Long before social media made cat photos a daily ritual, Hollywood’s biggest stars were already devoted to their feline companions. From Golden Age actresses to rock legends, cats found their way into the homes, laps, and hearts of some of the most famous people of the 20th century. These photos capture genuine moments between celebrities and their cats — some candid, some staged by studios, all of them charming. Hollywood studios in the 1930s and 1940s sometimes used cats as props to soften the public image of their biggest stars. Posing a tough leading man with a kitten sent a clear message to fans. But many of these relationships went far beyond a studio photo shoot. Stars named their cats, traveled with them, and treated them as full members of the household.
Ava Gardner was one of the biggest stars of the 1940s, known for roles in films like “The Killers” and “Mogambo.” Off screen, she had a well-known love of animals, and her Siamese cat was a fixture in her personal life during that decade. Siamese cats were a popular breed among celebrities of this era — sleek, vocal, and undeniably photogenic.
Anthony Perkins, best known for playing Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” (1960), had a much gentler side at home. His Siamese cat, Banjo, appeared in multiple photos from the 1950s. The image of Perkins sharing his ice cream cone with Banjo stands out as one of the more endearing celebrity-cat moments of the decade. Bette Davis, another titan of that era, had her own feline companion.
The 1922 photo of Bette Davis at age 14 with a cat offers a rare look at the future legend before Hollywood came calling. Two decades later, she was photographed with a kitten named Lonesome in 1943 — by then a two-time Academy Award winner. Betty Grable, Davis’s contemporary and one of the highest-paid entertainers of the 1940s, had her own memorable cat moment from an earlier point in her career.
Clark Gable, voted “The King of Hollywood” by studio executives in 1938, lived on a 22-acre ranch in the San Fernando Valley. Ranch life suited him well, and cats were part of that picture. He and his wife Carole Lombard, one of Hollywood’s great comedic actresses, kept Siamese cats together at their San Fernando Valley home before Lombard’s tragic death in a 1942 plane crash.
Cary Grant was photographed walking his Siamese cat through Beverly Hills in 1955 — a scene that felt perfectly suited to the effortlessly stylish actor. Elizabeth Taylor, another Beverly Hills resident and one of the most photographed women of the 20th century, owned a Siamese cat named Coffee and was famously photographed with a cat during a trip back from Russia in 1961, signing an autograph with one hand while stroking a stray cat with the other.
Fred Astaire, the legendary dancer and actor, owned a Siamese cat named Carlyle in the early 1960s. Two separate photos from 1962 show Astaire pointing at Carlyle and then with the cat draped across his shoulder — a casual image that contrasted sharply with his polished on-screen persona. James Dean, who died in a car crash in September 1955, owned a cat named Marcus that Elizabeth Taylor had given him as a gift.
Freddie Mercury was one of the most devoted cat owners in rock history. He owned multiple cats throughout his life and even dedicated his 1985 solo album “Mr. Bad Guy” to them. His cat Tiffany was among his most cherished companions. Fellow rock star George Harrison of The Beatles was also photographed with his cat Corky at his home, Kinfauns, in Surrey, England in 1965.
Greta Garbo, who famously retreated from Hollywood in 1941 and lived as a recluse, was photographed with a cat at Cecil Beaton’s English country home in 1951. Ingrid Bergman, captured in two separate photos — one on a film set at Elstree in England in 1958 and another from the 1940s — showed equal warmth toward her feline companions. Bergman won three Academy Awards during her career and was filming “Inn of the Sixth Happiness” at Elstree at the time of the 1958 photo.
Janis Joplin was photographed with her cat at her home in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco in 1967 — the same year the Summer of Love transformed that part of the city. Joan Fontaine, the British-American actress who won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1941 for “Suspicion,” was photographed in London around 1965 with a cat. Keith Moon, the explosive drummer for The Who, was captured in a far more relaxed moment in 1970, riding in the backseat of a car with his cat.
Lauren Bacall, who made her film debut opposite Humphrey Bogart in “To Have and Have Not” in 1944, was photographed with two wide-eyed cats in the 1940s. Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, one of Hollywood’s most celebrated couples, both had deep connections to cats. Olivier was photographed at their Chelsea home with the family cat, named New, in 1946. Leigh had her own Siamese cat, called New Boy, photographed in 1940 — and the couple was also photographed together with their Siamese in the 1940s.
Marlon Brando’s love of cats is well documented in photos. A 1954 image shows him lounging on a sofa at his Los Angeles home with a cat draped across his shoulders. Another from the 1950s captures him kissing a cat. His most iconic cat moment came in 1972, when he cradled a cat on the set of “The Godfather” while in full costume as Don Vito Corleone. That cat was not written into the script — director Francis Ford Coppola spotted a stray on the Paramount lot and handed it to Brando just before filming.
Paul Newman named his cat Louis XIV — a fittingly grand name for an actor of his stature. Newman was photographed with Louis XIV at a zoo in 1956 and again in 1978, this time playing with the cat while simultaneously sewing and smoking, a remarkable display of multitasking. Robert Redford, Newman’s frequent co-star, was photographed at his Utah retreat in 1969 with the family cat curled in his lap while he read a script.
Sean Connery was photographed having a relaxed time in Marbella, Spain in September 1983, with a cat nearby. Stanley Kubrick, one of cinema’s most meticulous directors, was photographed on the set of “A Clockwork Orange” in 1972 playing with a cat between takes — a quiet contrast to the film’s intense subject matter. Steve McQueen, known for his tough on-screen roles, was captured in a softer moment with a kitten in 1963.
John Lennon was photographed with his cat in 1965, and again in 1968 with Yoko Ono at their home in Weybridge, Surrey. The Beatles as a group had a well-known connection to cats — George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and John Lennon all appear in photos with their own feline companions across different decades.
