Tippi Hedren

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Birthday:

19 January 1930, New Ulm, Minnesota, USA

Birth Name:

Nathalie Kay Hedren

Height:

163 cm

Tippi Hedren was born Nathalie Kay Hedren in New Ulm, Minnesota, to Dorothea Henrietta (Eckhardt) and Bernard Carl Hedren, who ran a general store. Her father was of Swedish descent and her mother was of German and Norwegian ancestry. Tippi was working as a New York fashion model when she married her first husband, Peter Griffith, in 1952. They had a daughter, Melanie Griffith, on August 9, 1957. After the marriage ended in 1961, Tippi moved to California and was discovered by legendary director Alfred Hitchcock. He put her under personal contract and cast her in The Birds (1963). Her performance in the film earned her a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer. Her second film was Hitchcock's Marnie (1964), where she played a challenging and difficult role of a frigid, habitual thief opposite Sean Connery. The professional relationship with Hitchcock ended with mutual bitterness and disappointment towards the end of shooting, and that year she married her then-agent, Noel Marshall. 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. Her marriage to Marshall ended in 1982, and in 1985 she married her third husband, businessman Luis Barrenechea. They divorced in 1995. 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. 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. in 1974 (and featuring Wood regulars Maila Nurmi and Conrad Brooks, just about the only surviving members of Wood's stock company). 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). 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. In 1999, Tippi was honored as "Woman of Vision" by Women in Film and Video in Washington, D.C., and received the Presidential Medal for her work in film from Hofstra University. Show less «

[on Alfred Hitchcock] To be the object of somebody's obsession is a really awful feeling when you can't return it.

[on 3/1/05, when asked which is her favorite of the Alfred Hitchcock films she starred in] I think Marnie (1964). They were both so differen...Show more »

[on 3/1/05, when asked which is her favorite of the Alfred Hitchcock films she starred in] I think Marnie (1964). They were both so different that it's kind of hard to figure out which, but The Birds (1963) was sort of a chase. All of the Hitchcock films have a mystery to them and that sort of thing, but the personality of Marnie was so intriguing. She was really - poor Marnie. Show less «

My advice to anyone contemplating acting as a profession is to be independently wealthy or have another vocation as a backup. [Melanie Griff...Show more »

My advice to anyone contemplating acting as a profession is to be independently wealthy or have another vocation as a backup. [Melanie Griffith] and [Antonio Banderas] are well set, but most actors make a pittance. Show less «

For years, directors and producers came up to me and said they'd wanted me for a role, but [Alfred Hitchcock] wouldn't allow it. The worst w...Show more »

For years, directors and producers came up to me and said they'd wanted me for a role, but [Alfred Hitchcock] wouldn't allow it. The worst was when I found out that François Truffaut had wanted to cast me. I'd never heard a word about it. That one hurt. Show less «

[on being offered the title role in Marnie (1964) by Alfred Hitchcock] I was stunned. I was amazed that he would offer me this incredible ro...Show more »

[on being offered the title role in Marnie (1964) by Alfred Hitchcock] I was stunned. I was amazed that he would offer me this incredible role and that he would have that kind of faith in me . . . I thought Marnie was an extremely interesting role to play and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Show less «

[on working with Sean Connery, her leading man in Marnie (1964)] He was just fabulous, a consummate actor with a great sense of humor. He wa...Show more »

[on working with Sean Connery, her leading man in Marnie (1964)] He was just fabulous, a consummate actor with a great sense of humor. He was practicing his golf swing all the time - a rather profound golfer. We honored him on June 8, 2006, at the American Film Institute. They asked me to speak about him, which was great fun. It was one of the most wonderful evenings. Show less «

It is interesting because some of the critics who really panned [Marnie (1964)] when it came out see it again and it is like they are review...Show more »

It is interesting because some of the critics who really panned [Marnie (1964)] when it came out see it again and it is like they are reviewing an entirely different movie. I think a lot of it was that all those years ago, people were not aware of how a trauma being inflicted upon a child can affect what happens to them as an adult if it isn't properly dealt with. I think there were multiple reasons why they didn't like it. For some reason, the painted backdrops really bothered people forty years ago - that was a big deal for some reason with the critics. I kept thinking "So what, it's a movie!" Show less «

[In 2006, when asked whether she can watch The Birds (1963) and Marnie (1964) and separate herself from the experience of making them] I can...Show more »

[In 2006, when asked whether she can watch The Birds (1963) and Marnie (1964) and separate herself from the experience of making them] I can do that now and it is quite a relief, actually. I can look at it and think "She did a good job!" There were years where I would see things and wish I could do them over but now I can just watch them. Show less «

They called and asked what I thought about a remake of The Birds (1963) and I thought: 'Why would you do that? Why?' I mean, can't we find n...Show more »

They called and asked what I thought about a remake of The Birds (1963) and I thought: 'Why would you do that? Why?' I mean, can't we find new stories, new things to do? Show less «

When you do a love scene with someone in a movie, you have cameras and lights surrounding you. It's not very romantic, especially considerin...Show more »

When you do a love scene with someone in a movie, you have cameras and lights surrounding you. It's not very romantic, especially considering what I was going through. A lot of people have asked me whether or not I had a fling with Sean Connery during the filming of Marnie (1964), and the answer is no. Marnie was so frigid and cold that she screamed when a man came near her. If I had strong feelings for him in real life, it would have shown through my eyes in the film. I was too dedicated to acting. So, no, I don't really know what it's like to kiss Sean Connery. Show less «

[2014, on what it's like being a matriarch of an acting dynasty] It's funny that nobody in of all my ancestors was interested in any of the ...Show more »

[2014, on what it's like being a matriarch of an acting dynasty] It's funny that nobody in of all my ancestors was interested in any of the dramatic arts. None of them. It started with me, then my gorgeous daughter Melanie Griffith, and now my granddaughter Dakota Johnson. Now, we are wondering what my other granddaughter Stella Banderas is going to be doing. She's very cerebral. I would be very anxious to see what happens to her. Show less «

[on working on the set of The Birds (1963)] One of the ravens was so sweet that Ray [Ray Berwick] wouldn't teach him all the bad things to d...Show more »

[on working on the set of The Birds (1963)] One of the ravens was so sweet that Ray [Ray Berwick] wouldn't teach him all the bad things to do, like peck people and dive-bomb. That raven became my buddy. He'd come up and sit in my dressing room on the set, play with my makeup, and throw it on the floor. I'd walk around on the set with him on my shoulders. Show less «

[In 2016] My marriages were all good - until they weren't. But I got something good out of each of them. My first husband Peter Griffith was...Show more »

[In 2016] My marriages were all good - until they weren't. But I got something good out of each of them. My first husband Peter Griffith was younger than me and I've never understood why I married him but he gave me Melanie Griffith. My second husband Noel Marshall gave me my love of animals. My third husband Luis Barrenechea was everything I wanted in a man, except that he was an alcoholic and that was unbearable. I'd love to have a man in my life and to go on dates but I'll never marry again. I like living alone. I'm vain and I'm also selfish. Who would want that in a woman? Show less «