- Born
- Died
- Birth nameMaria Pierangeli
- Maria Luisa Pierangeli and her twin sister Anna Maria were born in Sardinia, Italy. They were fraternal twins with different personalities as well. Anna Maria was dreamy and innocent; Maria Luisa was independent and studious. They moved to Rome in the late 1940s. In 1948 their lives changed when director Vittorio De Sica cast Anna in Tomorrow Is Too Late (1950). In 1950 the family moved to Hollywood, where Anna Maria changed her name to Pier Angeli.
Marisa was not interested in acting, but was cast by John Ford in What Price Glory (1952) starring James Cagney. She changed her last name to Pavan, the name of a Jewish officer her family had hidden from the Nazis during World War 2. Marisa signed a contract with Fox, but was relieved when it was broken. She wanted a wider choice of roles than her sister. Pavan's performance in The Rose Tattoo (1955) supporting Italian icon Anna Magnani, earned her a nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
She lost interest in Hollywood while filming Solomon and Sheba (1959). She remembered it as a bad experience, and not just because costar Tyrone Power died during the filming. Pavan turned her attention to television in the 1960s. She and husband Jean-Pierre Aumont toured America and Europe in plays and musicals, including "Gigi". Later in France, she returned to film.
As of 2018, Pavan lives in the South of France. Marisa is the founder and director of URMA (Unis pour la Recherche sur la Maladie d'Alzheimer), an organization she created to support research working to find treatments for Alzheimer's.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Mlle Wackjob
- SpousesJean-Pierre Aumont(May 2, 1969 - January 30, 2001) (his death)Jean-Pierre Aumont(March 27, 1956 - October 18, 1963) (divorced, 2 children)
- Children
- ParentsLuigi PierangeliEnrichetta Romiti
- RelativesPier Angeli(Sibling)Patty Villiers(Niece or Nephew)Aruna Villiers(Niece or Nephew)Mara Villiers(Niece or Nephew)Patricia Pierangeli(Sibling)
- 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.".
- "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.
- 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.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content