Hollywood legend Tippi Hedren, now early 90s, still lives with ‘over 13 and tigers,’ granddaughter Dakota Johnson reveals in her latest interview
Tippi Hedren is a raving big cat enthusiast
Hedren, the actress who starts in in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” and “Marnie,” has been notorious for housing dozens upon dozens of felines at her California animal sanctuary over the years.
In a virtual appearance on “The Graham Norton Show” this week, Hedren’s granddaughter, actress Dakota Johnson, confirmed the ’60s star is very much still living among a number of big cats.
“There used to be like 60 cats…” Johnson said.
The British talk show host shared outrageous throwback photos from Hedren’s home, featuring a huge tiger jumping through her kitchen window near her.
In another shot, Hedren’s daughter and Johnson’s mother, Melanie Griffith, nearly bitten by a lion as she jumps into a pool.
“It wasn’t as psycho as it was when they first started,” Johnson recalls
Hedren discussed how she became a big cat enthusiast in an interview with Fox News in 2017.
“When we wanted to use Hollywood acting animals to do the movie, [the trainers] would say, “I’m not going to let my big cat work with another cat. Get your own animals to do the film!” So that’s how that happened,” Hedren shared.
“And we found there were so many lions and tigers being bred to be sold as pets — which is an unconscionable act, these are apex predators. For anyone to sell a baby lion or tiger to some family to become its pet is … it’s one of the most dangerous things that could ever have happened. Everything just grew from that.
When learning about the illegal sale of tigers and lions — which has recently become a hot topic of debate following the release of Netflix’s “Tiger King” in March — Hedren worked to pass a bill against it in 2003.
“It took a long time before we started seeing results of the bill, but it’s still working,” she told us. “I’m thrilled about it because these animals are not pets.”
Hedren lives at the Shambala Preserve, an animal sanctuary she created in Acton, Calif. The reserve has been home to endangered exotic cats including African lions, Siberian tigers, bobcats and more.
