Natasha Pavlovich

Natasha Pavlovich is a Serbian-American actress, business woman, former model and beauty pageant titleholder. Pavlovich represented Yugoslavia in the Miss Universe 1991 competition where she reached the semi-finals. 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.

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

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. She serves as a spokesperson for the city of Slobomir, a town in Republika Srpska, which was founded by her aunt and uncle.

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 semi-finals.

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, as well as roles on Judging Amy, Nip/Tuck, Cybill, JAG (TV series), 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  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. She had a regular role in the Serbian drama series Gorki Plodovi (Bitter Fruit in Serbian), playing an ophthalmologist.

In a documentary series helmed by acclaimed director Marina Zenovich and produced by Campfire Films, Nile Cappello, 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.

Legal controversy and news appearance
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. The custody trial began in 2016, with Pavlovich representing herself. 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.

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. In the crash's aftermath, Pavlovich was concerned that her daughter may have been on the plane with Lara. 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.