Natasha Pavlovich is a Serbian-American actress, business woman, former model and beauty pageant titleholder.[2] Pavlovich represented Yugoslavia in the Miss Universe 1991 competition where she reached the semi-finals.[3] She also appeared in various films and national prime time television shows. Recently, Pavlovich was featured in the HBO Max docuseries, The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin.[4][5]
She serves as a spokesperson for the city of Slobomir, a town in Republika Srpska, which was founded by her aunt and uncle.[2]
Career
Beauty pageants
In 1989, Pavlovich won the title of Miss Beverly Hills. She was crowned Miss Yugoslavia in 1991, later representing the country in the Miss Universe 1991 pageant held in Las Vegas, progressing to the semi-finals.[9][6][8]
Film and television
Starting in 1987, Pavlovich pursued professional acting in Hollywood, taking on roles in television dramas, sitcoms, and films. She has appeared in over 60 episodes of various television series, where her roles have included characters of Russian, Romanian, Iraqi, and Czech backgrounds. Noteworthy television roles include her portrayal of Marina Oswald Porter on a two-part special of Quantum Leap,[10] as well as roles on Judging Amy,[10]Nip/Tuck,[9][11]Cybill,[10]JAG (TV series),[6] and The Agency (2001 TV series). After her work on the Paramount Studios showWings (TV series) Disney/NBC Studios cast her in a regular role in the series Pride and Joy[10][11] Pavlovich also worked with director Blake Edwards on the feature film Son of the Pink Panther, and appeared in the films The Naked Truth and Space Warriors.[10] She had a regular role in the Serbian drama series Gorki Plodovi (Bitter Fruit in Serbian), playing an ophthalmologist.[12][13]
In a documentary series entitled The Way Down[14][15] helmed by acclaimed director Marina Zenovich and produced by Campfire Films, Nile Cappello,[16] with Co-Executive production by Chrissy Teigan, Pavlovich provides her account of her relationship with Joe Lara,[17] his marriage to Gwen Shamblin Lara,[18] and the subsequent legal dispute between Pavlovich and Lara over the custody of their daughter.[4][14]
Books
Pavlovich stated in September 2021 that she is currently in the process of writing a memoir.[19][20]
Personal life
Pavlovich met actor Joe Lara in 1984 and dated on an off for several years until 2015 and were briefly engaged.[21] Together they have one child, a daughter (b. 2010).[1][22]
Pavlovich holds a pilot's license and has notably co-piloted a MIG-25 to an altitude of 87,000 feet, making her the first Serbian woman to do so.[23][8][24]
Legal controversy and news appearance
In 2015, Lara petitioned the court for sole custody of their daughter.[25] The custody trial began in 2016 and Pavlovich represented herself beginning in 2019. [4][25] In 2020, the court granted both parties equal custody of their daughter but named Pavlovich primary parent with all sole decision making rights. Following Lara's death in 2021, Pavlovich became primary parent.[25]
The 2021 Percy Priest Lake Cessna Citation crash, which resulted in the deaths of Pavlovich's ex-fiancé Joe Lara Joe Lara his wife Gwen Shamblin Lara and five other passengers all members of the Remnant Fellowship church, drew significant media attention to Pavlovich.[14][4][5][15] In the crash's aftermath, Pavlovich was concerned that her daughter may have been on the plane with Lara.[4] A 911 call recorded during this period reveals Pavlovich urgently seeking information about the plane's passengers and trying to establish contact with the child's father. Despite managing to contact Lara's mother, Pavlovich was unable to get information regarding her daughter's location. She was eventually reunited with her daughter only after the Brentwood Police threatened to press kidnapping charges against a Remnant Fellowship member if her daughter was not produced.[5]
