- Was close friends with the late Princess Diana.
- As of his 70th birthday, October 12, 2005, he was the most famous living operatic tenor.
- His daughter with second wife Nicoletta is named Alice. This is pronounced the Italian way "ah-LEE-chay".
- Did not have an unlisted phone number for his US residence, as his name and number appeared in the Manhattan phone book.
- Married his assistant, Nicoletta Mantovani in 2003, who bore him twins (a boy and a girl) in January 2003. Unfortunately, due to complications at the time of birth, only one child survived, daughter Alice. He also has three grown-up children with his first wife Adua.
- Married his longtime partner Nicoletta in a song-filled ceremony held in the main theater of the tenor's hometown, northern Italy.
- On March 9, 2005, he was admitted to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York to repair two vertebrae in his neck. He was discharged two days later after the routine operation.
- In December 2004, he announced a 40 city farewell tour. On February 10, 2006, Pavarotti sang his signature aria "Nessun Dorma" at the 2006 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony in Turin, Italy.
- His three adult daughters by his first wife Adua are Giuliana Pavarotti, Lorenza Pavarotti and Cristina Pavarotti.
- Became a teacher and then an insurance salesman. The latter job allowed him to take voice lessons.
- Mentioned in the song "Mope" by the rap rock band Bloodhound Gang, along with personalities like The Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur, Falco, Tori Spelling, Bo Jackson and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
- Had an ordinary childhood with an interest in soccer.
- He was a recipient of the John F. Kennedy Center Honors in 2001.
- Grew up in Modena with the slightly older Mirella Freni, their mothers worked together, and she was his soprano co-star in many opera performances.
- On October 27, 1997, Pavarotti received the Special Achievement Award for raising $8.2 million for the war children of Bosnia.
- Referenced in the song "Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me for Me)" by the rock band Blessid Union of Souls, along with Leonardo DiCaprio, Tyson Beckford, Robert Redford, Cindy Crawford, the character Dirty Harry, and the performances of Steve Buscemi in Thị Trấn Fargo (1996) and Jim Carrey in Người Mắc Cáp (1996).
- Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (27 December 1976), Grand-Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (5 January 1980), Knight of Grand-Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (2 June 1988), Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honour of France (unknown date), Commander of the Order of Cultural Merit of Monaco (unknown date).
- An internet humourist put an animation of Pavarotti on his website. Pavarotti is shown singing "Elephants, yeah!" with elephants dancing in the background. The sample was taken from the aria "La Donna e Mobile" in Rigoletto. Pavarotti was actually singing "E di pensier" (And her thoughts).
- Son of Fernando Pavarotti, father of Lorenza Pavarotti, Cristina Pavarotti, Giuliana Pavarotti and Alice Pavarotti.
- He was posthumously awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Live Theatre at 7065 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on August 24, 2022.
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