At the age of 17, Patrycia Ziolkowska was accepted to the Westfälische Schauspielschule in Bochum, now the Folkwang Universität der Künste. While still a student, she made her debut at the Schauspielhaus Bochum. She has performed at all the major German-speaking theatres, including the Burgtheater in Vienna, the Schaubühne in Berlin, the Schauspiel Frankfurt, the Schauspielhaus Hamburg and the Thalia Theater Hamburg. In 2007, Patrycia Ziolkowska made her debut at the Salzburg Festival in the production MOLIÈRE. EINE PASSION by Luk Perceval. Further productions that followed: in 2011 FAUST I + II, directed by Nicolas Stemann, in 2018 Ulrich Rasche's Nestroy Award-winning production of DIE PERSER, in 2023 the marathon reading of Simone de Beauvoir's THE SECOND SEX, and most recently in 2024 ORESTIA I-IV, directed by Nicolas Stemann. She has also appeared in many major film and television productions, including SOLINO, AUF DER ANDEREN SEITE, THE CUT, SPATWERK and DIE LUFT, DIE WIR ATMEN.
Patrycia Ziolkowska has received numerous awards, including Best Actress twice in the NRW Critics' Survey, the Hamburg Theatre Prize - Rolf Mares 2012, and the Gertrud Eysoldt Ring 2023. Since the 2019/2020 season, she has been closely associated with the Schauspielhaus Zürich, where she has appeared in productions of FAUST I + II, DER BESUCH DER ALTEN DAME, ÖDIPUS TYRANN and BIEDERMANN UND DIE BRANDSTIFTER.