biography

Tippi Hedren Born Nathalie Kay Hedren on January 19, 1930 (some sources indicate 1935) in New Ulm, Minnesota, actress Tippi Hedren grew up in Minneapolis and gained the nickname Tippi from her Swedish father. As a teenager she began her career as a department store model, and at age 20 Hedren left Minnesota and moved to New York to model for the Eileen Ford agency. Finding considerable success as a print model, she also appeared in a number of television commercials. Hedren married first husband, Peter Griffith, in 1952, and her only child, actress Melanie Griffith, was born in August 1957. Around the time of her divorce from Griffith, she was discovered for films by director Alfred Hitchcock, who in 1961 saw her in a Sego diet drink commercial. The director soon signed her to a seven-year contract and cast her in her first film, The Birds (1963; with Rod Taylor).

Tippi HedrenTippi HedrenAlfred Hitchcock and Tippi HedrenNoel Marshall, Tippi Hedren, and Melanie GriffithTippi Hedren and Melanie GriffithTippi Hedren

LEFT: Modeling shot from 1953. CENTER: A 1955 ad. CENTER B: With Alfred Hitchcock in 1962. CENTER C: With daughter Melanie Griffith and second husband Noel Marshall at Hedren's 1964 wedding. CENTER D: With Melanie Griffith in 1974, during production of Griffith's first film Night Moves. RIGHT: Early 1990s photo

Hedren had a professional falling out with Hitchcock during the principal production of her second film, Marnie (1964; with Sean Connery and Diane Baker). Hedren begged to be released from her contract, but Hitchcock refused and did not allow her to take any acting roles. However, he had to pay her $600 per week as stipulated in her contract. He finally sold her contract to Universal in late 1965, and the studio released her shortly after the debut of Charlie Chaplin's final directorial effort A Countess from Hong Kong (1967; with Marlon Brando and Sophia Loren). She made only a few other film appearances in the following decade, including Satan's Harvest (1970; with George Montgomery), Tiger by the Tail (1970; with Christopher George), and the sexual revolution-themed The Harrad Experiment (1973; with James Whitmore and Don Johnson).

the films of tippi hedren

The Birds (1963)

Tippi HedrenTippi Hedren, Jessica Tandy, and Rod TaylorTippi HedrenTippi Hedren

Alfred Hitchcock's terrifying The Birds was Universal's top moneymaker in 1963 and the great director's last big hit film. LEFT: Hedren portrays wayward debutante Melanie Daniels. CENTER A: With Jessica Tandy and Rod Taylor. CENTER B and RIGHT: Promotional photos

Marnie (1964)

Diane Baker, Sean Connery, and Tippi HedrenTippi Hedren and Sean Connery

From Alfred Hitchcock's psychological thriller Marnie. Performing respectably at the box office but savaged by critics upon its July 1964 release, this film has gained critical stature in the last 20 years. LEFT: With Diane Baker and Sean Connery. RIGHT: With Sean Connery

A Countess from Hong Kong (1967)

Tippi Hedren and Sidney Chaplin

From Charlie Chaplin's final directorial effort A Countess from Hong Kong with Sidney Chaplin

The Harrad Experiment (1973)

Tippi HedrenTippi Hedren and Don Johnson

Based on Robert H. Rimmer's 1962 novel that was critical of monogamous relationships, The Harrad Experiment was a controversial film upon its 1973 release. LEFT: Hedren as Margaret Tenhausen, wife of Harrad College's dean. RIGHT: With co-star Don Johnson. Incidentally, Hedren was Johnson's mother-in-law for a few months in 1976 and again from 1989 to 1996

Pacific Heights (1990)

Michael Keaton and Tippi Hedren

With Michael Keaton in the 20th Century Fox thriller Pacific Heights

The Birds II: Land's End (1994)

Tippi Hedren

As shopkeeper Helen in the Showtime made-for-television film The Birds II: Land's End. Interestingly, this film was shot in North Carolina

tippi hedren today

During the production of her film Mister Kingstreet's War (1971; with John Saxon), Tippi Hedren learned that many of the animals used in the production would likely live out the remainder of their lives neglected, living in small cages. So, in 1972, she established the Shambala Reserve, a 180-acre ranch near Palmdale, California, as a haven for large cats, many of which have been orphaned; are from private individuals who wanted them as pets and can no longer take care of them; or are unwanted animals from zoos and other venues. To bring media exposure to her cause, Hedren, along with husband Noel Marshall, set out to make a film about the welfare of big cats in 1973. Taking seven years to complete, Roar (1981) was a commercial failure, only earning $2 million in its initial release. (The film was never released theatrically in the U.S..) She and Marshall divorced soon after the film's release. Hedren established the Roar Foundation in 1983 to support the Shambala Reserve. In 2006, the Shambala Reserve made headlines when it took in two tigers from Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch.

In the late 1980s Hedren returned to acting full time, tackling roles in such films as I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998; with Billy Zane), I Heart Huckabees (2004; with Jude Law), and Her Morbid Desires (2008; with McCarthy). At age 94, Hedren appears to be retired from acting. Among her three grandchildren is actress Dakota Johnson.

filmography

FILM
The Ghost and the Whale (2017) with Jonathan Pryce and Maurice Benard
Return to Babylon (2013) with Jennifer Tilly, Maria Conchita Alonso, Debi Mazar, and Ione Skye
Free Samples (2012) with Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Ritter
Jayne Mansfield's Car (2012) with Kevin Bacon, Ray Stevenson, John Hurt, Robert Duvall, and Billy Bob Thornton
Cousin Sarah (2011) with Tammin Sursok
Tribute (2009) with Brittany Murphy, Jason Lewis, and Diana Scarwid
Her Morbid Desires (2008) with Robert Loggia, Kevin McCarthy, and William Smith
Dead Write (2007) with Rachel Hunter and Robert Pine
The Boneyard Collection (2006) with Candy Clark, Brad Dourif, and Ken Foree
The Last Confederate: The Story of Robert Adams (2005) with Amy Redford and Mickey Rooney
I Heart Huckabees (2004) with Jason Schwartzman, Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin, Jude Law, Mark Wahlberg, and Naomi Watts
Mind Rage (2004) with Gina Gallego and Dennis Christopher
Raising Genius (2004) with Justin Long, Wendie Malick, Ed Begley Jr., Danica McKellar, Clint Howard, and Shirley Jones
Icemaker (2003) with Bronson Pinchot, Richard Moll, and Joan Van Ark
Rose's Garden (2003) with Noel Howard
Dark Wolf (2003) with Jaime Bergman
Searching for Haizmann (2003) with Lucas Elliot Eberl, Clint Howard, and Stephen Furst
111 Gramercy Park (2003) with Frank Langella, Peter Strauss, and Joel Grey
Julie and Jack (2003) with Jenn Gotzon
Replacing Dad (1999) with Mary McDonnell
The Darklings (1999) with Suzanne Somers, Timothy Busfield, and Martin Sheen
The Storytellers (1999) with Brad Dourif, Zach Galligan, Craig Wasson, John Bloom, and Ron Jeremy
I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998) with Billy Zane, Ron Perlman, Christina Ricci, Andrew McCarthy, and Ann Magnuson; written by Edward D. Wood Jr.
Break Up (1998) with Bridget Fonda, Kiefer Sutherland, Hart Bochner, Steven Weber, and Penelope Ann Miller
The Guardian (1997) with Thomas Ian Griffith and Harve Presnell
Citizen Ruth (1996) with Laura Dern, Swoosie Kurtz, Mary Kay Place, Kelly Preston, Kenneth Mars, David Graf, Kathleen Noone, and Burt Reynolds
Inevitable Grace (1994) with Maxwell Caulfield, Jennifer Nicholson, Samantha Eggar, Jaid Barrymore, Sandra Knight, and Andrea King
Treacherous Beauties (1994) with Emma Samms, Bruce Greenwood, and Catherine Oxenberg
The Birds II: Land's End (1994) with Brad Johnson, Chelsea Field, and James Naughton
Teresa's Tattoo (1994) with C. Thomas Howell, Nancy McKeon, Lou Diamond Phillips, k.d. lang, Mary Kay Place, Mare Winningham, Nanette Fabray, and Majel Barrett
Perry Mason: The Case of the Skin-Deep Scandal (1993) with Raymond Burr, Barbara Hale, William R. Moses, Scott Thompson Baker, Polly Bergen, Morgan Fairchild, Betsy Jones-Moreland, Patrick O'Neal, and David Warner
Through the Eyes of a Killer (1992) with Marg Helgenberger and Richard Dean Anderson
Shadow of a Doubt (1991) with Mark Harmon, Rick Lenz, Diane Ladd, and Shirley Knight
Pacific Heights (1990) with Melanie Griffith, Matthew Modine, Michael Keaton, and Laurie Metcalf
In the Cold of the Night (1990) with Marc Singer, Shannon Tweed, John Beck, and David Soul
Return to Green Acres (1990) with Eddie Albert, Eva Gabor, Alvy Moore, Mary Grace Canfield, Sid Melton, Tom Lester, Frank Cady, and Pat Buttram
Deadly Spygames (1989) with Troy Donahue
Foxfire Light (1982) with Leslie Nielsen and Barry Van Dyke
Roar (1981) with Melanie Griffith
Where the Wind Dies (1976) with John Russell, Mala Powers, and Maria De Aragon
The Harrad Experiment (1973) with James Whitmore, Don Johnson, and Bruno Kirby
Mister Kingstreet's War (1971) with John Saxon and Rossano Brazzi
Satan's Harvest (1970) with George Montgomery and Matt Monro
Tiger by the Tail (1970) with Christopher George, Dean Jagger, Glenda Farrell, Lloyd Bochner, and R.G. Armstrong
The Man and the Albatross (1969) with Suzanna Leigh
A Countess from Hong Kong (1967) with Marlon Brando, Sophia Loren, Sydney Chaplin, and Margaret Rutherford
Marnie (1964) with Sean Connery, Diane Baker, Martin Gabel, Alan Napier, Mariette Hartley, and Bruce Dern
The Birds (1963) with Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, and Veronica Cartwright

TELEVISION SERIES
Invasion America, 1998 WB Network animated TV series. Hedren voiced the character Mrs. McAllister

TELEVISION GUEST APPERANCES
Cougar Town, episode Have Love Will Travel, originally aired April 9, 2013
Raising Hope, episode Not Indecent, But Not Quite Decent Enough Proposal, originally aired October 2, 2012
Batman: The Brave and the Bold, episode Triumvirate of Terror!, originally aired October 7, 2011
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, episode Young Man with a Horn, originally aired December 4, 2008
The 4400, episode The New World, originally aired June 11, 2006
The Nightmare Room, episode Fear Games, originally aired October 13, 2001
Providence, episode The Thanksgiving Story: Parts 1 and 2, originally aired November 24, 2000
Providence, episode The Unsinkable Sydney Hansen, originally aired November 17, 2000
Hollywood Off-Ramp, episode Simple Simon, originally aired June 5, 2000
Bull, episode A Beautiful Lie, originally aired January 1, 2000
Arli$$, episode Stanley Babson - Win, Place or Show, originally aired August 2, 1998
Chicago Hope, episode Psychodrama, originally aired January 21, 1998
Dream On, episode Finale with a Vengeance, originally aired March 27, 1996
Dream On, episode The Way We War, originally aired February 14, 1996
Dream On, episode Second Time Aground, originally aired January 24, 1996
Dream On, episode She Won't Do It, But Her Sister Will, originally aired October 4, 1995
Dream On, episode I Never Promised You Charoses, Martin, originally aired September 7, 1994
Murder, She Wrote, episode Bloodlines, originally aired November 9, 1993
In the Heat of the Night, episode Liar's Poker, originally aired October 29, 1991
Baby Boom, episode Christmas '88, originally aired December 21, 1988
Hotel, episode Double Take, originally aired January 2, 1988
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, episode Man From The South, originally aired May 5, 1985
Tales from the Darkside, episode Mookie and Pookie, originally aired November 4, 1984
Hart to Hart, episode Hunted Harts, originally aired January 4, 1983
The Bionic Woman, episode Claws, originally aired February 25, 1976
The Courtship of Eddie's Father, episode A Little Get Together for Cissy, originally aired January 6, 1971
The Courtship of Eddie's Father, episode Free Is a Four Letter Word, originally aired February 25, 1970
Run for Your Life, episode Someone Who Makes Me Feel Beautiful, originally aired September 27, 1965
Kraft Suspense Theatre, episode The Trains of Silence, originally aired June 10, 1965

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Watch Tippi Hedren's 1981 adventure Roar

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Watch Tippi Hedren's 1970 drug-themed flick Satan's Harvest
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