Jane Goodall



Jane Goodall (b. 1934) is a world-famous primatologist considered to be the foremost expert on chimpanzees. She has been working with chimps since 1960 when she first went to Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania.

She founded the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977 which has partnered with the Tanzanian Sesame Street co-production Kilimani Sesame. She has authored over a dozen books in her field of study as well as nearly as many children's books.

Goodall has been the subject of over 40 documentaries, such as the PBS series In Their Own Words (which also profiled Jim Henson) and 2017's Jane scored by Philip Glass. She has appeared on countless talk shows including The Mike Douglas Show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Reading Rainbow, Nova, The Daily Show, The Tavis Smiley Show, StarTalk, and 60 Minutes, among others. She also voiced herself in a 2001 episode of the Nickelodeon series The Wild Thornberrys.

Her recognition in popular culture has been cemented by references in books such as Brad Meltzer's I Am Jane Goodall released in the same series as his I Am Jim Henson (she also features alongside Joan Ganz Cooney in Meltzer's Heroes for My Daughter) as well as multiple awards, honorary doctorates, and honors including a plaque on the Tree of Life at Disney's Animal Kingdom.