Tippi Hedren: Biography of the Hitchcock Muse and Star of “The Birds”
Discover the life of Tippi Hedren, star of Hitchcock’s “The Birds” and “Marnie,” and her lasting legacy in Hollywood and animal activism.
Nathalie Kay Hedren, or rather Tippi Hedren, was born on January 19, 1930. She began her career under the direction of director Alfred Hitchcock. And that wasn’t easy. He saw her in a TV commercial and called her for a casting test to be in The Birds.
In the film, Tippi plays a woman who, upon arriving in a city, experiences a terrifying situation when she witnesses a bird attack. Her performance earned her a Golden Globe for Best Actress.
The following year, she would appear in another film by the master of suspense, Marnie, Confessions of a Thief. This time, she shared the lead role with the young Sean Connery. He actually wanted Grace Kelly to play the role, but when she refused, he called Tippi. The result was problematic direction, and Tippi later declared that he barely spoke to her during filming.
Tippi would later work under the direction of another great director: Charles Chaplin. In A Countess from Hong Kong (1967), she shares the screen with Marlon Brando, Sophia Loren and Sydney Chaplin (the director’s son). Tippi would appear in a series of films over the decades but never managed to achieve the same success again. In an interview, she even accused director Alfred Hitchcock of harassment.
According to her, in an interview with The Times, Alfred Hitchcock kept her under contract, paying her weekly for almost two years, and without the possibility of doing any other work, only because she refused his sexual advances. “I admired Hitch tremendously for his great talent and still do,” Hedren told the London Daily Mail . “I admired Hitch tremendously for his great talent and still do,” Hedren told the London Daily Mail . “Yet at the same time, I hated him for his behavior and the way he harassed me. He was a great director. And he destroyed everything by his behavior when he and I were alone.” Tippi was married three times: to Luis Barrenechea (from 1985 to 1995), Noel Marshall (from 1964 to 1982), and Peter Griffith (from 1952 to 1961). With Peter, she had her only daughter, Melanie.
Between her films and TV appearances, Tippi dedicated herself to human rights, using her celebrity status to raise funds for organizations of various causes.
From 1981 onwards, she began to actively involve herself in several humanitarian causes, including animal rights.
She is also a volunteer coordinator for the “Food for the Hungry” program. She has traveled the world to found programs to help those affected by earthquakes, hurricanes, famine and war, and has received numerous awards, including the “Humanitarian Award”.
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