'I Was Mauled by a Lion': Jodie Foster Was Left With Puncture Wounds After Being 'Shook Around' by Massive Animal's Mouth on Movie Set
Jodie Foster returned to work with the lion after she was mauled by the animal on a movie set.
Jan. 6 2026, Published 3:30 p.m. ET
Jodie Foster has revealed she was "mauled by a lion" and left with puncture wounds in a terrifying incident on a movie set, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
In a new interview, the Silence of the Lambs star detailed the harrowing ordeal.
Jodie Foster's Lion Incident Revealed
Foster detailed how a lion attacked her while filming 'Napoleon and Samantha' in 1972.
When talking about the incident, which happened while filming the 1972 film Napoleon and Samantha, Foster confirmed she was "mauled by a lion."
"I was 8 and a half or 9 years old, and the lion picked me up, shook me around, moved me horizontally, and then dropped me," she shared. "So I had two perfect puncture wounds on one side and then two perfect punctures on the other hip."
As for when it occurred, she detailed it was "during a movie" but "after the shot was over."
Jodie Foster Was 'In Shock' After a Lion Mauled Her
The camera crew ran once the lion placed the actress in its mouth.
Even though she was a child, Foster recalls being "in shock" and doesn't "really remember that much."
"But when the lion picked me up, I saw the whole camera crew run," she revealed. "Then the trainer said, 'Drop it,' and the lion dropped me out of his mouth."
Foster was taken to a hospital and, once she got out, she returned to work with the lion again.
"I think that was the scariest thing that has happened to me when I was making a movie," she added.
Foster wavers between getting bored not being on movie sets and feeling like she wants her 'ordinary life.'
While being in the mouth of a lion rattled the Oscar winner, Foster detailed she's content being on the sets of films.
"I like my creative cycle: I like living my life – taking out the garbage and that kind of stuff," she explained. "Then I start to get itchy, and I become obsessed with making a film.
"That's when I get up at three in the morning because I have to be at work at four. Then I get resentful that all my time has been taken by the film. By the time I get to the wrap party, I just want the thrill of ordinary life again. And then I get bored again."
While she enjoys the industry, Radar recently revealed she is "determined" for her son not to be a nepo baby and refuses to "give him a leg up in Hollywood."
Foster's Sons Get No Help From Her
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Jodie Foster told her son Charlie she won't 'use her clout' to help his career.
While Charlie studied drama at Yale University, he has had two roles to date.
"Jodie told Charlie early on that she wasn't going to use her clout to prop up his career," an insider claimed. "She feels as if he doesn't truly earn success; it will ultimately be meaningless to him."
The source explained Charlie doesn't agree with her approach.
"Charlie says that his grandmother gave his mom direction and helped her receive breaks – from getting her TV roles in the '70s, right up to her winning the Academy Award for The Silence of the Lambs," they shared. "He tells his mom that's what families do – help each other realize their dreams."
Regardless of his stance, the source noted Foster has been clear that she wants Charlie and his brother, Kit, to figure out their way in the world without her help.
"Charlie is resigned to a fate where his career will never climb anywhere near as high as his mother's, and it's left him fuming that she won't help change his trajectory," the insider noted. "It's definitely driven a wedge between them."
