Pavan and her fraternal twin sister, Pier Angeli, were born in 1932 in Cagliari, Sardinia, the children of Enrichetta (née Romiti) and Luigi Pierangeli, a construction engineer.

Her stage name, Pavan, was the surname of a Jewish general in the Italian Army she and her family hid during the Nazi occupation of Rome in World War II.

[3] Although her screen debut was in 1952 in What Price Glory,[4] 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.

[6] Pavan co-starred in films such as Diane (1956), The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956), The Midnight Story (1957) and John Paul Jones (1959).