The 85-year-old primatologist weighs in on the world her great-grandchildren will inherit, the Impossible Burger, and the power of having great legs.
Fifty-nine years ago, Jane Goodall, an animal lover with no formal academic training, traveled to Gombe, Tanzania, to observe chimpanzees for famed anthropologist Louis Leakey. Within months, the 26-year-old witnessed a chimp extracting termites from a mound using long blades of grass, upending mankind’s very understanding of itself: Humans were no longer the only species to make tools, no longer unequivocally superior. She went on to discover that chimps, like humans, have complex social and familial hierarchies, sharp intelligence, and deep-seated wells of emotion. Goodall has spent the rest of her life devoted to conserving the world they live in, one that’s disappearing due to climate change and the interests of big business. “What we’re doing to the planet is shocking and irresponsible, and it’s all done for making money,” she says. “We’ve got to understand we need money to live, but it goes wrong when we live for money.” At 85, the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace travels over 300 days a year, spreading the gospel of conservation. She speaks to ELLE from the institute’s U.S. headquarters in Washington, DC.
ELLE: The kind of slow and steady observation you did for years contrasts so much with the fast-paced, technologically driven world we live in. Growing up today, would your story have been the same?
This story is from the July 2019 edition of ELLE.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July 2019 edition of ELLE.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Rebel Hearts
The best fashion is served family style. Model siblings-slash-fashion royalty Lily McMenamy and Eddy and Arthur Aldridge share an unbreakable bond. Here, they team rocker-chic staples with equally timeless Cartier Trinity jewelry.
Nicole Kidman
At Least We Can All Agree On Whether she's confronting the toughest emotions onscreen, raising millions to support women's causes, or putting on a pinstriped suit to help save the movies, the Expats star brings people together.
WOMEN OF IMPACT
Write a poem. Build a business. Use your megaphone with no apologies. As our 2024 honorees show, there are endless ways to make positive change.
Breast Surgery, Augmented
Is \"internal bra\" surgery the stuff that braless dreams are made of?
BRITISH INVASION
Kit Kemp's signature hotel design, a madcap take on English tradition, is taking over New York.
FULL CIRCLE
As Tory Burch celebrates 20 years, her sense of mission is stronger than ever.
CACTUS FLOWER
The minds behind Desserto are spinning the desert plant into (eco-friendly) gold.
MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION
A new book gives an inside look at fashion's most ardent archivists, from Michèle Lamy to Azzedine Alaïa.
MORE IS MORE
A maximalist season kicks off with embellished bags, intricately decorated vases, and high-flown takes on ceremonial jewelryas seen here in the medals and aiguillettes of creative director Claire Choisne's latest high jewelry lineup for Boucheron. High Jewelry Collection Histoire de Style, The Power of Couture, Boucheron, boucheron.com.
La Nuova BELLEZA
Confident, sexy, and at the height of the fashion world. Italian supermodel Vittoria Ceretti demonstrates how to dress for seduction in spring's sheer.feminine slipdresses and body-conscious looks from luxury labels in Italy and beyond.