Maria was born in Warsaw. She was one of five children of the Skłodowski family. Her family was happy and supportive and valued education highly. Maria’s grandfather, Józef, was a teacher and her mother, Bronisława, worked as a headmistress of a private school for girls. Her father, Władysław, studied at the Technical University in Sankt Petersburg and worked at school. Unfortunately, her childhood was not always a bed of roses. As a result of the repressions towards the Poles during the partition, her father lost his job. Just a few moments earlier, her mother fell ill. Lack of income and the illness that devoured most of the savings led to the family’s financial instability. To earn some money, the family decided to sub-rent their rooms for students. However, these were not the only problems. When Maria was nine years old, her oldest sister Zofia died of typhus fever. Three years later, her mom passed away. This was a tragic loss for Maria.