Born in Kotor,[2] Pavićević was a 1971 graduate from Belgrade's Academy of Theatre, Film, Radio and Television.

She was a playwright and the artistic director of the Belgrade Drama Theatre, until she was let go in 1993 due to her political views.

[4] She also served as a jurist for the Belgrade International Theatre Festival, working for the organization for 20 years.

Pavićević founded the Centre for Cultural Decontamination, devoted to the creation of catharsis, in 1994;[3] it has organised more than 5,000 events, exhibitions, protests, and lectures.

[7] Pavičević received many awards including, the Otto Rene Castillo Award for Political Theater (2000); the Hiroshima Foundation Prize for Peace and Culture (2004); the Osvajanje slobode (“Winning Freedom”) prize by the Maja Maršićević Tasić Foundation (2005); Routes Award by European Cultural Foundation (2009/2010); and, from the Government of the Republic of France, the Legion of Honour (2001).