Tippi Hedren

Daughter of Bernard (1893-1979) and Dorothea (née Eckhardt) Hedren (1899-1994). Both were born and raised in Minnesota.

Younger sister of Patricia "Patty" Davis (b. 1926), who gave birth to five children of her own. She named one of them Tipper, in honor of Tippi.

Her birth year has often been reported as 1935, even though she was actually born in 1930. What makes it puzzling is that there was always direct evidence to prove her correct age, since she looked like a 20-year-old, not a 15-year-old in her very first film The Petty Girl (1950) and in 1964 "Time" magazine accurately reported her age as 34, not 29.

Her first television commercial was for a cigarette brand in the early 1950s. She learned to smoke for the commercial, because she felt viewers would know if she was faking it. Her smoking habit lasted for 15 years until her daughter, Melanie Griffith--then 10 years old--came to her after a school health lecture and begged her to stop. In her 2016 memoir, she wrote that her primary reason for quitting was because smoking ages one's physical appearance.

From working for (Best Director) Alfred Hitchcock, to a movie written by (Worst Director) Edward D. Wood Jr. , Tippi Hedren, the Minnesota girl of Scandinavian descent, has had a distinctive career. She was born Nathalie Kay Hedren in New Ulm, MN, to Dorothea (née Eckhardt) and Bernard Hedren, who ran a general store. Tippi was working as a New York fashion model when she married her first husband, former actor and later advertising executive Peter Griffith, in 1952 (married until 1961).

Alfred Hitchcock discovered Tippi, the pretty cover girl, while viewing a commercial on NBC's Today (1952) show.

Aunt of Robert Hanzlik (b. 1954) via her sister Patty.

She gave birth to her only child, future star Melanie Griffith, on August 9, 1957.

Alfred Hitchcock saw her in a 1961 commercial aired during the Today (1952) show and cast her in The Birds (1963). In the commercial for a diet drink, she is seen walking down a street and a man whistles at her slim, attractive figure, and she turns her head with an acknowledging smile. In the opening scene of The Birds (1963), the same thing happens as she walks toward the bird shop. This was an inside joke by Hitchcock.

4, 1962), Hitchcock praised her; he also told the Associated Press: "Tippi Hedren is really remarkable. She's already reaching the lows and highs of terror". Her performance in the film earned her both the Golden Globe award and the Photoplay award as Most Promising Newcomer.

He put her under personal contract and cast her in The Birds (1963). In a cover article about the movie in Look magazine (Dec.

Her next film was playing the title role in Hitchcock's Marnie (1964), where she played a challenging and difficult role of a frigid, habitual thief. The film wasn't as big a hit as "The Birds," and it would take years before she won well-deserved admiration for her work. The professional relationship with Hitchcock ended with mutual bitterness and disappointment during the filming of "Marnie.

She met with Alfred Hitchcock and his wife Alma Reville for the final time in London, England, in 1966 while she was filming Charles Chaplin's last film, A Countess from Hong Kong (1967). They took her to tea at Claridge's. The atmosphere was tense because she knew Hitchcock was upset that she had been cast in what was expected to be a big film, and he was unable to hide his bitterness.

Charles Chaplin cast her in a supporting role in his final film A Countess from Hong Kong (1967), which flopped.

Turned down the starring role in Eye of the Cat (1969) which was later played by Gayle Hunnicutt.

Became friends with writer William Peter Blatty in the early 1970s and named one of her lions Billy after him. He gave her a copy of his unpublished novel "The Exorcist" and she was so absorbed reading it that she woke up her then-husband, an agent Noel Marshall, in the middle of the night and told him that he should represent Blatty in publishing the novel and the film adaptation. She took the photo of the author for the first edition novel's back jacket. The 1971 novel became a bestseller and Marshall would be credited as 'Executive Producer' for the film adaptation, also titled The Exorcist--The Version You've Never Seen Before (1973), and he was supposed to receive 15% of the profits. When the film became a blockbuster, Blatty refused to give him the agreed-upon share of profits, since he never signed the written contract, but only initiated it. Marshall sued and the lawsuit dragged on for several years, eventually resulting in an out-of-court settlement. These were trying years for Hedren and Marshall, since they needed the money to feed the big cats for their film Roar (1981), the financial stress would result in their divorce. Many years later Blatty ran into Hedren at a party and said "Hi". She walked away without acknowledging him.

At the end of shooting Mister Kingstreet's War (1971), she discovered that the big cats used in the production had no place to go and would likely languish in small cages. This prompted her to obtain a parcel of land on her own to establish a home with a natural setting for retired big cats. She named it Shambala and it exists to this day.

in 1974 (and featuring Wood regulars Maila Nurmi and Conrad Brooks, just about the only surviving members of Wood's stock company).

Many have paid small homages to her over the years. Michael O'Donoghue, one of the writers of the original Saturday Night Live (1975), praised its star Jane Curtin when he said she had "an icy Tippi Hedren quality" about her. An episode of Laverne & Shirley (1976) titled Laverne & Shirley: Night at the Awards (1981) that aired in 1981 has Lenny and Squiggy admiring a beautiful blonde and saying to each other, "That's Tippi Hedren." A Louis Vuitton ad campaign in 2006 paid tribute to Hedren and Alfred Hitchcock with a modern-day interpretation of the deserted railway station opening sequence of Marnie (1964). Her 1963 publicity picture from The Birds (1963) was the cover for Jean-Pierre Dufreigne's book, "Hitchcock Style" (2004). Naomi Watts has stated that her character interpretation in Mulholland Drive (2001) was influenced by the look and performances of Hedren and Kim Novak in Hitchcock films. Watts and Hedren later acted in I Heart Huckabees (2004) but didn't share any scenes onscreen. Off-screen, the film's director David O. Russell introduced them both, and Watts has said about Hedren, "I was pretty fascinated by her then because people have often said that we're alike." She had dressed up as Hedren's title character from "Marnie" for a photo shoot for the March 2008 issue of "Vanity Fair". In the same issue, Jodie Foster dressed up as Hedren's character, Melanie Daniels, from "The Birds". January Jones said that she "takes it a compliment of sorts" when compared to Grace Kelly and Hedren for her role in Mad Men (2007). Téa Leoni said that her character in the film The Smell of Success (2009) is made up to look like Hedren.

Thereafter, Tippi and her husband Marshall collected big cats and other wildlife for the film Roar (1981), which they starred in and produced. The film took 11 years and $17 million to make, but it only made $2 million worldwide. Nevertheless, the film was a turning point in her life; she became actively involved in animal rights, as well as a wide variety of humanitarian and environmental causes.

" That year, she married her agent, Noel Marshall (married until 1982).

She married her third husband, businessman Luis Barrenecha, in 1985 but divorced him seven years later.

Turned down a cameo role in The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) that starred her daughter Melanie Griffith, because she had just done a cameo in another film of Melanie's, Pacific Heights (1990), and didn't want to appear in all of her daughter's films, only on special occasions.

British neo-progressive band Landmarq has a song titled "Tippi Hedren" on their 1992 album "Solitary Witness".

Tippi's contributions to world cinema have been honored with Life Achievement awards in France at The Beauvais Film Festival Cinemalia 1994; in Spain, by The Fundacion Municipal De Cine in 1995; and at the Riverside International Film Festival in 2007.

She also enjoyed playing comedic roles, such as an abortion rights activist in Alexander Payne's satire Citizen Ruth (1996) and slapping Jude Law in I Heart Huckabees (2004).

She appeared in I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998), finally bringing to the big screen the last screenplay written by the late Edward D. Wood Jr.

Auditioned for the role of Janet Lee Auchincloss (Jacqueline Kennedy's mother) in the biopic Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis (2000). The people in charge of casting said she looked too young. Ironically, the role was given to Frances Fisher who is 22 years YOUNGER than Tippi.

Participated in panel at University of Illinois on "Hitchcock, Women and Terror", October 2001.

In 2002, she became engaged to veterinarian Martin Dinnes, but after six years and no wedding, the couple called it quits. Tippi has devoted much time and effort to charitable causes: she is a volunteer International Relief Coordinator for "Food for the Hungry". She has traveled worldwide to set up relief programs following earthquakes, hurricanes, famine and war, and has received numerous awards for her efforts, including the Humanitarian Award presented to her by the Baha'i Faith. As for animal causes, she is founder and president of The Roar Foundation. Onscreen, she continues to work frequently in films, theater and TV.

Is a fan of Johnny Depp and named one of her house cats after him. Even though she hasn't met him, her then son-in-law Antonio Banderas acted with him in Once Upon a Time In Mexico (2003), and her granddaughter Dakota Johnson appeared in two films with him, 21 Jump Street (2012) and Black Mass (2015).

Operates an exotic-animal sanctuary, which prompted her testimony in February 2005 in Riverside (CA) Superior Court. She made a complaint regarding animal cruelty by a tiger rescuer and was told by the US Department of Agriculture that there were not enough inspectors to respond to her complaint. She eventually made room for a lion rather than have it go to the rescuer. She stated she felt like she was walking through a trash dump.

On 1/23/2008 she attended the funeral of Suzanne Pleshette.

Sienna Miller played her in the cable movie The Girl (2012), which dealt with Tippi's three years with Alfred Hitchcock. She told Miller to play her as strong, since she rejected Hitchcock's advances, even though it meant the end of her career as a leading lady. She said she was happy with Miller's portrayal.

Dropped out of House of Good and Evil (2013) at the last minute because of illness. Her part was recast with Marietta Marich.

In her 2016 memoir, she wrote that the executives at Universal wanted to submit her name for Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Marnie (1964), but the film's director Alfred Hitchcock blocked it as a retaliatory measure for turning down his sexual advances. The Academy later awarded Hitchcock an honorary Oscar, and over the years Hedren's costars from Hitchcock's films and screen-test (Sean Connery, Jessica Tandy, Martin Balsam) won Oscars. The Academy has refused to give Hedren an honorary Oscar, in spite of her humanitarian work and animal rights activism.

Responding to a fan inquiry, she commented on Facebook in May 2017 that she's still in touch with Sean Connery. In December 2017, in a joint interview with her daughter Melanie Griffith, granddaughter Dakota and Dakota's father Don Johnson, "The Hollywood Reporter" publication asked her who her first celebrity crush was, and she replied, "Sean Connery".