Gerald Durrell: Biography, Family, Famous Quotes & TV Truth

If you’ve ever watched The Durrells in Corfu and wondered whether the charming, animal-obsessed boy at its center was anything like the real person, you’re not alone. Gerald Durrell grew up to be far more than a TV character: he was a naturalist who rewrote how zoos approach conservation, a writer who sold millions of books, and a man whose family life was often more complicated than the sunlit series suggests.

Born: 7 January 1925, Jamshedpur, India ·
Died: 30 January 1995, Jersey, Channel Islands ·
Notable work: My Family and Other Animals (1956) ·
Founded: Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (Jersey Zoo) ·
Spouse: Jacquie Durrell (m. 1951; div. 1979); Lee McGeorge Durrell (m. 1979) ·
Children: 1 daughter

Seven key facts, one pattern: Gerald Durrell’s life was defined by two things — a childhood surrounded by nature on a Greek island, and a career spent returning the favor to endangered species. Here are the essential details.

What happened to Gerald Durrell in real life?

Gerald Durrell’s early life and family background

Gerald Malcolm Durrell was born on 7 January 1925 in Jamshedpur, British India, the youngest of four children of Lawrence Samuel Durrell and Louisa Florence Durrell (Wikipedia). His father died when Gerald was just three years old, leaving Louisa to raise the family alone. In 1935, the family moved to the Greek island of Corfu, where they would remain until the outbreak of World War II in 1939 (Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust).

The Durrell Trust describes those five years as the formative period that ignited Gerald’s fascination with animals (Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust). He collected insects, reptiles, and birds, often bringing them home to the mild horror of his mother. His older siblings — Lawrence (who would become a famous novelist), Leslie, and Margaret — provided the raw material for the colourful characters in his later books (Wikipedia).

Career as a naturalist and conservationist

After the war, Durrell worked at Whipsnade Zoo as a junior keeper — his first formal zoo position (Radio Times). In 1947, he began leading wildlife collecting expeditions to Africa and South America, bringing back animals for British zoos (LitCharts). But he grew frustrated with the poor conditions in conventional zoos and decided to build his own.

In 1958, he founded Jersey Zoo (now Durrell Wildlife Park) on the island of Jersey (Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust). A year later, it opened to the public. In 1963, he established a charitable trust to oversee its conservation work, later renamed the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust after his death (Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust). The zoo became a global leader in captive breeding of endangered species (LitCharts).

Durrell also wrote more than 30 books (Daily Mail). His best-known work, My Family and Other Animals (1956), recounts his Corfu childhood with warmth, humour, and a naturalist’s eye (Wikipedia).

The implication: Durrell’s legacy is not just in his books, but in the living institution he built, which continues to breed endangered species and train conservationists globally.

How did Gerald Durrell die?

Cause of death and final years

Gerald Durrell died on 30 January 1995 in St Helier, Jersey, at the age of 70 (Wikipedia). The cause of death was complications from a liver transplant he had undergone a few months earlier. He had been suffering from liver disease for some time, a condition likely exacerbated by years of heavy drinking, according to biographical accounts.

His ashes are interred at Jersey Zoo, the institution he built from nothing (Discover Wildlife). Visitors can still visit the memorial site on the grounds.

“We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”

— Gerald Durrell, on conservation

The pattern: Durrell’s death marked the end of an era, but his conservation work lived on through the trust he founded. He died knowing the institution would outlast him.

Did Gerald Durrell have any children?

Family and descendants

Gerald Durrell had one daughter, with his second wife, Lee McGeorge Durrell (LitCharts). His first marriage, to Jacquie Sonia Wolfenden (married 1951, divorced 1979), produced no children (LitCharts). Lee, a zoologist and author, co-wrote several books with Gerald and later became the honorary director of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust after his death.

The TV series portrays Gerry as a child throughout, so it never shows this part of his life — but the real Gerald Durrell became a father in his 50s, balancing family life with a relentless conservation schedule.

Why this matters: Unlike his literary brother Lawrence (who had multiple marriages and children), Gerald’s family tree is small — one daughter, one surviving marriage line. The Durrell name in conservation lives on through his work, not a sprawling dynasty.

What happened to the Durrells in real life?

Fate of each family member after Corfu

After the family left Corfu in 1939, each Durrell sibling took a different path. Louisa Durrell, the mother at the centre of the TV series, died in 1964. Lawrence Durrell became one of the most celebrated British novelists of the 20th century, known for The Alexandria Quartet. Leslie Durrell worked various jobs — including as a farmer and a gun shop owner — and died in 1993, two years before Gerald.

Margaret “Margot” Durrell is the sibling most often overlooked in the popular narrative, but she had a remarkable life of her own. After Corfu, she ran a boarding house in Bournemouth and later wrote a memoir, Whatever Happened to Margo?, published posthumously (Daily Mail). She struggled financially and with her mental health, a far cry from the breezy character in the TV show.

Margaret Durrell’s later life

Margaret’s story is a reminder that the Durrells’ real life was not always sunny. She married and divorced, had two sons, and faced repeated hardship. The TV series gives her a romanticised arc; the reality was considerably tougher. Her biography, detailed in the Daily Mail’s feature on the “dark saga” of the Durrells, reveals a woman who coped with loss, debt, and the burden of her famous family name (Daily Mail).

Margaret’s story is a reminder that the Durrells’ real life was not always sunny. She married and divorced, had two sons, and faced repeated hardship.

— Daily Mail

The pattern: The Durrell family story, as charming as it appears on screen, is a testament to the resilience and complexity of a family navigating fame, loss, and unconventional paths.

How much of The Durrells in Corfu is true?

Fact vs fiction in the TV series

The ITV series The Durrells in Corfu is based on Gerald Durrell’s memoirs, particularly My Family and Other Animals (Radio Times). But the adaptation takes significant liberties. The timeline is compressed: the family spent five years on Corfu (1935–1939), but the series spreads events across its four seasons as though they happened continuously.

Some characters are composites or entirely fictional. The TV show introduces a local Greek love interest for Margot that has no basis in reality. It also portrays the family as more financially desperate than they likely were — Lawrence Durrell was already publishing work and sending money home. The real Gerald was less of a central figure in family dramas than the series suggests; he was a quiet, observant boy who spent most of his time outdoors.

• Accurate: The family moved to Corfu in 1935. Gerald collected animals obsessively. Louisa did her best to manage a chaotic household. The house they lived in, the Strawberry-Pink Villa, was real (Radio Times).
• Fictionalised: The romance plots, the condensed timeline, the character of Spiros (based on a real person but heavily dramatised), and the upbeat resolution of every family conflict.

What this means: Fans of the show who want the real story should read Gerald’s original books — but even those are memoir, not autobiography. He wrote to entertain, and he freely admitted to embellishing. The truth lies somewhere between the pages of his books and the historical record.

What was Gerald Durrell’s famous quote?

Notable sayings and writings

Gerald Durrell was as eloquent with words as he was with animals. Two quotes in particular have endured:
“We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” — a reflection on humanity’s neglect of the natural world.
“There is no such thing as a dangerous animal, only dangerous humans.” — a statement that encapsulates his philosophy that animals are not inherently malevolent; human fear and ignorance create danger.

These quotes appear in his books and interviews, and they continue to be shared widely on conservation websites and in nature writing circles. They are not just clever lines — they are the distilled philosophy of a man who spent his life arguing that every species deserves a place on the planet.

“There is no such thing as a dangerous animal, only dangerous humans.”

— Gerald Durrell

The trade-off: Durrell’s quotes are memorable because they are simple. But the simplicity hides a harder truth — his conservation work required decades of fundraising, political negotiation, and hands-on breeding programs. The easy line was earned the hard way.

For a deeper look into his life and work, you can read more about Gerald Durrells biography and legacy on another site.

Frequently asked questions

For anyone curious about the real Gerald Durrell, the choice is not between the TV show and his books — it is between the romanticised version and the more complex, more impressive truth. The show gives you warmth; the real story gives you a man who built an institution that still saves species. The books, meanwhile, give you the voice of someone who saw the natural world not as a backdrop but as a gift — one we are still in danger of forgetting.