One of Hitchcock’s Blondes, which also included Grace Kelly, Doris Day, Eva Marie Saint, Kim Novak and Janet Leigh, Tippi Hedren was essentially an unknown cinematic name before her starring role in The Birds. The film, along with her Hitchcock follow-up film Marnie, made her a star and paved the way for her daughter and granddaughter, Melanie Griffith and Dakota Johnson, respectively. However, Hedren does not have fond memories of the director that helped to start her career. She has repeatedly accused the director of sexual assault. Sexual assault, of course, has ongoing psychological repercussions. (This accusation was not made until well-after Hitchcock’s death. Of course, no matter the legal validity of her claims, feeling that one has been sexual assaulted can have lasting neurological affects.)

Specifically related to the birds in the film of the same name, in a 2016 memoir, she recalls, “I was pelted with still more live, screaming, frantic birds, while the birds that were tied to me began pecking me as they’d been trained to do.” This reportedly included pecking close to her eye. If birds left wounds on her and how deep these wounds were is unknown. She did report chronic headaches until a 2006 spinal fusion surgery. (The reason(s) for these headaches is unknown and could have many culprits, including anxiety, depression, etc. What is known is that The Birds had a negative psychological affect on its star actress.)