Gawłowska was born in Cieszyn, a town in Cieszyn County, Silesia (then Austria-Hungary) on 6 June 1913. She was married in 1936 to Rudolf Gawłowski and gave birth to a son and a daughter, Urszula. In 1947, she and her family moved to the town of Czerwionka-Leszczyny, Silesia.

Gawłowska and her family lived in castles in Silesia. At the time of her 107th birthday, she was living with her daughter, and had one grandchild and two great-grandchildren. As a centenarian, she enjoyed solving crossword puzzles.

At the age of 110, she is the fourth-oldest living person in Poland after Józefa Ciesielska, 111, Jadwiga Żak-Stuart, 110, and Irena Siła-Nowicka, 110. She is the second supercentenarian in the history of Silesia Voivodeship after Tekla Juniewicz (1906 – 2022).