Sarafina

Sarafina is a minor character from The Lion King. She is the mother of Nala, and the maternal grandmother of Kion and Kiara.

Background
Sarafina is a minor character in the film, making few appearances and having only one spoken line.

Little of her past is known, though she mated with an unnamed lion with whom she had a daughter named Nala. However, as Nala is stated to be betrothed to Simba as part of a long-standing tradition, she would have presumably agreed to the betrothal at some point.

The Lion King
Sarafina is first seen sleeping with the other lionesses inside Pride Rock with Nala in her paws as Simba arrives to wake up Mufasa.

She is then seen later that day bathing Nala while visiting Sarabi. When Nala asks for permission to accompany Simba to the watering hole, she asks Sarabi for her opinion. When Sarabi gives her permission, Sarafina agrees and allows the two cubs to go.

She later appears along with Sarabi, Nala, Zazu and the rest of the pride mourning as Scar tells them that both Mufasa and Simba had perished in a stampede. Sarafina and the pride watch in horror as Scar allows hyenas into the Pride Lands after becoming King. After that, she hasn't made an appearance.

The Lion King: Six New Adventures
Sarafina makes an appearance in the book Nala's Dare, which is part of The Lion King: Six New Adventures series. In the book, she along with a young rogue lion named Ni, rescue Nala and her friends Kula and Chumvi from hyenas. She later introduces Ni, who had been driven from his pride to the rest of the Pride Land lions.

Simba's Big Secret
After Nala goes missing, a worried Sarafina asks Simba if he has seen her. Not wanting to give away Nala's secret, Simba replies that he hasn't seen her.

However, after some coaxing from Sarabi, Simba tells Sarafina that Nala went to a secret cave near the red cliffs. Sarafina, Simba, Sarabi and the rest of the pride goes to search for Nala and discover her trapped inside the cave. After being rescued, Nala goes to Sarafina and promises not to go anywhere without telling someone again.

Trivia

 * In the Broadway show in "Chow Down", Shenzi tells Banzai that Nala's mom (Sarafina) ate Banzai's dad.
 * In early drafts to The Lion King, Sarafina (besides having Nala) had a son named Mheetu.
 * Her name is not stated in the film, and is only known from being listed in the film credits.
 * She appears to resemble Nala as an adult, possessing the same eyes and a similarly colored body.

Gallery
Sarafina