Passion or Profession: Ballerina

Period: 1881–1931

It is unclear who Pavlova’s father was, but it is known that she was raised exclusively by her mother, who had little money. So it was through Pavlova’s own merit that she was accepted at age 10 to the prestigious Imperial Ballet. Rather than joining a large company after graduation, Pavlova decided to tour independently with small groups, exposing remote parts of the world to classical Russian ballet.