Jane Goodall, World-Famous Anthropologist And Chimpanzee Expert, Dead At 91
Jane Goodall, a zoologist, primatologist and anthropologist best known for her 60 years' worth of work studying the lives of wild chimpanzees, has died.
The news was confirmed on her institute's official Instagram page. "The Jane Goodall Institute has learned this morning, Wednesday, October 1, 2025, that Dr. Jane Goodall DBE, UN Messenger of Peace and Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, has passed away due to natural causes. She was in California as part of her speaking tour in the United States.
"Dr. Goodall's discoveries as an ethologist revolutionized science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world."
In her decades-long career, Goodall used her experience and fame to raise awareness to the dwindling chimpanzee populations and also the perils of environmental destruction. She is the founder of the aforementioned institute in addition to Roots & Shoots, an organization that gathers students of all ages to help work on environmental, conservation and humanitarian issues.
As of 2022, she was on the board of the Nonhuman Rights Project. Goodall was also an honorary member of the World Future Council, and in 2002, was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace.
Goodall was interviewed on multiple TV series throughout her career including The Daily Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, among others. She also appeared in countless specials and TV-movies like 1995's Jane Goodall: My Life With the Chimpanzees, Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom and Jane New Generation. She even voiced herself in The Simpsons (in 2019) and The Wild Thornberrys (in 2001).
*Update*: In tribute to her legacy, Netflix has released Goodall's episode of its Famous Last Words docuseries. The series showcases reflective interviews with some of the world's most influential cultural figures, who agreed to sit down and give their final words, with the understanding that it would only be shared with the world after they passed.
Goodall's life was also the inspiration for a live-action children's series that streamed on Apple TV+. Created by J.J. Johnson, Jane follows a 9-year old girl and aspiring environmentalist named Jane Garcia who makes it her mission to save endangered species. The character idolizes Goodall and her work. The show ran for three seasons and aired from April 2023 — April 2025.