Sigourney Weaver: A Voice to Inspire and Empower

​One life-changing role set award-winning actor Sigourney Weaver on a decades-long journey to protect wild things and wild places. That role? Playing conservationist Dian Fossey in the 1988 film Gorillas in the Mist.

Inspired by Fossey’s determination and commitment to the conservation of Rwanda’s gorilla population, Weaver has continued to expand her legacy beyond the box office. She was recently announced as the 2016 Jane Alexander Global Wildlife Ambassador Award Winner, honored for her credible and consistent advocacy.

“Playing Dian brought me into her world and the world of gorillas and made it abundantly clear to me just how much of a difference one individual can make,” Weaver said. “Our children deserve to inherit a world of wildlife. And if countries and politicians can join forces to save the great apes and their habitats, then there is hope that gorillas will be around for generations to come.”

As Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International’s Honorary Chair, Weaver has witnessed what many call one of the world’s greatest conservation success stories.

Gorillas of the Mountains

When Fossey first set off to study these apes, she found a species on the brink. Through the 70s and 80s, critically endangered mountain gorillas living along the volcanic mountain slopes were pushed to near extinction, suffering from habitat loss, disease and poaching. 

But over the course of nearly 50 years, a population that was once only 240 has grown to an estimated 900 — the only great ape subspecies in the world to be increasing in number — due to research and techniques pioneered by Fossey and pursued by teams at DFGFI.

An Ambassador for Wildlife

In her nearly 30 years serving as honorary chair, Weaver has captivated audiences as a voice for gorillas and other wildlife. Actively participating in environmental and social causes, Weaver has lent her voice to the National Resources Defense Council’s documentary “Acid Test,” the highly popular BBC series “Planet Earth,” and outlined threats to marine habitats at the United Nations General Assembly where she joined more than 60 conservation organizations and individuals to call for a moratorium on high-seas bottom trawling.

This summer Sigourney even makes a cameo in the highly-anticipated Disney-Pixar sequel Finding Dory.