Bindi Irwin: Complete story of the rise of Steve Irwin’s daughter
From speaking at her dad’s memorial to claiming US television glory, Bindi Irwin has grown up in front of our eyes. This is her journey so far.
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Bindi Irwin has never been far from the spotlight.
Speaking as an eight-year-old in front of a television audience of 300 million at your dad’s memorial service tends to put you front and centre.
So too does an infectious passion for wildlife conservation – one inherited from her late father, Steve – and winning the US version of Dancing With The Stars.
Throw in talk of family rifts, personal struggles and the joy of starting her own family, and Bindi has grown up in front of our eyes.
This is the story of our conservation queen >>>
EARLY LIFE
Stephen Robert Irwin was born on February 22, 1962 in Upper Ferntree Gully, Victoria to Bob and Lyn Irwin.
The Irwin family moved to Beerwah, Queensland in 1970 and opened the Beerwah Reptile Park.
Steve’s love of wildlife, particularly crocodiles, started at a young age with him actively involved in the reptile park — renamed in 1980 as Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park — which he took over running on October 4, 1991.
He met visiting tourist Terri Raines around the same time and after a whirlwind romance, the couple married on June 4, 1992 in Terri’s hometown of Oregon in the United States.
While on their honeymoon, they ended up creating The Crocodile Hunter TV documentary series, which over time was broadcast around the world.
“Steve and Terri’s wildlife documentaries brought Australia Zoo to the world stage, attracting visitors from across the world to the Sunshine Coast,” Terri’s Australia Zoo profile states online.
In 1998, they once again changed the name of their business to Australia Zoo, as it is still known today.
Their first child, Bindi, was born in July 1998 and then Robert was born in December 2003, making them a tight-knit family of four.
In 2014 at only 14, Bindi, who had previously been homeschooled between crocodile shows at the zoo, enrolled in a certificate III of business and tourism at the Sunshine Coast TAFE.
Within years she has risen to start her own family as well as become the face of the Irwin empire.
LOSING DAD
The passing of a loved one always hurts.
However the very public death of famed crocodile hunter Steve Irwin, 44, on September 4, 2006 shook the nation.
That confronting reality played out very publicly for the Irwin family, who mourned and celebrated the life and legacy of Steve both privately and publicly.
When an eight-year-old Bindi stood in front of a television audience of 300 million to speak at her dad’s memorial service, the new face of Australia Zoo was discovered.
Steve’s death shocked the world and there was talk Australia Zoo would not survive — but Terri and their children, aged eight and two at the time, proved the critics wrong.
In February 2022, on what would have been Steve’s 60th birthday, Bindi shared a heartfelt post to her late dad.
“Happy Birthday to the greatest dad and Wildlife Warrior,” she wrote.
“Today I’ll watch ‘The Crocodile Hunter’ with Grace Warrior and share stories about her incredible Grandpa Crocodile. I love you with all my heart. Your legacy lives on.”
On July 3, 2022 Robert spoke candidly about his childhood and life without his dad.
“I am sort of stepping into adulthood, having turned 18, and navigating that is hard enough (but) when you are in my situation, and you don’t have a father figure to guide you through, it’s really hard,” he told Stellar.
IRWIN FAMILY FEUD
Terri, Bindi and Robert Irwin appeared on the US TV game show Family Feud in 2017 – but the drama has appeared to play out in reality amid lingering speculation of a feud with Steve’s dad Bob for more than a decade.
Bob was involved in the running of Australia Zoo even after he gave Steve and Terri ownership in 1992 but it was after Steve’s death that tensions rose.
There were reports of a feud between Bob and Terri over how she was running the zoo since Steve’s passing so Bob left the business about two years after Steve’s death — and has been estranged from Terri, Bindi and Robert ever since.
In 2019, respected conservationist and environmentalist Bob Irwin revealed he hadn’t seen Bindi and Robert in more than a decade — but maintained there is no family feud.
“It’s wrong, it’s totally untrue. I knew, because of the magazine (the reporter) said he was from, it was going to be another one of those garbage, junk-type stories … but you can never be prepared for the fact it might be upsetting to so many people,’’ Irwin said.
However he hasn’t returned to Australia Zoo since he resigned in 2008.
When Bindi got engaged in 2019, Bob said she did not respond to his letter of congratulations and he wasn’t invited to her wedding.
But scathing comments from Bindi on social media following a Father’s Day appreciation post — where she did not mention her grandfather — revealed a rift.
“I really wish that my entire family could spend time with (her newborn daughter) Grace. Unfortunately, my grandfather Bob has shown no interest in spending time with me or my family.”
She went on to write: “He has returned gifts I’ve sent after he opened them, he has ignored my correspondence and from the time I was a little girl he has ignored me, preferring to spend time doing anything else rather than being with me. He has never said a single kind word to me personally. It breaks my heart.”
She said her mum also wrote to him but got no response despite giving him financial support since 1992 sending him funds every week.
“We built him a house on a beautiful property and will always do our best to ensure his wellbeing,” she wrote.
“I have struggled with this relationship my entire life and it brings me enormous pain. I have to choose to care for my own mental health now.”
STARTING HER OWN FAMILY
In 2013, Bindi met American wakeboarder Chandler Powell at Australia Zoo, at almost the same location her parents met decades before.
They married in 2020 and Chandler moved to Australia and plays an active role working at the zoo.
Steve Irwin was honoured by the couple at their wedding.
“We want to acknowledge Steve by all of us lighting this candle for him, but you know, I guess in some ways it’s not necessary because Steve will be there anyway,’’ Terri said in March 2020.
Bob Irwin, though, in 2019 opened up about his wishes for Bindi and her family, despite not getting an invite to the wedding.
“Much the same as any other parent or grandparent, I would wish (Bindi and Chandler) all the best — which I do — and hope things go really, really well,” he said.
“No, I haven’t had an invite to the wedding and, to be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t expect to be invited to the wedding.’’
The couple became parents to Grace Warrior Irwin Powell in 2021 and are bringing her up at Australia Zoo.
Bindi, then 22, posted on Instagram that her daughter is “the most beautiful light” and explained that Grace was named after her great-grandmother, and relatives in Chandler’s family, while Warrior was a nod to her late father.
In August 2022 Bindi revealed that 1-year-old Grace calls Steve “Grandpa Crocodile” while grandmother Terri is referred to as “Bunny”.
In June 2022 Irwin shared a series of photos of her family, and later revealed the “weird” bond Grace has to wildlife: “Oh my word, the koalas literally climb out of their trees to come see her.”
CARRYING ON DAD’S LEGACY
From the start it was clear Bindi was not going to slip into the background.
Like her father, she has always carried a passion, one that led to her own TV shows, Bindi: The Jungle Girl and Bindi’s Bootcamp.
Audiences watched Bindi and Robert grow up over the years where they both appeared in TV shows Crikey! It’s the Irwins and Steve Irwin’s Wildlife Warriors among others, with Bindi even venturing into doing movies like Free Willy: Escape from Pirate’s Cove and Return to Nim’s Island.
Bindi would go on to launch her own fashion brand, as well as become a performer, reality show champion, conservationist and a savvy businesswoman.
She was named Young Achiever of the Year at the 2015 Queensland Tourism Awards, a gong that sits with her Premier’s Young Achiever Award, the Young Conservationist of the Year accolade from the Australian Geographic Society, and her Logie.
However following her father’s footsteps was always the dream, as she disclosed in 2016.
“I’m getting ready to buckle down, work full-time and help out with the management of Australia Zoo,” she said.
“As I’ve been getting older I’ve been getting more and more involved in the workings of the zoo. There’s a lot to do.
“Wherever I go, Australia Zoo will always be my home and I’ll always work there.”
Queensland business mogul Sarina Russo in 2016 explained how Irwin was destined for big things.
“She has been raised to believe that anything is possible … She is fearless,” Russo said.
“It is her passion that is the secret sauce.”
Bindi, though, has often hailed her mum as the driving force.
“She’s carried on Dad’s legacy and I don’t know anyone else who could have done it better than her. No matter what life throws at us, she’s unchangeable. I want to be like her as I grow up,” she said.
Bindi has also helped grow the Steve Irwin Day, with proceeds go towards Wildlife Warriors’ conservation programs.
“The funds that we make go straight back into our wildlife work, just as dad designed, and we will continue to do our best to carry on in his footsteps, forever,” she said in November 2016.
LIFE IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Attacks on Steve’s legacy
For all the love of Steve Irwin there remained a minority who questioned his work.
Two years before his death, Steve made headlines after holding his son Robert while he fed a giant crocodile at Australia Zoo.
The act, which was said to have put Robert’s life at risk, got international media attention and according to his longtime friend John Stainton at the time, it led to a “dark period” for Steve.
In April 2022, Olympic swimmer Lisa Curry in her memoir revealed Steve lost his chance of getting the Australian of the Year award over that incident.
After his death the zoo faced some controversy when in 2013, tiger handler Dave Styles was attacked, bitten in the neck by a male Sumatran-Bengal mix tiger he had raised from a cub.
Personal struggles
In March 2023, on International Women’s Day, Irwin shockingly revealed she had been struggling for 10 years with undiagnosed endometriosis that has left her with “insurmountable fatigue, pain and nausea”.
She wrote on social media about how doctors told her her health struggles were just something she’d have to deal with as a woman, leading her at one point to “give up entirely”.
“I battled for a long time wondering if I should share this journey with you in such a public space.,” she said in an Instagram post.
“It came down to the responsibility I feel to share my story for other women who need help.
“For 10 years I’ve struggled with insurmountable fatigue, pain and nausea.”
Social scene
In 2021 Bindi took a break from social media in a bid to focus on her family, as well as support others.
“(I will be) taking a break from social media and most of my work in the public eye for a month to be with my beautiful daughter and my wonderful family,” she wrote.
“I feel tremendously grateful to share our life and conservation work with you but I need some time to focus on the happiness that is my family (both human and animal).
“Recently, I’ve had many people reaching out to share their own stories of working hard to protect their mental health. Thank you for sharing and speaking your truth.
“To my friends who are dealing with depression, anxiety and other battles every day – I see you. These issues are very real and deserve to be discussed and addressed.”
Dancing With The Stars
“I’ve just woken up from this incredible dream.”
Bindi in December 2015 told the nation on the Today Show all about her victory on the US version of Dancing With The Stars, alongside dance partner Derek Hough.
“The crowds were screaming so loud and it was a beautiful night, but then they announced our names and I didn’t know until I looked over at Derek who started yelling with joy,” she said.
“So he said that he was surprised I didn’t explode into glitter, I was that happy.
“It was such a wonderful night and, you know, for me to have my family there with me every single step of the way, it meant the most.
“Their support and love is what kept me going. For someone who is known for wildlife conservation and not dancing, it was an unbelievable journey.”
Book venture
Irwin in June 2024 announced an exciting new career move, delighting her fans with the news of her first children’s picture book, You Are A Wildlife Warrior.
In an Instagram post the 25-year-old shared her joy and anticipation for the book, which takes readers on a captivating journey through Australia Zoo with Bindi and her three-year-old daughter, Grace Warrior.
“Today is one of the very best days of my entire life,” Irwin wrote.
“I officially get to share with you my new children’s book, You Are A Wildlife Warrior.”
Bindi’s medical emergency
The TV personality was in May 2025 forced to miss the annual Steve Irwin Gala after suffering a sudden a health emergency.
Her brother Robert Irwin told People Magazine that his zookeeper sister suffered a ruptured appendix and she was rushed to hospital.
Robert, 21, attended the event in Las Vegas, but said his older sister, 26, was undergoing surgery.
“She’s going to be OK, but surgery — out of all the things we were ready for, that was not one of them,” Robert told People.
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