Trivia

Had a hit record overseas in 1974 with a French-language version of Burt Bacharach's "Green Grass Starts to Grow" and sang with her husband, Jean-Pierre Aumont, in a supper club act that toured the United States, Canada and Mexico in the 60s.

Docile foreign actress known for her gentle, understated roles won the Golden Globe and was Oscar-nominated for her supporting turn in The Rose Tattoo (1955).

Of her sister Pier Angeli, Pavan said: "The studios made her be like what they wanted her to be like, but from this moment on, it was not my sister I had in front of me anymore. She had become a studios' product.".

In 1956, she accepted the Oscar for "Best Actress in a Leading Role" on behalf of her The Rose Tattoo (1955) co-star Anna Magnani , who wasn't present at the awards ceremony.

"I was quite demanding. When I didn't like a role, I refused it. When I didn't like an agent, I refused him too. I was going to live my life as I wanted!" - about her Hollywood career.

As of 2020 she is the seventh earliest surviving recipient of a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination, behind only Angela Lansbury, Ann Blyth, Nancy Olson, Lee Grant, Terry Moore (I), and Eva Marie Saint. She was nominated in 1955 for The Rose Tattoo (1955).

Studied at Torquado Tasso college before coming to the United States in the early '50s.

1955 Deb Star.

Died the same day as actor Jack Hogan. Both acted together in the episode 'Ambush' on the 1960s TV series Combat!. Hogan was a regular, playing Pvt. Kirby, and Marisa was a guest star.

Pavan had no dramatic training when she signed a Hollywood contract with Paramount at age 19.

Although her screen debut was in 1952 in What Price Glory, Pavan's breakthrough role came three years later, when she was cast as Anna Magnani's daughter in The Rose Tattoo. That part was initially assigned to her twin sister, but by the time production began, Angeli was unavailable for the role.

In 1985, she played Chantal Dubujak on Ryan's Hope.