Kaczmarek (feminine: Kaczmarek/Kaczmarkowa, plural Kaczmarkowie) is one of the most popular surname in Poland and the 2nd most popular in Greater Poland (24,185) and Lubusz Land (3,121).
Kaczmarek, a Polish American, majored in theater at the University of Wisconsin where she met future actor Tony Shalhoub.
Kaczmarek underwent a hip replacement in April 2004, the result of a longstading case of arthritis.
In 2006, Kaczmarek and Malcolm co-star Erik Per Sullivan contributed the afterword for the children's book Together, that shows the importance of livestock in the world, and was inspired by the mission of the nonprofit charitable organization Heifer International.
Kaczmarek entered GSLIS in the fall of 1997 and continued to run Armadillo while she took classes part-time.
In 2001 Kaczmarek was Project Coordinator for one of the first initiatives involving the Open Archives Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH)—a project focused on aggregating cultural heritage materials undertaken by the UIUC Library.
Kaczmarek is currently organizing a bicycle ride to benefit women's shelters in both Champaign-Urbana and New Orleans.