diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/animation.py b/lib/matplotlib/animation.py
index 7146dc28fcc9..a2bf6378f229 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/animation.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/animation.py
@@ -878,12 +878,17 @@ class Animation:
         Whether blitting is used to optimize drawing.  If the backend does not
         support blitting, then this parameter has no effect.
 
+    start_paused : bool, default: False
+        Whether the animation should start in a paused state. If True, the
+        animation will draw the initial frame but will not begin animating
+        until `.resume()` is called.
+
     See Also
     --------
     FuncAnimation,  ArtistAnimation
     """
 
-    def __init__(self, fig, event_source, blit=False):
+    def __init__(self, fig, event_source, blit=False, start_paused=False):
         self._draw_was_started = False
 
         self._fig = fig
@@ -891,6 +896,7 @@ def __init__(self, fig, event_source, blit=False):
         # allows users to request it if available, but still have a
         # fallback that works if it is not.
         self._blit = blit and fig.canvas.supports_blit
+        self._start_paused = start_paused
 
         # These are the basics of the animation.  The frame sequence represents
         # information for each frame of the animation and depends on how the
@@ -933,8 +939,10 @@ def _start(self, *args):
         self._fig.canvas.mpl_disconnect(self._first_draw_id)
         # Now do any initial draw
         self._init_draw()
-        # Actually start the event_source.
-        self.event_source.start()
+        # Do not start the timer if the animation was requested to start
+        # in a paused state; the user must call .resume() manually.
+        if not self._start_paused:
+            self.event_source.start()
 
     def _stop(self, *args):
         # On stop we disconnect all of our events.
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_animation.py b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_animation.py
index bfddddf6d665..a08c6b3ef2b5 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_animation.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_animation.py
@@ -558,3 +558,51 @@ def test_animation_with_transparency():
     # Check that the alpha channel is not 255, so frame has transparency
     assert frame.getextrema()[3][0] < 255
     plt.close(fig)
+
+
+def test_animation_start_paused():
+    """Test that Animation(start_paused=True) starts in a paused state."""
+    from unittest.mock import patch
+
+    def _make_anim(fig, **kwargs):
+        line, = fig.axes[0].plot([], [])
+
+        def init():
+            line.set_data([], [])
+            return line,
+
+        def animate(i):
+            line.set_data([0, 1], [0, i])
+            return line,
+
+        return animation.FuncAnimation(
+            fig, animate, init_func=init, frames=5, interval=100, **kwargs)
+
+    # start_paused=True: event_source.start() should NOT be called in _start
+    fig1, _ = plt.subplots()
+    anim1 = _make_anim(fig1, start_paused=True)
+    with patch.object(anim1.event_source, 'start',
+                      wraps=anim1.event_source.start) as mock_start:
+        anim1._start()
+        mock_start.assert_not_called()
+    plt.close(fig1)
+
+    # start_paused=False (default): event_source.start() SHOULD be called
+    fig2, _ = plt.subplots()
+    anim2 = _make_anim(fig2)
+    with patch.object(anim2.event_source, 'start',
+                      wraps=anim2.event_source.start) as mock_start2:
+        anim2._start()
+        mock_start2.assert_called_once()
+    plt.close(fig2)
+
+    # start_paused=True then resume(): start() should be called
+    fig3, _ = plt.subplots()
+    anim3 = _make_anim(fig3, start_paused=True)
+    with patch.object(anim3.event_source, 'start',
+                      wraps=anim3.event_source.start) as mock_start3:
+        anim3._start()
+        mock_start3.assert_not_called()
+        anim3.resume()
+        mock_start3.assert_called_once()
+    plt.close(fig3)