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Tippi Hedren (born January 19, 1931 in New Ulm,
Minnesota|New Ulm, Minnesota) is an United
States|American actress. She was discovered by
Alfred Hitchcock who saw her while she was doing a
diet drink commercial. He was looking for an
actress who looked like Grace Kelly. Hedren
appeared in The Birds (film)|The Birds and Marnie
for Hitchcock.

Tippi Hedren is the mother of actress Melanie
Griffith. Active in animal causes, she was
sometimes billed as 'Tippi' Hedren in her early
acting career.

==Early life==
Hedren was born of a Sweden|Swedish father and a
German-American|German-Norwegian-American|Norwegia
n mother.  Her father gave her the moniker "Tippi"
even though her birth name is Nathalie Hedren. "My
father thought Nathalie was a little bit much for
a brand new baby," Hedren remembered at a 2004
screening of The Birds. Tippi comes from the
Swedish language|Swedish nickname "Tupsa," or
"sweetheart."

As a teenager, Hedren took part in department
store fashion shows. Her parents relocated to
California while she was still a student in high
school. As soon as she had her 18th birthday, she
bought a ticket to New York and started her
professional modeling career. Within a year she
made her movie debut as one of the Petty Girls in
the musical comedy The Petty Girl (1950), although
in interviews she refers to The Birds as her first
film. While in New York, she met and married her
first husband, Peter Griffith, in 1952. 
1

==The Birds in retrospect==
At a packed house in Lancaster,
California|Lancaster, California's Antelope Valley
Independent Film Festival Cinema Series screening
of The Birds on September 28, 2004, Hedren
recounted her film career and her big acting break
to a spellbound audience for almost an hour. "I
said, 'Well, who is this person? Who is
interested?'... Nobody would tell me who it was."
Of course, it was Alfred Hitchcock, who soon
announced that Hedren was his new lead actress.

She remembered the work (on location at Bodega
Bay, California|Bodega Bay) as being dangerous and
taxing. During the filming of the last attack
scene, Hedren became exhausted to the point of
sitting down on the middle of the set and crying.
A week's rest was ordered by a doctor at that time
of completing the film. "For a first film, it was
a lot of work," Hedren mused. Her performance
brought her a Golden Globe as Most Promising
Newcomer. 2 

==Hedren and Hitchcock==
Hitchcock's plan to mold her image went so far as
insisting that her name should be printed only in
single quotes -- 'Tippi' -- yet for the most part,
journalists ignored the press releases with this
curious dictum by the director. Strained by
Hitchcock's controlling manner, Hedren declined
further work with him after Marnie in 1964. "It
grew to be impossible. He was a very controlling
type of person, and I guess I'm not about to be
controlled." Ending their professional
relationship on a sour note, she remarked "He
said, 'Well, I'll ruin your career.' And he did."
Producers who wished to hire Hedren for acting
roles had to go through Hitchcock, who would
inform them that "she isn't available."
3 

==Her career after Hitchcock and Shambala
Preserve==
After the two for Hitchcock, she went on to make
40 films between 1967 and 2005. After Marnie, she
next appeared in Charlie Chaplin's last film, A
Countess from Hong Kong (1967 in film|1967). In
1981, she produced her own film, Roar, a grueling,
five-year project starring dozens of African
lions.  "This was probably one of the most
dangerous films that Hollywood has ever seen,"
remarked the actress. "It's amazing no one was
killed."  During the production of Roar, both
Hedren and her husband at the time, Noel Marshall,
were attacked by lions, and Jan de Bont, the
director of photography, was scalped. 

Roar directly led to the establishment of Hedren's
Shambala Preserve, located in Acton,
California|Acton, California between the Antelope
Valley and the Santa Clarita Valley just north of
Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles. Shambala, an
animal rescue preserve, houses (and has housed)
the animals that appeared in Roar. Hedren lives on
the site and conducts monthly tours of Shambala
for the public. The preserve also houses many
birds, according to Hedren.  When asked about this
point by an audience member, she replied, "I love
birds. No, I like 'em.  I do.  I hate to tell you
that. It spoils the whole story." 4

==Marriages==
Tippi Hedren has been married four times:
*Peter Griffith (1952 - 1961) 
*Noel Marshall (1964 - 1982) 
*Luis Barrenecha  (1985 - 1995) 
*Martin Dinnes (2002 - present)

==Filmography==
*The Birds (film)|The Birds (1963 in film|1963)  
*Marnie (1964 in film|1964)  
*A Countess from Hong Kong (1967 in film|1967) 
*Roar (producer) 1981 in film|1981)

==References==
* 1 Vroman, Lavender.  Tippi Hedren
airs out her early acting days, wildlife
preservation, Antelope Valley Press, September
30, 2004, page A6. 
* 2 op cit, page A1 and A6.
* 3 op cit, page A6.
* 4 Ibid.

== External links==
*imdb name|id=0001335|name=Tippi Hedren
*http://www.shambala.org/ Tippi Hedren's The Roar
Foundation - The Shambala Preserve
*Vroman, Lavender.  Tippi Hedren airs out her
early acting days, wildlife preservation, 
Antelope Valley Press(Palmdale, California),
September 30, 2004, page A1.