Cover Tatler Asia's exclusive portrait session and sit-down interview with Dame Jane Goodall, as featured in our February 2025 issue. (1934-2025)
Tatler Asia's exclusive portrait session and sit-down interview with Dame Jane Goodall, as featured in our February 2025 issue. (1934-2025)
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An icon of conservation who changed how we define humanity, Jane Goodall leaves behind a profound philosophy of hope and individual action
It’s a story that perfectly encapsulates the singular focus of Dame Jane Goodall's life: A planned interview with Tatler Asia in Hong Kong in November 2024 was momentarily placed on hold to ‘see if the bird would fly’—a black kite, convalescing at a rescue centre, needed her attention more than the waiting press. This anecdote, a seemingly small moment in her monumental life, is a testament to the fact that for the world’s foremost primatologist, the welfare of the natural world always took precedence. The passing of Dr Goodall at the age of 91 marks the end of an era, but the flame of her enduring legacy, a blueprint for global sustainability and active hope, burns brighter than ever.
The unconventional academic: redefining humanity from Gombe
Born in London in 1934, Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall was an unlikely revolutionary. Against the societal tide of mid-century Britain, and despite an uncle’s discouraging words that “she didn’t have the stamina” to follow her dreams, the young Jane dreamt of Africa. Her family lacked the funds and academic connections, yet her mother, novelist Margaret Myfanwe Joseph, instilled the core belief that would underpin her future success: “Jane, if you really want something like this, you’re going to have to work extremely hard and take advantage of every opportunity. If you don’t give up, you’ll find a way.”
Her path to becoming a world-renowned scientist was radically unconventional. In 1957, after securing a journey to Kenya, she met the famed paleoanthropologist Dr Louis Leakey. He was looking for someone with an open mind to study chimpanzees in Tanzania’s Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve. Leakey's controversial choice was to bet on a mind “uncluttered by academia”. He sent Goodall to the forest in 1960. She was a woman with no college degree entering a field entirely dominated by men.
Above From a childhood love of animals, Jane Goodall grew into a renowned animal researcher and activist, dedicating her life's work for over six decades
Above Goodall with her friend, Rusty. Taken in Bournemouth 1954. Written on the back: “Jane and Rusty the Inseparables"
From a childhood love of animals, Jane Goodall grew into a renowned animal researcher and activist, dedicating her life's work for over six decades
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The seismic discovery that followed reshaped our understanding of our own species. Within months, she observed a chimpanzee named David Greybeard stripping leaves from a twig to fashion a tool for “fishing” termites. Scientists had long believed that the ability to make and use tools was the sole preserve of humans. On hearing of Goodall's observation, Leakey declared the challenge: “Now we must redefine tool, redefine man, or accept chimpanzees as humans.” This single moment of insight shattered the conceptual boundary between people and other animals, launching a sixty-year-long, world-leading study that continues to this day. Goodall's defiant use of names instead of numbers for the Gombe chimps, and her insistence that they possessed distinct personalities, minds, and emotions, validated what others might have dismissed as mere anecdote.
Above Goodall's breakthrough was seismic in animal conservation: she observed chimpanzees able to use tools, once thought the sole preserve of humans
Goodall's breakthrough was seismic in animal conservation: she observed chimpanzees able to use tools, once thought the sole preserve of humans
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The global stateswoman: from researcher to relentless activist
The idyllic life of an isolated researcher came to an end in 1986 after a conference revealed the shocking reality of deforestation and rapidly dwindling chimpanzee populations across Africa. The focus of her life pivoted dramatically from studying to saving. The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI), founded in 1977, expanded its mission, realising science alone couldn't save the chimpanzees.
This pivot saw the primatologist transform into a tireless global diplomat, travelling an average of 300 days a year to spread her urgent message. She became a conduit for planetary awareness, connecting the struggles of the Gombe chimps to the global climate crisis. Her tireless efforts garnered the world’s highest honours, including being invested as a Dame of the British Empire (DBE) in 2004, named a UN Messenger of Peace in 2002, and most recently, receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from US President Joe Biden in January 2025. Her exceptional achievements carved a trailblazing path for other women in science, with women now dominating long-term primate behavioural studies worldwide. In fact, she noted that being a woman “actually helped me in some instances” in the field.
Her transition from shy scientist to celebrated ‘icon’ was a calculated choice for the sake of the planet: “I suddenly realised: if I really want to change the world and have people understand what they need to do, I better make use of this [fame].”
Above Dr. Jane Goodall with chimpanzee Freud at Gombe National Park in Tanzania
Dr. Jane Goodall with chimpanzee Freud at Gombe National Park in Tanzania
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The biocentric ethicist: a legacy of hope and individual power in conservation
At the core of Goodall's global crusade was a profound moral philosophy, a rejection of anthropocentric thought. Her work was about breaking down the walls that humans build between themselves and the rest of nature, urging us to recognise the interconnectedness of all life.
Despite decades spent witnessing the devastating impact of human consumption—her clarion call that “if we carry on the way we are with business as usual, we’re doomed” was uncompromising—she refused to succumb to despair. Her defining message was one of active hope. She found her greatest inspiration in the tenacity of nature’s resilience and, crucially, in young people.
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This belief in the power of the youth is cemented in The Jane Goodall Institute’s signature programme, Roots & Shoots. This global environmental and humanitarian youth movement connects thousands of young people in over 70 countries who are eager to contribute to a better world, proving that “Youth aren’t just the future, they’re the present.”
Goodall's final, powerful lesson was one of radical personal responsibility. She understood that, while the icon was necessary to command global attention, the power for change lay with the millions of individuals inspired by her message:
“Every single individual on the planet makes an impact every day, and almost all of us have a choice as to what sort of impact we make.”
Above Goodall at the Tatler House Dialogues in 2024. “My main reasons for hope are the youth, because of their creativity and passion; and nature—because of how resilient it is.” (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong / Patrick Leung)
Goodall at the Tatler House Dialogues in 2024. “My main reasons for hope are the youth, because of their creativity and passion; and nature—because of how resilient it is.” (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong / Patrick Leung)
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Credits
Creative Direction: Zoe Yau
Photography: Alexander Yeung
Photography Assistant: Kapo Lam
