children. She also formed the band MaKuSza with her family, including her husband and her sister.^[29][30] In 2021, she participated in a Polsat talent show, Twoja twarz brzmi znajomo in 2021.^[31]

On 4 November 2021, during the border crisis at the Belarus–Poland border, she posted a recording of uniformed officers, most likely of the Polish Border Guard, wrestling with mothers holding children in their arms. Kurdej-Szatan left an emotion-fueled comment, including vulgar language, criticising the officers. Her comments, such as calling the officers "machines without hearts and brains" or "murderers", stirred controversy. On 6 November 2021, she posted an apology for her "vulgar and inappropriate language" used in her statements.^[32][33][34] On 9 November 2021, Jacek Kurski, chairperson of the Polish Television, informed the public of her firing from the network.^[35] The public prosecutor's office began an investigation, charging her with insulting officers of the Border Guard in May 2022.^[32][36] In December 2022, the regional court in Pruszków dismissed the case due to the lack of elements for a criminal offence.^[37] Following this, the public prosecutor's office filed a complaint regarding the court proceedings, and in February 2023, the district court in Warsaw dismissed the case.^[38]

In 2022, she participated in a Polsat talent show Mask Singer, co-hosted the TTV show Project Cupid, and hosted the Zoom TV show Poranny rogal.^[39][40][41] She also took part in an advertising campaign for the online newspaper Wyborcza.pl, and played one of the main roles in the Polsat television series Domek na szczęście.^[42][43]

In March 2022, she founded a charity foundation Z Porywu Serca, aimed at helping refugees of the Russo-Ukrainian War, and those crossing the Poland-Belarus border.^[44] In 2023, she held main roles in two romantic comedy films, Miłość ma cztery łapy and Tips for Cheating 2. In 2024, she competed in a Polsat talent show Twoja twarz brzmi znajomo. Najlepsi!, and co-hosted a TVP2 entertainment show Cudowne lata.^[45][46][47] On 26 October 2024, she co-hosted a TVP1 charity concert for the victims of the Central European floods.^[48]

In 2011, she married actor and singer Rafał Szatan [pl].^[49] Together they have two children, Hanna (born 2012), and Henryk (born 2020).^[50][51]