Skirlińska was born on March 8, 1907 in the small village of Żurawiczki, Poland to Władysław and Helena (née Kwaśniewski) Skirliński who have alternatingly been described as belonging to the intelligentsia[2] and landed gentry[3] classes.

She graduated from high school in the nearby larger town of Jarosław with a course emphasis on physical education and military training.

[2] At the first-ever World Championships for women in 1934, she was the 3rd-place finisher,[4][5] which stands in extreme contrast to her 40th-place individual result[6]: 874–875 [7] at the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics where her marks in both the compulsory and voluntary segments on 2 of the 3 events contested were extremely low (48th place overall on the parallel bars[6]: 874  and 36th place overall on the vaulting horse[6]: 875  out of a field of 64 competitors), considering her performance at the preceding 1934 World Championships.

[3] Shortly thereafter, she enrolled in the College of Physical Education in Wrocław, graduating with her Magister (Master's) Degree in 1952, as well as obtaining her “1st class coach” title in 1953.

[2][3] After Skirlińska's numerous decades of being a decorated sportsperson at the national and international level, being a wartime therapist, being a long-term academic and high-level sports administrator, and being an international judge at the highest level, she was awarded The Order of Poland's Knight's Cross in 1971, as well as The Odznaka „Zasłużony Działacz Kultury Fizycznej” [pl] (Meritorious Activist of Physical Culture).