Natasha Pavlovich

Natasha Pavlovich is a Serbian-American business woman and Hollywood actress. She is a former model who participated and won in beauty pageants.[2] Pavlovich represented Yugoslavia in the Miss Universe 1991 competition where she reached the semifinals.[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][6][7]

This article is about the actress. For the mathematician, see Nataša Pavlović.
Natasha Pavlovich
Born
Nataša Pavlović

14 March 1968
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
SpouseJoe Lara[1] Partner/Fiancé
Children1
Beauty pageant titleholder
Hair colorBrown
Eye colorBrown
Major
competition(s)		Miss Beverly Hills, CA. USA 1989
(Winner)
Miss California USA 1990
(Finalist)
Miss Yugoslavia 1991
(Winner)
Miss Universe 1991
(semifinals)
Websitewww.natashapavlovich.com

Background

Pavlovich was born in Yugoslavia and raised in Popovi, a village in the Bijeljina municipality of Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.[8][2] She is a descendant of the Pavlovic noble family.[8] During her childhood, her family relocated to Chicago, USA. She subsequently moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue an acting career.[2][8] Pavlovich completed her studies in the English Language at the University of California, Los Angeles.[2][9][10] She has a daughter with longtime partner and ex-fiancé Joe Lara.[1][11]

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.[12][10] 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 pageant held in Las Vegas, progressing to the semifinals.[13][8][10]

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,[14] as well as roles on Judging Amy,[14] Nip/Tuck,[13][15] Cybill,[14] JAG (TV series),[8] and The Agency (2001 TV series). After her work on the Paramount Studios show, Wings, Disney/NBC Studios cast her in a regular role in the series Pride and Joy[14][15] 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.[14] She had a regular role in the Serbian drama series Gorki Plodovi (Bitter Fruit in Serbian), playing an ophthalmologist.[16][17]

In a documentary series helmed by acclaimed director Marina Zenovich and produced by Campfire Films, Nile Cappello,[18] with Co-Executive production by Chrissy Teigan, Pavlovich provides her account of her relationship with Joe Lara, his marriage to Gwen Shamblin Lara, and the subsequent legal dispute between Pavlovich and Lara over the custody of their daughter.[4][6][19][20]

In 2015, Lara petitioned the court for sole custody of their daughter, alleging that Pavlovich had sexually abused the child. The court, however, found these accusations to be baseless.[21] The custody trial began in 2016, with Pavlovich representing herself.[4][21] In 2020, the court granted both parties equal custody of their daughter. Following Lara's death in 2021, Pavlovich was awarded full custody and all decision-making rights.[21]

The 2021 Percy Priest Lake Cessna Citation crash, which resulted in the deaths of Pavlovich's ex-fiancé Joe Lara, his wife Gwen Shamblin Lara, and five other passengers associated with the Remnant Fellowship church, drew significant media attention to Pavlovich.[6][4][5][7] 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 received vague information regarding her daughter's location. She was eventually reunited with her daughter at a gathering point for children who had lost parents in the crash.[5]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1992 Quantum Leap Marina Oswald TV series (season 5) [22]
1992 The Naked Truth Miss Bolivia Comedy
1992-1993 Down the Shore Marishka Sitcom TV Series
1993 Son of the Pink Panther Rima Comedy
1993 Martial Outlaw Mia Antonova Martial arts film
1995 Pride and Joy Katya TV Series
1995 Cybill Marina TV Series
1995-1998 JAG (TV series) Lieutenant Dumai/Rusza TV Series
1997-1999 Night Man (TV series) Petra TV Series
2001-2002 The Agency (2001 TV series) Tanja / Tanja (segment "Deadline") TV Series
2004 Judging Amy Claire Swaime TV Series
2004 Nip/Tuck Hannah TV Series
2008-2009 Bitter Fruits Dr. Pavlovic TV Series
2013 Space Warriors Russian Tech #1 Science fiction
2021 The Way Down (TV series) Herself Documentary

References
  1. Sauber, Elaina (April 3, 2018). "Williamson parents allege judicial misconduct, say access to juvenile court recordings needed". Tennessean.
  2. "A Serbian woman in space (Original in Bosnian: "Srpkinja u svemiru"". RTS. 2009-12-11.
  3. "Media". Press links.
  4. Burnett, Kadin (2022-04-28). "Joe Lara's Ex From The Way Down Recalled Her Fears After The Plane Crash". Bustle.
  5. Finley, Jeremy (2021-11-05). "911 call reveals frantic search to determine if pilot's daughter was on board before crash". News 3 Channel.
  6. Mitchell, Molli (2022-04-29). "Who Was Gwen Shamblin's husband Joe Lara? Meet the 'Tarzan' Actor". Newsweek.
  7. Horton, Adrian (2021-09-29). "This is a cult: inside the shocking story of a religious weight-loss group". The Guardian.
  8. "Who Is Natasha Pavlovich From The Way Down On HBO MAX?". HITS. 30 September 2021.
  9. "Srpska Lepotica Vozi " MIG-25 "". Serbian Diaspora Magazine. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
  10. Vujanić, Dejan (2009-12-14). "Nataša Pavlović, prva Srpkinja u svemiru". Glas Srpske.
  11. Ferrier, Dennis (2018-05-01). "Ferrier Files:Williamson Country Juvenile Court judge under fire". FOX 17.
  12. "Srpska Lepotica Vozi " MIG-25 "". Serbian Diaspora Magazine. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
  13. "Od manekenke do astronauta". vesti.
  14. "Natasha Pavlovich". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  15. Holden, Henry M. (2009-05-01). "Natasha Pavlovich: Future Astronaut". Airport Journals. Retrieved 2018-01-26.
  16. Čule, M. (29 January 2008). "Nataša u seriji "Gorki plodovi"". Blic (in Serbian). Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  17. Čule, Milica (16 March 2008). "Švarceneger mi pomaže". Blic (in Serbian). Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  18. "The choppy cult docuseries The Way Down can't keep up with a story that's still in progress". AV Club. 4 October 2021.
  19. Pasquini, Maria (2021-10-01). "Everything to Know About Gwen Shamblin, the Late Diet Guru Chronicled in HBO Max's The Way Down". People.
  20. Fetters, Ashley (2022-04-29). "4 takeaways from the new season of church scandal series 'The Way Down'". The Washington Post.
  21. Prajwal (2022-07-17). "Joe Lara and Natasha Pavlovich Fought in Court for Their Daughter". hollywoodmask.
  22. "A Quantum Leap into JFK's History". STAR. 8 September 1992. p. 39.
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