I have always been a fan of "Old Hollywood" and the actors and films produced in that era. Namely, Alfred Hitchcock and "The Birds" which starred Tippi Hedren. In this wonderfully candid memoir, Hedren takes you on the journey that has been her life. From her birth and early marriage (which resulted in the birth of actress Melanie Griffith) to her big break after modeling to work as an actress in Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" and "Marnie". A relationship which was in all ways, possessive, obsessive, and creepy. Seriously, Hitchcock was a predator towards Hedren and due to the fact that "sexual assault" wasn't considered an issue or crime in the 1950s-60s, he got away with making her miserable, uncomfortable, and practically ruining her career by keeping her under contract to him and never allowing her to work with anyone else until her two year stipulation was over. It's astonishing to see such an admired figure such as Hitchcock, or "Hitch" as his friends called him, behave in such a way. But it goes to show that even those that create art we love can be monsters themselves.
Most readers will be surprised that Hedren's work with Hitchcock takes up only a small portion of this memoir, and rightly so, for once she was finished with him she needed to move on from the trauma he put her through. He doesn't deserve more time. Fascinatingly, the rest of the memoir is devoted to her work on the film "Roar" and her adoration for wild animals/wanting to protect wild life. How the film ever was completed I will never know as it used 150 untrained lions and tigers along with a smattering of other wild life that proved to be as dangerous to the crew as well as the actors in the film. So many of them sustained injuries not limited to scalping, gangrene, a broken leg, reconstructive facial surgery, and various other painful bloody messes caused by wild animals who didn't know any better/their own strength. It's truly gripping to learn about her process during this film and even more interesting was the fact that she still loved these animals after nearly getting killed multiple times.
While all these moments are wonderful, I do need to say that her own life seems like a footnote to these events at points. Her life events are not woven will into the major life events of the Hitchcock films or "Roar". After her early life the book seems to dive into two segments HITCHCOCK and then ROAR and that's it. While I enjoyed this memoir, it left me longing for more. Who knows, Tippi is still alive. Maybe she will write another one and have more stories to tell. I wonder what she thinks of her granddaughter Dakota Johnson's film career trajectory. Especially, the "Fifty Shades of Grey" films or "Suspiria".
If you're a fan of a good, simple memoir or Hollywood insider, this is your next choice for reading. It's light, quick, and very interesting. I totally recommend it. Hedren is a kind, caring, and lovely individual. A human rights advocate, an environmental advocate, and a genuine soul. You can't help but fall for her.

Fantastically written life of a very interesting woman. Despite her life in Hollywood, the story stays completely hers, both the good and the bad. The writing never devolves into name dropping or airing her grievances. She obviously very much loves and cares for animals, and even when writing about the trials of being around big cats and elephants, she stresses how how it is not their fault. I'm glad she was able to tell her own story on her own terms.

Tippi Hedren had a full life - she wanted to be a figure skater, but ended up doing modeling, loving it, and then was recruited to be an actress, unexpectedly. She worked with Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin, is friend with Sean Connery, Sophie Loren, etc. And she dedicated a good chunk of her life to big cats, lions, tigers, cheetahs, etc.

The beginning of the book was interesting, with the Hitchcock episode, but I felt like at least 2/3 of the book was about lions, lions and more lions. Tippi talks about how she & husband at the time wanted to make a movie about lions, and to make it happen, met with lion handlers, had a full grown lion visit their home, raised cubs in their house (...) and created a sanctuary in the valley, etc. Aside from the many accidents, and hurdles with flooding & fires, the narration felt a bit repetitive. It was a bit too much focused on the big cats for me, and not enough on Tippi's personality. I don't feel I know her very well after reading that book.

Prior to reading this, I didn't realize just how few movies Tippi was actually in. The bulk of her life revolved around her work rescuing big cats and later other zoo animals as well. Since I am always up for reading about cat antics, I found the memoir fun to read but if you go into this looking for an actor's take on their career, you will be disappointed.

I also had no idea how her life basically just fell into her lap. If I wanted to be a top fashion model or a successful actor then I'd be so irritated reading about her blind luck. At 13, a stranger walked up to her & handed her a business card, telling Tippi to come that weekend with her mother so she could be hired as a model. Boom. That's it. Hello Eileen Ford and top modeling career. Then in her twenties, her agent calls her to tell her that a top Hollywood director wants to cast her as the lead in his movie. Even though she has zero acting experience and never desired to act! Hello Hollywood acting career.

For all her profession of love for her daughter Melanie Griffith, Tippi was in actuality a terrible mother. Melanie was neglected and spoiled at the same time. She was her mom's "best friend". Ugh. Which explains why there was no pushback when Melanie - at 14!!! - started dating divorced twenty-something actor Don Johnson and then at 15(!!!) moved in with him. I mean, I realize it was the 70's but still. Melanie's later drug addiction makes total sense after reading this memoir.

The big cat parts were fun to read but again, Tippi's total lack of rational thought and executive functioning stood out. She did a slightly better job raising lion cubs than she did raising Melanie but it was still touch and go a lot of the time. Tippi is not someone you would want as a close friend or family member even though she seems nice. Her flaky behavior would drive me nuts.