NATHALIE KAY HEDREN, THRILLER ACTRESS & ANIMALIST

Today, The Grandma has been reading about Tippi Hedren, the American actress, who was born on a day like today in 1930.

Nathalie Kay "Tippi" Hedren (born January 19, 1930) is an American retired actress. Initially a fashion model, appearing on the front covers of Life and Glamour magazines (among others), she became an actress after being discovered by director Alfred Hitchcock while appearing on a television commercial in 1961.

Hedren achieved great praise for her work in two of his films, including the suspense-thriller The Birds (1963), for which she won a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year and the sequel The Birds II: Land's End (1994), also the psychological drama Marnie (1964).

She performed 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, a 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.

Nathalie Kay Hedren was born in New Ulm, Minnesota, on January 19, 1930, to Bernard Carl and Dorothea Henrietta Hedren (née Eckhardt). Her family moved to Morningside, Minnesota, when Hedren was 4, where she lived until she was 17 and modeled for Dayton's. For much of her career, her year of birth was misreported as 1935.

In a 2004 A&E Biography, Hedren acknowledged that she was 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.

A Louis Vuitton ad campaign in 2006 paid tribute to Hedren and Hitchcock with a modern-day interpretation of the deserted railway station opening sequence of Marnie. Her look from The Birds (1963) inspired designer Bill Gaytten's designs for John Galliano's pre-fall 2012 collection.

Naomi Watts stated that her character interpretation in Mulholland Drive (2001) was influenced by the look and performances of Hedren in Hitchcock films. Watts and Hedren both appeared in I Heart Huckabees (2004), but did not share any scenes together. Off screen, the film's director David O. Russell introduced them, and Watts said of Hedren: I was pretty fascinated by her then, because people have often said we're alike. Watts was styled as Hedren's title character from Marnie for a photo shoot for March 2008 issue of Vanity Fair. In the same issue, Jodie Foster was styled as Hedren's character, Melanie Daniels, from The Birds.

More information: Instagram-Tippi Hedren

 I can look at myself in the mirror,

and I can be proud.

Tippi Hedren