When Melanie Griffith kept a lion as her pet!

Yes, you heard that right! Melanie Griffith"s house once had a very special pet - The 'King of the Jungle', a lion!

The Griffith family had a lion as a pet when Melanie, who is now 57, was just 14. She lived at the Sherman Oaks, California-home of her mother, actress Tippi Hedren, and her stepfather at the time, Noel Marshall.

The amazing pictures of the star and her famed mother with the lion were originally published in Life magazine. The pictures have now resurfaced.

The images, that date back to 1971, show the teenaged Melanie taking a nap with the animal on her bed and even playing with him in a swimming pool. Her mom is also seen bonding with the giant jungle cat in some pictures.

The lion was named Neil after Melanie parents had starred the in the film "Roar" they had made along with Griffith"s whole family.

The pictures taken by LIFE photographer Michael Rougier makes it quite clear that Neil lived just like a family member at their home.

One picture shows Griffith curling up in her bed with Neil, who"s covered up in a red blanket.

Author: Shweta
Member since September 2014
Shweta is the spark of our office. She ensures there is smile on everyone’s face and that includes pets. She has a pug that comes with her to the office. Apart from the office work she manages to feed Honey (her pug), plays with him and makes a courier boy out of him for official use. She knows instantly what is ailing him and this reflects in her articles as well. In her articles she talks about how pets feel when scolded and trained and how to manage them with emotions all intact. She also is an avid traveler and the pug travels with her too, so she knows about the difficulties of travelling with a pet and how to overcome them. She is the twinkle of our eye like Honey is of hers.