Irene Pavloska was born to affluent Jewish parents Pauline (née Saxe) and David Levi in Saint-Jean, Quebec, and raised in Montreal.

[3] Intermittently between 1915 and 1934 she was associated with the Chicago Civic Opera Company, beginning with her debut as Musetta in La bohème, alongside Nellie Melba as Mimì.

[3][6] Her other notable roles with the Company include Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Olga Sukarev in Fedora, Stephano in Roméo et Juliette, Meg Page in Falstaff, and Princess Clarice in the premiere of The Love of Three Oranges.

[3] Outside of Chicago, she notably played in The Firefly in Los Angeles (1921),[7] and sang the title role in the Canadian debut of Rose-Marie at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto (1925).

[12] Pavloska's romantic affair with her personal physician, Dr. Maurice Elias Mesirow, was the subject of significant media attention.