Carole Baskin

Carole Baskin is an American animal rights activist and the founder and chief executive officer of Big Cat Rescue, a nonprofit big-cat sanctuary near Tampa, Florida.

Carole Baskin is an American animal rights activist and the founder and chief executive officer of Big Cat Rescue, a nonprofit big-cat sanctuary near Tampa, Florida. She became widely known to the public through the 2020 Netflix docuseries Tiger King and later appeared on Dancing with the Stars. Her work has focused on opposing private ownership and commercial use of big cats.

Early life

Carole Baskin was born in Texas in 1961. Public biographical sources identify her birth name as Carole Ann Stairs, later Carole Stairs Jones.

Big Cat Rescue

Baskin is best known for founding and leading Big Cat Rescue, which began as a sanctuary for rescued exotic cats and became a prominent animal-welfare organization. The group has also campaigned against private ownership and cub-petting operations.

Tiger King and public profile

Baskin was thrust into mainstream attention through Tiger King in 2020, which depicted her conflict with zoo operator Joe Exotic. The series made her a widely recognized figure in reality television and true-crime media.

Television appearances

In addition to Tiger King, Baskin competed on Dancing with the Stars in 2020. Her public image has since remained closely associated with both animal advocacy and reality-TV notoriety.