Ela Gawin

Elżbieta Dorota Gawin-Knaga (known professionally as Ela Gawin) (born June 19, 1970) is a Polish photographer, online personality and content creator. She is most known for her controversial livestreams and photography ventures, which include accusations of intellectual property theft and an ongoing custody battle for her underage child.

Early and personal life
Elżbieta Gawin was born on June 19, 1970, in Kraków, Poland. She attended primary and secondary school (Bartłomiej Nowodworski High School) in the same city. Gawin married a pastry chef, Andrzej Knaga, in 2007, and subsequently divorced him in 2012. She has one child, a minor daughter born in 2010, and claims to have miscarried twice before the birth of her daughter.

Her father was an acclaimed Polish geophysicist, Adam Gawin; he has gained widespread attention on the internet thanks to his daughter, who frequently mentions him in her livestreams, either praising him or accusing him of various wrongdoings. This has sparked discussions about his scientific work outside of academic circles. Gawin has been dubbed "córa belwederska" (Belvedere daughter) by her fans because she often emphasizes his professorial status. In Poland, the title of professor is bestowed upon individuals with a habilitated doctorate for their exceptional scientific or artistic accomplishments. Since this title is conferred by the President of Poland, and the ceremony often occurs at the Belvedere Palace, recipients are colloquially referred to as "Belvedere professors" in informal settings.

Education
She is a graduate of Polish Studies at the Faculty of Humanities of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków (majoring in Film studies). She released a scan of her diploma online, and it was quickly discovered by her fans that she doctored the image by changing her final grade from 3 (dostateczny lit. 'satisfactory') to 5 (bardzo dobry lit. 'very good')

Photography and modelling
Gawin owned a photography atelier on the Kraków's main square, however due to cost of the rent she moved it into her private apartment. She is often criticised due to the quality of her work and some photographers accused Gawin of allegedly stealing their intellectual property and claiming pictures taken by other professionals are actually hers. Gawin also ventured into dog breeding and advertised Tatra Shepherd puppies on her website as photography props. Gawin, apart from being a photographer, worked as a photo model and a movie extra, her most notable credit being a cameo as a Jewish secretary in Schindler's List.

YouTube
Gawin has several YouTube channels, including one named after her daughter, the main one being Ela Gawin. She livestreams frequently and posts vlogs featuring her daily life; in the years past, her minor daughter was often heavily featured. Her content if often described as disturbing, since Gawin consumes alcohol during livestreams, goes into offensive tirades against police, judges, Polish justice system in general, the current political situation in Poland, and apparent "communist occupation of Poland". She often claims to be a devout Catholic and a conservative, a voter of Law and Justice political party, although she questions the Catholic dogma occasionally and has mentioned being bisexual. Gawin became a so-called lolcow, and an internet phenomenon, causing a lot of content covering her online activity being produced by other online creators.

Politics
In 2018, Gawin ran for a district councilor in the city of Kraków, receiving in total 7 votes (2.41%). In a 2024 livestream she identified herself as a nationalist.

Controversies
Gawin's daughter, Maria, was taken into protective custody in November 2022 due to Gawin featuring her excessively during livestreams and vlogs, releasing sensitive information about the child, including her private phone number, address of residence, age, PESEL number, location of her school and schedule, agreeing to allow strange men to interact with her child for money, and calling upon another YouTube personality, rapper Psychotrop, to kill both of them during a recorded phone call. Upon Gawin's temporary arrest, Janusz Hnatko, spokesman for the District Prosecutor's Office in Kraków, claimed in a statement to the media that proceedings are being conducted against Gawin in connection with online activities, i.e. a crime under article 252 par. 2 of the Polish Penal Code. These provisions state that "whoever takes or holds a hostage in order to force a state or local government body, institution, organization, a natural or legal person or a group of persons to behave in a specific manner, shall be subject to the penalty of imprisonment for a period of not less than three years." The second paragraph adds that if this act "involves particular torment of the hostage, the perpetrator shall be subject to the penalty of deprivation of liberty for a period of not less than five years or the penalty of deprivation of liberty for 25 years.”

In another phone call from 2024, Gawin admitted to purchasing alcohol and e-cigarettes for her minor daughter when the child was already under protective custody. Since mid-2022, her apartment if often raided by the police during livestreams due to Gawin causing disturbances, talking about suicidal ideation and releasing information about her minor daughter's whereabouts while in protective custody.

Gawin repeatedly reports in great detail the nuances of the custody battle, including her psychiatric evaluations, court hearings and such, describing the separation of her child from her as a punishment for being a conservative, aimed at her daughter rather than Gawin herself. A psychological evaluation of her and her ex-husband, commissioned by the District court for the city of Kraków, was leaked; in it Gawin was described as severely lacking in child-rearing skills. As of April 2024, the court proceedings remain ongoing.