Tekla Justyna Krzyżanowska was christened on 14 September 1782 in the parish church of Izbica Kujawska, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, to Antonina (née) Kołomińska and Jakub Krzyżanowski [pl].

[1][2] According to author Piotr Mysłakowski [pl], more than likely she was born a few days prior to her christening on the Skarbek family estate in Długie.

Little is known of her early life, but in 1800 the Skarbek estate was sold, and the owners moved to Żelazowa Wola in the Duchy of Warsaw.

[5] The countess played matchmaker for the couple, and, within a year of their meeting,[6] they married at the Saint Roch parish church on 28 June 1806 in Brochów.

With each move, Krzyżanowska oversaw the living quarters, nutrition needs, and moral education of both the boarders and her own children.

Shortly before Chopin's death in 1844, the couple moved in with their daughter Izabela, who had married Antoni Barciński, with whom Krzyżanowska would live for the rest of her life.