She was born on 22 June 1966 to father Stanisław Szczuka, a lawyer and a political dissident in the times of PRL,[1] and mother Janina (née Winawer), a doctor from an assimilated Polish-Jewish family.

[2] She published articles in such newspapers and magazines as Gazeta Wyborcza, Res Publica Nova, Teksty Drugie and Zadra.

In 2003, she was one of the host of the Pegaz culture programme aired on the Polish state-run television Telewizja Polska (TVP).

[3] In 2004, she published her book Milczenie owieczek (The Silence of Little Lambs) in which she discussed such topics as the right to abortion, birth control and sex education.

"[8] Despite Szczuka's public apology, she was found guilty of "insulting a disabled person and mocking her religion" by the Polish National Broadcasting Council, and the station on which she had appeared was fined 500,000 PLN.