Netflix honors Jane Goodall with a posthumous release of Famous Last Words, capturing her final interview filled with honesty, reflection, and a message to humanity.
Netflix is paying tribute to the late Dr. Jane Goodall DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace, with the release of a special installment of its unique docuseries Famous Last Words. The episode, now streaming globally, captures one of Goodall’s final interviews, offering viewers a deeply personal and unfiltered look at her life, legacy, and lasting message to humanity.
The series, which showcases cultural icons sharing their reflections and parting thoughts with the understanding that they would only air after their passing, has chosen Goodall as the subject of its latest release. Her episode, filmed earlier this year, reveals never-before-heard stories, candid insights, and her honest perspective on mortality. Knowing that her words would only be shared posthumously, Goodall spoke movingly about her own death while reflecting on her lifelong mission to connect humanity to the natural world.
As with every installment of Famous Last Words, the conversation concludes with an unedited moment where Goodall looked directly into the camera and addressed the world one final time. This closing message represents her famous last words — her ultimate gift to those grieving her passing.
Executive producer Brad Falchuk described the experience of capturing Goodall’s final interview: “Jane Goodall was fearless in all things. She deeply loved humanity and the natural world. It was clear to me in our conversation that she was approaching her final adventure with the same fearlessness, hope, humor and joy that she approached everything else in life. She was one of the world’s greatest and most beloved champions of good.”
Famous Last Words is based on the acclaimed Danish format Det Sidste Ord and is designed to preserve the deeply personal reflections of cultural luminaries. Each interview is recorded in private with only the subject and interviewer present, with the footage kept strictly confidential until after the participant’s passing.
The series comes from Emmy Award winner Brad Falchuk through his Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision banner and BSNA, part of Banijay Entertainment. Falchuk serves as executive producer alongside Mikkel Bondesen, David Goldberg, and showrunner David Friedman.
Dr. Jane Goodall leaves behind an extraordinary legacy as a pioneering ethologist and conservationist. Beginning her groundbreaking studies of wild chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania in 1960, she forever changed scientific understanding of the animal kingdom by proving that chimpanzees make and use tools. Her transformative research continues today as the longest-running wild chimpanzee study in the world.
Beyond her fieldwork, Goodall founded the Jane Goodall Institute, which advances conservation and animal welfare worldwide, and in 1991, she launched Roots & Shoots, a youth-driven environmental and humanitarian program that now operates in 75 countries. Her writings, including The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times, continue to inspire generations across the globe.
With her Famous Last Words episode, Goodall’s fearless spirit and boundless compassion live on, giving the world one final chance to hear from one of the most beloved champions of nature and humanity.
Famous Last Words with Jane Goodall is now streaming exclusively on Netflix.
