[5] Born in Lublin, she attended the University of Warsaw, graduating with a degree in classical philology, and worked as a teacher of Latin and English from 1985 to 1993.

In 2007–2008, she taught at the University of Rutgers in New Jersey, USA at the Faculty of Women's Affairs and Gender Studies on Reproductive Rights Activism with Focus on Central and Eastern Europe.

[10] In 2016–2017 she lectured Gender Studies at the Institute of Applied Social Sciences (University of Warsaw and Polish Academy of Science) In 2016–18 she studied bioethics at the University of Warsaw and philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris Politically, Nowicka has allied herself with various parties, but has remained unaffiliated outside of briefly joining the Solidarity movement in 1980 and 1981.

[15] In the 2019 she unsuccessfully ran to the European Parliament in Kujawy-Pomerania district with the Spring (Wiosna) party, newly formed by Robert Biedroń.

[24] In 1999 Nowicka co-founded and was the first coordinator of ASTRA (Central and Eastern European Women's Network for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights).

[28] These actions were violently attacked by extreme right nationalist groups such as the All-Poland Youth and the League of Polish Families, who seriously intimidated women in order to stop them from boarding the ship.

Florian is a historian and a former politician of the Polish Labour Party; Michał is a sociologist and communist activist; Tymoteusz is a two-time world kickboxing champion.

[30][31] She declares her knowledge of classical languages (Latin, Greek) and English, Russian and French, as well as the ability to communicate in German and Italian.

[32] In 2008, she won the University-In-Exile Award from New School for Social Research in New York,[33] in recognition of her contribution to the struggle for women's rights in Poland and internationally.

[33] For active support of international cooperation and chairing the Polish-Greek parliamentary group, the Government of the Hellenic Republic awarded Wanda Nowicka the Order of Honor of the second class at the rank of Grand Commander.