Szamotulska was born and lived in Warsaw for most of her life. In the interwar period, she studied piano at the Warsaw Conservatory (now Fryderyk Chopin University of Music) with teachers and Marcelina Kimont-Jacynowa. After graduation, she worked as an accompanist at her alma mater. Following the invasion of Poland in 1939, she performed at clandestine concerts. After the conclusion of the war in 1945 she obtained the position of accompaniment class director at the PWSM in Kraków, which she held until 1965. In 1948, she performed in the premiere of Witold Lutosławski's "Two Children's Songs", with Irena Wiskida.