Leonardo DiCaprio pays tribute to Jane Goodall at Washington D.C. memorial

Leonardo DiCaprio paid an emotional tribute to Jane Goodall during her memorial service in Washington, D.C., standing up to honour the renowned primatologist and conservationist.

On Wednesday, November 12, at the Washington National Cathedral, the Oscar winner said, “Most people knew her as Jane Goodall, the icon, the legend.”

The actor continued, “But the Jane I was fortunate enough to get to know was gentle, curious, funny, witty, and absolutely unstoppable”.

He recalled on Goodall’s  ability to “light up a room with her stories and somehow inspire everyone she met to believe that they individually could do better.”

The actor also said that she could enlighten the room with her presence. He recalled the time with her at conferences and friends’ homes, where they’d end up tucked in a corner, for the conversation of biodiversity, politics and their hopes for the future.

The Titanic star mentioned his favourite memories from when he first posed for a photo with the conservationist.

“I looked straight into the camera,” he said. “When I looked to my left, Jane was looking directly at me.”

When DiCaprio asked Goodall’s chosen angle, she told him that was the way she preferred to pose for photographs.

DiCaprio also recalled, “Because for her, it was never about the image itself. It was about that shared connection. And that small moment said everything to me about who she was: an enlightened Homo sapien”.