Jane Goodall died from cardiac arrest

Question

A couple weeks ago Jane Goodall passed away at the age of 91 and originally the news reported the causes as natural. I found articles that have talked about the new reports on her death and that she passed from cardiac arrest. All the articles I found on the statement, from sources such as the New York Post and The Rolling Stones, tied back to the original source being TMZ which had gotten access to her death certificate. People magazine also says they have confirmed the news and also explains that TMZ was the first to report it. I am unsure how true this statement is because I know TMZ can often be unreliable and quick with their news reports. I wouldn't be surprised if this was the cause of death, but I still don't think there is a reliable source that has come out to truly confirm this.

Answer 1

The claim that Jane Goodall passed away from cardiac arrest is sadly true. Multiple sources from MSN to Rolling Stone all reported that Jane Goodall passed away in her sleep at age 91. However, The JGI, Jane Goodall Institution, reported that Jane passed from "natural causes". Fox had reached out for an additional comment but no response has been given. At this age passing away from "cardiopulmonary arrest" in your sleep is considered natural. Most likely her heart beat got slower and slower until she eventually passed away in her sleep.

Comments

I really like how you confirmed immediately how she passed away. That is very sad that she passed away in her sleep and didn't get to say goodbye to her family. I think on way you could make this even better is providing a link to where you found this information. Nice job!

Answer 2

It is true unfortunately that Jane Goodall did die on October 1st, 2025 from cardiac arrest. It is true that the claim did originally come from TMZ who did in fact get access to her death certificate. It was stated in the report that Goodall passed away from “cardiopulmonary arrest” or more generally known as cardiac arrest. Though its true that it was stated that epilepsy was also a condition though its unclear whether or not it had a hand in her death. 

It's also accurate that many news outlets have since covered her passing including: People, Newsweek, Entertainment Weekly, NBC, and National Geographic. All of whom seemed to align with this information and confirmed the details previously mentioned in the document. Most of the media outlets have stated that her death was “natural causes”, including The Jane Goodall Institute’s public statement that they released. Though it is officially confirmed that Goodall passed from cardiac arrest because there is an image of her death certificate stating “cardiopulmonary arrest” as the cause of her death.

Includes an image of Jane Goodall’s death certificate: https://www.foxnews.com/health/jane-goodalls-cause-death-revealed-weeks-after-beloved-primatologist-dies-91

https://www.tmz.com/2025/10/20/jane-goodall-cause-of-death/

Other mentions of her passing and cause:

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/nation-world/jane-goodalls-cause-of-death-revealed/507-1e08ac62-8d3a-4d92-9dcd-d18ea5d1cec2

https://people.com/jane-goodall-cause-of-death-revealed-as-cardiac-arrest-after-being-found-in-her-sleep-11823372

Answer 3

The claim that, “Jane Goodall died from cardiac arrest,” is true. It has been confirmed that Jane Goodall passed away on October 1st, 2025 from cardiopulmonary arrest. The confusion surrounding her death being natural is because cardiac arrest is currently considered a natural death. 

It’s also true that her cause of death was originally initially announced on TMZ (Jane Goodall Cause of Death Revealed) where they also feature a picture of her death certificate. All news articles I found on the matter references the TMZ article and they all talked about how her death was natural, due to cardiac arrest, and how Goodall was epileptic which could’ve also had a hand in her death.

Answer 4

The claim “Jane Goodall died from cardiac arrest” is true. 

According to the EW “The legendary zoologist and conservationist, who dedicated her life to the study of chimpanzees, died at 91 from cardiac arrest, according to a death certificate obtained by TMZ.” The Jane Goodall Institute said she died from “natural causes” which is what cardiac arrest is considered at the age of 91. Then, Fox News posted an image of her death certificate: “Jane Goodall's death certificate, issued by the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health, listed her cause of death as "cardiopulmonary arrest." (County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health)”. So yes, Jane Goodall did pass away in her sleep due to cardiac arrest. 

• https://ew.com/jane-goodall-cause-of-death-revealed-11832888

• https://janegoodall.org/

• https://www.foxnews.com/health/jane-goodalls-cause-death-revealed-weeks-after-beloved-primatologist-dies-91

Answer 5

Jane Goodall did in fact die of cardiac arrest. 

According to Wikipedia she died of natural causes but this is not true. Upon looking deeper I found a KGW8 article that stated that it was originally thought that Jane Goodall died of natural causes, but upon the release of her death certificate to media outlets that was proven incorrect. 

This claim was further reinforced by various other outlets like Fox News and Vanity Fair.

Answer 6

The claim that Jane Goodall died from cardiac arrest is true. Entertainment Weekly reports that "Jane Goodall's cause of death has been reportedly revealed over two weeks after she was found dead while on her speaking tour in California."  While the Jane Goodall Institute initially stated that Goodall died of natural causes when on her speaking tour, the article also highlights that TMZ obtained her death certificate, confirming that she had died at 91 from cardiac arrest. However, the original claim is right in saying that TMZ has often been an unreliable source, so I looked into it further.

Vanity Fair notes, "Goodall died in her sleep as a result of cardiac arrest, also known as cardiopulmonary arrest, according to her death certificate." Jane Goodall also apparently suffered from epilepsy, but it didn't cause her death. Other sources like FOX News, PEOPLE, and Rolling Stone all confirmed that Goodall did indeed pass from cardiac arrest.