Remembering Dian Fossey: Primatology, Celebrity, Mythography

It is generally accepted today that the turbulent life of the American primatologist Dian Fossey developed over time into the stuff of legend; so much so that its singularly nasty end — she was murdered in 1985 in circumstances that are still far from certain — is seen by some as ‘something she might well have made up for herself’ (Torgovnick 91). Fossey’s celebrity (or, perhaps better, her notoriety) is attributable to several different factors, not least the 1988 Hollywood film (Gorillas in the Mist) celebrating her exploits.