Tilly Bébé, die berühmte Löwenbändigerin
Mathilde Rupp (Artist)
»Tilly Bébé« wears a white dress with flounces, has dark curly hair and looks like a nice young lady. She cuddles up to her lions contentedly, embracing them and kissing them as though they were stuffed animals. All of a sudden, she prises open their mouths and presents the teeth glittering so dangerously … and laughs into the camera.
Mathilde Rupp (Artist)
Mathilde Rupp was born 1879 in Austria. Her love of animals led her to take a job at the vivarium in Vienna’s Prater Park. It was from there that »Comtesse X« subsequently took her to the zoo in Bonn, Germany, coached her as an animal trainer and renamed her »Tilly Bébé«. After the death of her mentor, she took over the 12 lions and-starred in renowned circuses and famous variety theatres such as the Wintergarten in Berlin and the Varieté Ronacher in Vienna.
