She was considered the greatest French actress of the later 19th century, and certainly was one of the best-known figures in the history of the stage. Her name was Sarah Bernhardt, and she put emotional maximalism as an acting method on the map. Today, her name is associated with being melodramatic, and you can see that in action about 35 seconds into the video below:

She was said to have kept a large menagerie of pets during her lifetime which including two Borzois, a Wolfhound, a petite tigress named, “Minette,” a lynx on a leash, a lion, a Poodle, Bullmastiff, a TMT, an Italian Greyhound, an Affenpinscher, a parrot, a monkey, three cats, several birds (including a hawk), two horses, a boa, a lynx, a wildcat, a cheetah, six chameleons, two jaguars, a puma, and two pet alligators. Oh my.

The first of her alligators, “Ali-gaga,” reportedly died after being fed too much champagne. The second was shipped during hibernation to Paris. Still asleep when it was uncrated, Bernhardt allowed her tiny Manchester Terrier to investigate. His furious barking awoke the sleeping reptile who reportedly made quick work of the dog. Devastated, the actress directed her secretary to shoot the alligator dead. Soon after, she had the alligator’s head mounted in her hallway where she would often point and say: “My beloved little dog… his tomb.”

Great actress though she may have been, a smart animal owner she wasn’t.

Trivia courtesy of Amanda Kelly