Teresa Szmigielówna was born on October 9, 1929 in Kobalówka in present-day Ukraine. As a little girl, she dreamed of performing on stage, but her parents saw her as a doctor. They discouraged her from the idea, explaining that she was too sensitive and had complexes to be able to make it in the industry, but this only motivated her to stand her ground. She earned a place in the Łódź Film School at the first attempt, and in 1953 she defended her diploma and began her career.
She met the renowned Olympian at the height of his fame. The marriage of Szmigielówna and Pawłowski did not last long
She immediately got a job at the Teatr Ziemi Rzeszowskiej and made her screen debut in “Celuloza”. Her talent was undeniable, she also captivated with her beauty, but she really lacked luck. Although she most often appeared in the background, she still did everything to be remembered.
In total, she created over 100 roles both on stage and in front of the camera in productions such as “Niewinni czarodzieje”, “Pętla”, “Eroica”, or “Stawiam na Tolka Banana”. – My work was more important than money, I loved my profession. I played expressive heroines, even in episodes. Could there be anything more beautiful and more satisfying for an actor? Besides, fate does not deal everyone equally and fairly – she said in “Życie na Gorąco”.
Although she had many admirers, her heart belonged to only one man. Jerzy Pawłowski, 3 years younger, an outstanding fencer and five-time Olympic medalist, was supposedly met during his divorce, although it was rumored that they had an affair while he was still married. They quickly got married, and shortly after, their son Piotr was born. It is no secret that Szmigielówna loved her beloved so much that she was almost like a mother to him. He did not fully appreciate her efforts. He enjoyed life, he loved luxury, while she was modest and did not care about fame. “They were very different,” Witold Sadowy argued in “Gazeta Wyborcza”.
She found out that Pawłowski was a spy after the divorce. Szmigielówna’s grandchildren are famous actors.
When Pawłowski asked for a divorce, Szmigielówna did not try to stop him by force, although she still loved him very much. It was only many years later that she realized that she did not really know him. The athlete was a collaborator of military intelligence and the secret service, and later also a CIA spy in Poland. When he was exposed in 1975, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. For him, it was a real blow. “She seemed like a shred of a person. Neurotic, she had problems with concentration. She gave the impression of a person who was being hounded. She never smiled,” director Paweł Nowicki recalled in an interview for “Gazeta Wyborcza”.
Although she swore that she had no idea about her beloved’s activities, the press did not leave a dry thread on her. For this reason, she withdrew into the shadow, pouring all her love onto her son, a renowned kayaker and graphic artist, and then onto her grandsons Józef and Stefan Pawłowski, who followed in her footsteps professionally. The older of them has roles in productions such as “Czas honoru” and “Bodo”, while the younger played in “Papiery na szczęścia” and “Przyjaciółki”, among others. Szmigielówna also returned to the screen towards the end of her life with roles in “Plebania” and “M jak miłość”. She died on September 24, 2013 in . If you’d like, please vote in our poll below.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
