Tippi Degré

Tippi Benjamine Okanti Degré (born 4 June 1990) is a French woman best known for spending her youth in Namibia among wild animals and tribespeople.[1] In 2002–03, she was the presenter of Around the World with Tippi, six wildlife and environmental TV documentaries.

Life and career

Born in Windhoek, Namibia,[2] in 1990 to wildlife photographer-filmmaker parents, Degré spent the first ten years of her life in Southern Africa. She has published books about her experiences with tribespeople, including the San Bushmen and the Himbas, and the region's wild animals.[3][4] She was named after the American actress Tippi Hedren.[5]

During her childhood in Namibia, Tippi befriended wild animals, including a 28-year old elephant Abu, a leopard nicknamed J&B, crocodiles, lion cubs, giraffes, a northern greater galago, a banded mongoose, an ostrich, meerkats, a baby zebra, a cheetah, a caracal, a snake, a grey parrot, giant bullfrogs and chameleons.[6]

Degré attended school in Paris and travelled often between Southern Africa and France.

Tippi - My Book of Africa is a novel based on Degré's life in Namibia and in Madagascar.

In 2002–03, Degré presented six wildlife and environmental TV documentaries for the Discovery Channel.[6]

A documentary film on her experiences, Le Monde Selon Tippi (The World According to Tippi) was released in 1997.[7] Around the World with Tippi was released in 2004, directed by Jeanne Mascolo de Filippis.[8]

Degré studied cinema and audiovisuals in France and currently lives in Paris, where she is the director of 'El Petit FICMA', the children's section of the FICMA festival.[9]

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Haine, Alice (22 December 2002). "Pets and their People: The bush baby; Little Tippi walks and talks with the animals". Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
  2. ↑ The Real-Life Mowgli . . The Telegraph (UK)
  3. ↑ Burrow, Lisa (19 May 1996). "Tippi: The Animal Girl of Africa". Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
  4. ↑ "Young girl who's best friends with African wildlife". Wildography & Safaris. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  5. ↑ Smith, Pip (24 January 1998). "Unattractive experience of the not-so-dark continent". Daily Dispatch. Archived from the original on 19 December 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
  6. 1 2 Willsher, Kim (27 December 2002). "Forget being famous, says bush baby, I'd just like to be normal". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
  7. ↑ "The World According to Tippi-Documentary clip". Daily Mail. London.
  8. ↑ "Around the World with Tippi (2004–2005)". IMDB. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  9. ↑ Savill, Richard (13 November 2008). "The extraordinary childhood of the girl who grew up with African animals". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 December 2008.

Further reading

  • Ody, Joelle; Robert, Sylvie; Degré, Alain (1998). Tippi of Africa. New Holland Publishers. ISBN 978-1-86872-083-5.
  • Degré, Tippi; Robert, Sylvie; Degré, Alain (2005). My Book of Africa. Struik. ISBN 978-1-77007-029-5.
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