Tippi Hedren Celebrates 95th Birthday After Dementia Diagnosis

Actress Tippi Hedren attends the Rio Vista Universal's Valkyrie Awards and Holiday Party on December 16, 2017 in Los Angeles, California
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Tippi Hedren, star of The Birds and mother of fellow actress Melanie Griffith, celebrated her 95th birthday on January 19, 2025, surrounded by family — an occasion immortalized by Griffith in a video posted to Instagram. The post marks a rare public appearance for Hedren since she was diagnosed with dementia, which reportedly caused her to forget her entire successful career.

In the video, Griffith showed off her beautiful mother and the birthday cake, which was inscribed with the words “Happy 95th Mor Mor.” “Mor” means mother in Norwegian, so the cake paid tribute to Hedren’s Norwegian roots.

 

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Last February, it was revealed that Hedren was struggling with dementia after a journalist requested an interview with her. Her team responded that she “is no longer able to be interviewed due to health reasons. She has dementia, and is unable to remember her career at all.”

A former model, Hedren rose to fame after appearing in Alfred Hitchcock‘s classic The Birds and went on to star in films such as Marnie and The Harrad Experiment. In addition to her famous daughter, she is also the grandmother of actress Dakota Johnson.

Actress Tipi Hedren, mother of Melanie Griffiths stands on a hill overlooking her Saugus Animal reserve with a full grown male lion. November 16, 1983 on he mountainside in Saugus, California

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In addition to her film work, Hedren was known for being an animal rights activist, and is especially noted for her love of big cats. She even brought a few of them into her home after filming a movie in Africa in 1969. However, later on, one of her cats bit her, changing her mind on the issue, and causing her to take a stand against big cats as pets.

Happy birthday to Tippi!

1968 Retrospective
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1968 Retrospective

January 2018

This special expanded issue celebrates all things pop culture in 1968.

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