- She was a well-known Austrian lion tamer.
- Once well-known, she died forgotten and in poverty after a long illness.
- Bébé made appearances in many European capitals throughout her career with both lions and polar bears.
- Performing at the Belgian Circus Krembser, at the climax of her act she put her head inside a lion's mouth before carrying him out of the arena on her shoulders.
- Performing into her 50s, she died in Vienna in 1932.
- In 1908 it was reported that she had been mauled by a lion which laid its paws on her and was about to bite her throat during a performance in the Nymphenburger Volksgarten in Munich. She hit it on the snout and moved away, dripping with blood. It turned out it was just an act as when it was repeated a few days later, she explained to the audience: "I just couldn't let him see I was frightened of him".
- In 1913, she began performing in the colder months with a group of 20 polar bears. While performing with Carl Hagenbeck's circus in Germany, she handled a group of 40 polar bears. As with her lion performances, the press carried reports that the polar bears were docile in her care.
- Owing to her affection for her lions, she spent a lot of time with them; it was reported that she even slept with them. Her alternative lifestyle created considerable attention and led to the perception that she was in love with her animals, replacing life at home with a husband by her animals.
- Due to her diminutive stature, Bébé performed dressed in the garb of a little girl, using her doll-like appearance to contrast with the ferocity of her pride of lions.
- In 1901, she trained in Bonn, Germany at the Tierpark (animal park) with Contessa X, the stage name of the daughter of Joseph-Bertrand Abadie, who not only taught her how to work with lions but, intending to retire, sold Rupp part of her pride. It was the Contessa who gave Rupp the stage name Tilly Bébé (literally, "baby Tilly").
- By some accounts, she turned down suitors because of her love for her lions who vied for her caresses.
- Due to the erotic overtones in her act, she attracted press wherever she traveled and experienced the kind of fame that Mae West would have a decade later.
- Rupp ( Tilli Bébé) initially trained to be a typist at the Commercial Institute of Vienna. She obtained a job in a law firm but left to pursue a career caring for animals.
- She began performing with hyenas around 1897 and her father accepted her career choice, becoming her manager two years later.
- Her first performance, at the Vivarium with hyenas, was followed by a hit show in Vienna at the Varieté Ronacher with lions. Circus performing offered many opportunities that were unavailable to other women at the time and Rupp took advantage of them. She was able to choose her work, become financially independent and travel internationally.
- A master at garnering publicity, she used the press to enhance her stage persona, with stories of her demure nature and her kindness to animals.
- Against her father's wishes, she left a position in a law firm to work with snakes in the Vienna Vivarium.
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