Sarafina

Sarafina is a minor character from The Lion King. She is the mother of Nala.

Background
Sarafina is a minor character in the film, making few appearances and having only one spoken line. Her name is not stated in the film, and is only known from being listed in the film credits.

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. She appears to resemble Nala as an adult, possessing the same eyes and a similarly colored body.

The Lion King
Sarafina is first seen sleeping with the other lionesses inside Pride Rock with Nala in her arms as Simba arrives to wake up Mufasa. She is then seen later that day bathing Nala, while visiting Sarabi. When Nala asks to accompany Simba to the watering hole, she asks Sarabi for her opinion. When Sarabi gives the okay, Sarafina agrees and allows the two cubs to go. The rest of her appearances are cameos. She appears along with the rest of the pride as they mourn the deaths of Simba and Mufasa. Presumably, she would also appear alongside the rest of the pride during the final battle against Simba's uncle Scar and the hyenas. She also realizes it was Scar who was actually the killer of Mufasa and Simba was being framed and deceived all along, prompting her to attack the hyenas and expel them from Pride Rock, alongside Sarabi and her now-adult daughter, before witnessing Simba ascend to the throne and echoing his roar with her own.

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.