These Photos Of A Teenage Melanie Griffith And Her Pet Lion In The 1970s Are Quite Something
The actress's family adopted the wild cat, named Neil, back in 1971.
Updated — Oct. 11, 12:04 p.m. ET:
Actress Melanie Griffith lived with a pet lion in the early 1970s when she was a teenager. And now photos have emerged of their amazing home life together.
When Griffith was a teenager, her actress mother, Tippi Hedren, and her stepfather, director Noel Marshall, decided they wanted to make a film about big cats after returning from a trip to Africa and seeing them in person. An animal trainer suggested they get to know them better by living with a lion, so they ended up taking Neil into their home.
And these are the amazing photos documenting their time together. This is a teenage Griffith hanging out with Neil in the family swimming pool in Sherman Oaks, California.
The LIFE Picture Collection/Gett Michael Rougier
And this is Neil grabbing and attempting to bite her leg as she jumps in the water.
The LIFE Picture Collection/Gett Michael Rougier
Her mother also bonded with the lion.
The LIFE Picture Collection/Gett Michael Rougier
But it wasn't just the pool Neil was allowed to spend time in, as these photos, which first appeared in Life magazine, show.
The LIFE Picture Collection/Gett Michael Rougier
Here's Griffith lying in bed with him in May 1971.
The LIFE Picture Collection/Gett Michael Rougier
And Hedren, who was famed for such Hitchcock movies as The Birds, using him as a cushion as she reads a newspaper.
The LIFE Picture Collection/Gett Michael Rougier
They even play-wrestled on the living-room rug.
The LIFE Picture Collection/Gett Michael Rougier
And also combined the two.
The LIFE Picture Collection/Gett Michael Rougier
They let Neil into the kitchen.
The LIFE Picture Collection/Gett Michael Rougier
Like so.
The LIFE Picture Collection/Gett Michael Rougier
As if it were the most normal thing in the world.
The LIFE Picture Collection/Gett Michael Rougier
And even Marshall's study wasn't safe.
The LIFE Picture Collection/Gett Michael Rougier
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The LIFE Picture Collection/Gett Michael Rougier
Hedren later started The Roar Foundation, a preserve in California where the lion could live, with the goal at educating on "the dangers of private ownership of exotic animals."
But the family's life with lions did hit a speed bump, when Griffith was hurt after her face was attacked by a lioness on the set of the movie Roar.
The whole family appeared in the film, which took 11 years to make, with Griffith playing the on-screen daughter.
