Born in Šantarovac, Yugoslavia, Lazarević was taught chess by her father at the age of fourteen and quickly became recognised as a talent in the game.

Her playing style developed to be both exciting and imaginative, although there were occasions when this caused her to overplay the position, particularly against weaker players.

Unsuccessful in the play-off with Alla Kushnir and Tatiana Zatulovskaya, she missed the chance to challenge Nona Gaprindashvili for the Women's World Championship in 1965.

Described by Sunnucks as an attractive redhead, Lazarević spent many years working as a journalist and penned articles on Garry Kasparov and Boris Spassky for the magazine New In Chess.

While her most active playing days subsided in the 1980s, she did not retire from the game altogether, participating at tournaments on a number of occasions in 2006 and 2008.