Who is Tippi Hedren’s daughter Melanie Griffith: her wild childhood and Hollywood career (2024)

Tippi Hedren, the world-famous American actress, animal rights activist, and former fashion model has quite the line of succession. Her daughter Melanie Griffith and granddaughter Dakota Johnson also are big names in the Hollywood Industry.

Tippi became an actress after she was discovered by director Alfred Hitchcock. She starred in leading roles in the thriller The Birds (1963) and psychological drama Marnie (1964). She has also appeared in over 80 films and television shows. However, who is Tippi Hendren’s daughter, Melanie Griffith?

Here is everything you need to know about her childhood, her career and her family.

How old is Melanie Griffith:

Melanie is 63 Years old and was born August 9, 1957.

How tall is Melanie Griffith?

Melanie is 5' 8" (1.73 m).

Where is Melanie Griffith from?

Melanie Griffith was born in 1957, in New York City to model Tippi Hedren (soon to become an actress) and former child actor Peter Griffith. Her parents' marriage ended when she was five years old and Tippi brought Melanie to Los Angeles to get a fresh start.

Her mother, Tippi, was scouted by the renowned director Alfred Hitchcock, who gave her starring roles in The Birds (1963) and Marnie (1964). She married her agent at the time, Noel Marshall, in 1964 (they divorced in 1982).

Melanie grew up with three stepbrothers. Meanwhile, her father married Nanita Greene Samuels and had two children, Tracy Griffith and Clay A. Griffith.

Melanie Griffith’s childhood

Melanie had a very unique childhood. Leaving for LA when she was five years old with her mother Tippi Hedren. She reflected in an Instagram post 'I grew up with lions, tigers and 2 elephants'. Tippi was raising her children for the movie Roar (1981), which the family later starred in.

'It was a crazy, beautiful, and dangerous time. I am, however, very grateful for the strength it gave me,' Melanie added in the Instagram post.

She was 14 when she met actor Don Johnson, who was a 22-year-old actor on the set of The Harrad Experiment (1973). Her mother Tippi had a very liberal approach to parenting and allowed the couple to move in together almost immediately and they were married three years later. Sadly, the marriage ended within six months.

Although Melanie did go to a normal school, she did eventually join the ‘Hollywood Professional School’ and graduated in 1973.

Melanie Griffith’s career

Melanie's acting career began as a model at nine months old. She appeared in a commercial and then later appeared as an extra in Smith! (1969). In 1973, she starred in The Harrad Experiment, where she fell in love with her mother's co-star, Don Johnson. She was only 14 years old, while he was a 22-year-old when they met.

She modelled for many years and featured as a starring role in ‘Night Moves’ in 1974. In 1981, when she was 24, she was cast in the movie Roar (1981), which also featured her mother Tippi Hedren.

On the set of the film, Melanie had a dangerous accident when a lion, which was part of the film, attacked her and mauled her face. However, she had immediate medical attention, and this did not affect her acting career.

Melanie Griffith’s first major acting role was in the film Body Double (1984). Directed by Brian De Palma, she was cast to play a pornographic actress Despite the film being a commercial failure, Melanie obtained great reviews and helped her progress in her career.

In 1988, she was cast as the lead role in the film Working Girl. This was a big hit in the box-office and Melanie also received an Oscar nomination as Best Actress and won the Golden Globe Award as Best Actress in a Comedy.

Over the 1990s, she was in many mainstream Hollywood productions such as Born Yesterday (1993), ‘Two Much (1995), Celebrity (1998) and Crazy in Alabama (1999).

In the film, Another Day in Paradise (1998), Melanie played a heroin addict, and many consider this to be the best role of her acting career.

A year later, she appeared on stage and acted in a play titled ‘Vagina Monologues,’ which was staged at the famous ‘Old Vic’ theatre in London, United Kingdom.

Melanie Griffith is one of America’s most famous actresses having worked in modelling, television, theatre and movies for decades.

Melanie Griffith’s marriages

Melanie Griffith's first marriage was to actor Don Johnson. The couple got married in 1976 and got divorced in six months.

Then in 1981, Melanie Griffith got married for the second time to actor Steven Bauer. Together they had a son called Alexander Bauer. They divorced in 1989.

In 1989, Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson married again and had a daughter, Dakota Johnson, who has become a big name in Hollywood herself known for the Fifty Shades of Grey series (2015-2018) and The Social Network (2010). The couple separated after six years and had an on and off- relationship for a long time. They were divorced in 1996.

In the same year that she divorced Johnson, Melanie Griffith married one of Hollywood’s biggest superstars in 1996, Antonio Banderas. They split up in 2014 and divorced in 2015. They have a daughter together named Stella del Carmen Banderas.

Melanie Griffith’s children

Alexander Bauer

Born on 22 August 1985, Alexander is the eldest of the family but is not in the spotlight. He sometimes features on his mother’s social media, but little is known of his life in the public eye.

Dakota Johnson

The most well-known of Melanie’s children are her daughter Dakota. She was born in October 1989. Just like her parents, Dakota has starred in many movies. From the Fifty Shades series, The Social Network, 21 Jump Street, How to be Single and Suspiria. She is the third-generation star of this Hollywood family alongside her grandmother Tippi Hendren and her mother.

Stella Banderas

Melanie’s youngest daughter was born on September 24, 1996. She has only starred in one film, Crazy Alabama (1999), but she has made numerous public appearances and has a large following on Instagram.

Melanie told Closer Weekly that “she is truly proud of her kids.”

Follow Tippi Hedren and Melanie Griffith on social media

This family of Hollywood royalty has such an interesting history! You can find Melanie Griffith on Instagram and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/melaniegriffith?lang=en?lang=en). Melanie's social media is filled with photos of her children, celebrity friends, her previous roles and her mother.

You can also find Tippi Hedren on Instagram and Twitter, she is still glamorous as ever!

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