Happy Birthday to Japanese singer/songwriter Hikaru Utada (1983), "Full House" actress Jodie Sweetin (1982), Russian gymnast Svetlana Khorkina (1979), "Joey" actress Drea DeMatteo (1973), actor Shawn Wayans (1971),

What is it about Aussies that Americans find so fascinating? Is it the cute accents? The laid-back attitudes? The "party animal" reputations? It could be a mix of all of these traits.

Happy Birthday to Japanese singer/songwriter Hikaru Utada (1983), "Full House" actress Jodie Sweetin (1982), Russian gymnast Svetlana Khorkina (1979), "Joey" actress Drea DeMatteo (1973), actor Shawn Wayans (1971), NFL linebacker Junior Seau (1969), tennis star Stefan Edberg (1966), "8 Simple Rules" actress Katie Sagal (1956),

Veteran actress Tippi Hedren has received death threats from extremists angered by her campaign to make it illegal to own wild animals as pets in America.

Veteran actress Tippi Hedren has spoken of the horror that washed over her after hearing an employee at the big cats sanctuary she founded had been attacked by a tiger.

New mom Naomi Watts is to take on Tipp Hedren's iconic film role in a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's thriller The Birds. The actress will play Melanie Daniels in the new film, an updated adaptation of the classic Daphne du Maurier novel, in which a woman is attacked by a flock of angry birds on a remote island.

Happy Birthday to Japanese singer/songwriter Hikaru Utada (1983), "Full House" actress Jodie Sweetin (1982), Russian gymnast Svetlana Khorkina (1979), "Joey" actress Drea de Matteo (1973), actor Shawn Wayans (1971), NFL linebacker Junior Seau (1969), tennis star Stefan Edberg (1966), "8 Simple Rules" actress Katie Sagal (1956), Mexican comedian Paul Rodriguez (1955), stage and screen actor David Patrick Kelly (1952), English singer Robert Palmer (1949; d. 2003), country singer Dolly Parton (1946), actress/singer Shelley Fabares (1944), 60s singer Janis Joplin (1943; d. 1970) stage actor/singer Michael Crawford (1942), Phil Everly of The Everly Brothers (1939), actress Tippi Hedren (1931), television actor Fritz Weaver (1926), "All in the Family" actress Jean Stapleton (1923), American singer John Raitt (1917; d. 2005), French impressionist painter Paul Cezanne (1839; d. 1906), mystery/suspense master Edger Allan Poe (1809; d. 1849), and Confederate general Robert E. Lee (1807; d. 1870).

Australian actress Naomi Watts has been offered the lead role in the remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 horror classic The Birds. Director Michael Bay's company will produce the new version of the film.

The animal sanctuary looking after Michael Jackson's two pet tigers has complained the star is not contributing to their upkeep. Former Hollywood actress Tippi Hedren agreed to look after Sabu and Thriller at her California wildlife preserve when Jackson's Neverland zoo closed. The singer was supposed to send a monthly cheque to pay for the animals' bills.

Pop star Michael Jackson is moving one step closer to permanently closing his Neverland ranch, after finding homes for most of the animals residing on the California estate. The star has been living in Bahrain for the last 12 months since his acquittal of child molestation charges.