Alfred Hitchcock York when Hitchcock saw her, in October 1961, in an NBC television ad for Sego, a diet drink: "I signed her because she is a classic beauty. Movies don't have them any more. Grace Kelly was the last." He insisted, without explanation, that her first name be written in single quotation marks: 'Tippi'. In "The Birds", Melanie Daniels, a young socialite, meets lawyer Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) in a bird shop; Jessica Tandy plays his possessive mother. Hedren visits him in Bodega Bay (where "The Birds" was filmed) carrying a pair of lovebirds as a gift. Suddenly waves of birds
The Birds (film) is infuriated by the prank—but finds herself romantically intrigued by Mitch. Melanie purchases a pair of lovebirds and drives to Mitch's weekend address in Bodega Bay to deliver them. Wanting to surprise him, she rents a motorboat so she can approach the Brenner house from the bay instead of the road. She sneaks the birds inside the house and heads back across the bay. Mitch discovers the birds, spots Melanie's boat during her retreat, and drives around the bay to meet her. Melanie is attacked and injured by a seagull near shore on the town side. Mitch treats her abrasion