Born in Saint-Jean-de-Luz in 1931, Jacques was the son of architect André Pavlovsky and Yvonne Longi. He studied at the Beaux-Arts de Paris and subsequently the École de photographie et de cinéma.[2] After serving in the Algerian War, he moved to Paris and joined the Rapho news agency, directed by Raymond Grosset [fr]. During this time, he began to pursue press photography within the agency, covering French politics, May 68, the death of Charles de Gaulle, and the election of Georges Pompidou.[citation needed]
In April 1974, Pavlovsky joined the Sygma photo agency at the invitation of Hubert Henrotte [fr].[2] He met numerous popular reporters at this time, such as Henri Bureau [fr], Alain Keler [fr], Alain Noguès [fr], Jean-Pierre Laffont, William Karel, Patrick Robert [fr], and Philippe Ledru [fr]. He notably reported on the Fall of Saigon,[3] the death of Francisco Franco, the accession of Juan Carlos I, the inauguration of Saddam Hussein,[4] and the Iran–Iraq War. His reports were published in Newsweek, The Times, and Paris Match.[citation needed]
Jacques Pavlovsky died in Urrugne on 15 October 2023, at the age of 92.[5]