Growing up in Bendigo, Victoria, Pauline is a proud First Nations woman.

Pauline Pearce was born in 1971 in Bendigo, Victoria. Pauline studied at NAISDA Dance College for five years, spending her three-month secondment with Dance North in Townsville, Queensland. She also spent a year studying dance at the University of Western Sydney.

Pauline is a Founding Member of Mimarr, a women's dance group based in Sydney's western suburbs. Its four core members share an enthusiasm for Indigenous contemporary dance, and the experience of being mothers of young children. 'Mimarr' is the Yirrkala community's word for a turtle's resting place. Pauline joined Bangarra Dance Theatre in 2000, performing in the world premiere season of Skin.