The “Silence of the Lambs” actor said that she has “two perfect punctures” on each side of her body from the attack: “I have many scars.”

Jodie Foster still has scars from being mauled by lion as a child actor: ‘Scariest thing that ever happened to me’

The "Silence of the Lambs" actor said that she has "two perfect punctures" on each side of her body from the attack: "I have many scars."

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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January 19, 2026 11:00 a.m. ET

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Jodie Foster in Paris on Nov. 20, 2025. Credit:

Marc Piasecki/WireImage

- Jodie Foster was "mauled by a lion" on the set of *Napoleon and Samantha* in 1972.

- The actress said that she has "two perfect punctures" on each side of her body from the lion's teeth.

- She added, "That was probably the scariest thing that ever happened to me when I was making a movie."

Jodie Foster is reflecting on a terrifying encounter with a lion on the set of her first film.

The *Silence of the Lambs *star recalled being attacked by a massive feline costar while shooting *Napoleon and Samantha*, a 1972 Disney movie that marked her big-screen debut.

"I have many scars," Foster told *W* in a video interview. "I was mauled by a lion when I was eight-and-a-half or nine. The lion picked me up, shook me around, moved me horizontally, and then dropped me. I had two perfect punctures on one side and then two perfect punctures on the other, on my hip."

Jodie Foster and Johnny Whitaker in 'Napoleon and Samantha'.

Courtesy Everett Collection

Foster said that the attack wasn't picked up by any cameras on set.

"No, it was not filmed," she remembered. "It was after the shot was over. I was in shock, so I don't really remember that much."

The film starred Johnny Whitaker as Napoleon, a young boy who embarks on a journey with a lion, a rooster, and his friend Samantha (Foster). Michael Douglas also appeared in the movie in a supporting role.

Foster said that most of the *Napoleon and Samantha *crew wasn't particularly courageous as she found herself in the lion's jaws.

"He picked me up, and then he moved me sideways and shook me around, and so, as he turned me back and towards the whole camera crew, I saw the whole camera crew run — except sideways," she said. "So, I saw them running sideways, taking all their equipment with them, just like, running away from me."

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However, the animal wrangler on set eventually defused the situation.

"I guess the trainer said, ‘Drop it,’ and the lion dropped me out of his mouth," Foster said. "I think that was probably the scariest thing that ever happened to me when I was making a movie. I'm not sure I had time for fear, honestly."

John Ortega, Arch Johnson, Jodie Foster, and Michael Douglas in 'Napoleon and Samantha'.

Courtesy Everett Collection

The actress also said that she had to continue working with the same lion after she recovered from the attack.

"After I got out of the hospital, and it was deemed I was okay to work and everything, I went back to work with the same lion, but I was carrying a rooster," she said. "And the rooster was not used to working with this particular lion. And I saw the lion turn his head and kind of go like this, like maybe he was going to approach me or something, and I threw the rooster, and I ran. I think that's probably a scarier moment."

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Foster's latest film is *A Private Life*, a French-language thriller that also stars Daniel Auteuil, Virginie Efira, Mathieu Amalric, and Vincent Lacoste, now in theaters.**

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