Tippi Hedren Biography

Influential Animal Right Activist

Tippi Hedren

Born : January 19, 1930

Occupation: Actress | Animal Rights Activist | Fashion Model

Nationality: New Ulm, Minnesota, U.S.

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Who is Tippi Hedren???

Nathalie Kay "Tippi" Hedren (born January 19, 1930) is an American actress, animal rights activist, and former fashion model. A successful fashion model who appeared on the front covers of Life and Glamour magazines, among others, Hedren became an actress after she was discovered by director Alfred Hitchcock while appearing on a television commercial in 1961. She achieved great praise for her work in two of his films: the suspense-thriller The Birds (1963), for which she won a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year, and the psychological drama Marnie (1964). She has appeared in over 80 films and television shows, including Charlie Chaplin's final film A Countess from Hong Kong (1967), the political satire Citizen Ruth (1996), and the existential comedy I Heart Huckabees (2004). Among other honors, her contributions to world cinema have been recognized with the Jules Verne Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Hedren's strong commitment to animal rescue began in 1969 while she was shooting two films in Africa and was introduced to the plight of African lions. In an attempt to raise awareness for wildlife, she spent over a decade bringing Roar (1981) to the screen. She started her own nonprofit organization, the Roar Foundation, in 1983; it supports the Shambala Preserve, an 80-acre (32 ha) wildlife habitat that enables her to continue her work in the care and preservation of lions and tigers. Hedren has also set up relief programs worldwide following earthquakes, hurricanes, famine and war. She was also instrumental in the development of Vietnamese-American nail salons.

Early Life of Tippi Hedren

Nathalie Kay Hedren was born in New Ulm, Minnesota, on January 19, 1930, to Bernard Carl and Dorothea Henrietta (née Eckhardt) Hedren. For much of her career, her year of birth was misreported as 1935. In a 2004 A&E Biography, however, she acknowledged that she was actually born in 1930 (which is consistent with the birth registration index at the Minnesota Historical Society). Her paternal grandparents were Swedish immigrants, while her mother was of German and Norwegian descent.

Her father ran a small general store in Lafayette, Minnesota, and gave her the nickname "Tippi". When she was four, she moved with her parents to Minneapolis. She has an older sister, Patricia (b. 1926). As a teenager, she took part in department store fashion shows. Her parents relocated to California while she was a high school student at West High School in Minneapolis.