Bindi Sue Irwin (born 24 July 1998) is an Australian television personality, conservationist,

zookeeper A zookeeper, sometimes referred as animal keeper, is a person who manages zoo animals that are kept in captivity for conservation or to be displayed to the public.Hurwitz, Jane. Choosing a Career in Animal Care (World of Work). New York: Rosen Gr ...

and actress. She is the elder of the two children of conservationist and television personality

Steve Irwin Stephen Robert Irwin (22 February 19624 September 2006), known as "the Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian zookeeper, Conservation movement, conservationist, television personality, wildlife educator, and environmentalist. Irwin grew up ar ...

and his conservationist wife,

Terri Irwin Terri Raines Irwin (née Raines, born July 20, 1964) is an American-Australian conservationist, television personality, author and zookeeper who is the owner of Australia Zoo in Beerwah, Queensland. She is the widow of Steve Irwin. Born in O ...

, who owns the

Australia Zoo Australia Zoo is a zoo in the Australian state of Queensland on the Sunshine Coast near Beerwah/ Glass House Mountains. It is a member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA), and is owned by Terri Irwin, the widow of Steve Irwin, whose ...

. Bindi's younger brother is

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

, a television personality and photographer, and they are the grandchildren of

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

and

herpetologist Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...

Bob Irwin Robert Eric Irwin (born 8 June 1939) is an Australian natural history, naturalist, animal conservation movement, conservationist, former zookeeper, and a herpetologist known for his conservation and husbandry work with apex predators and reptil ...

. When she was nine, Irwin hosted ''

Bindi the Jungle Girl ''Bindi the Jungle Girl'' was a children's television nature documentary series, presented by Bindi Irwin, the daughter of Steve and Terri Irwin. The series was produced and shot in Queensland by The Best Picture Show Company for Discovery Kid ...

'', a children's wildlife

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

TV series. She has also been involved in acting, singing, dancing, game show hosting, and has created two instructional fitness DVDs. She won

season 21 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

'' (US) and stars alongside her mother Terri and her younger brother Robert in '' Crikey! It's the Irwins.''

Early life

Bindi Sue Irwin was born in

Buderim, Queensland Buderim ( ) is a town in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It sits on a mountain which overlooks the southern Sunshine Coast communities. The name "Buderim" is usually believed to be derived from a local Gubbi Gubbi people, ...

. Her first name comes from the name of her father's favourite female crocodile at Australia Zoo, and her middle name, Sue, is from the family's late dog Sui, who died in her sleep from cancer on 23 June 2004 at the age of 15. According to her father, ''Bindi'' is an

Nyungar language Noongar (), also Nyungar (), is an Australian Aboriginal language or dialect continuum, spoken by some members of the Noongar community and others. It is taught actively in Australia, including at schools, universities and through public broa ...

word that means "young girl". Irwin began appearing on television shows as early as age two. She appeared regularly in her father's television shows, including ''

The Crocodile Hunter Diaries ''The Crocodile Hunter Diaries'' is a wildlife documentary television series first aired on cable TV channel Animal Planet. It was created as a spin-off to the original ''The Crocodile Hunter'' series hosted by Australian naturalist Steve Irwin a ...

'', and in the 2002 film ''

The Wiggles The Wiggles are an Australian children's music group formed in Sydney in 1991. As of 2022, the group members are Anthony Field, Lachlan Gillespie, Simon Pryce, Tsehay Hawkins, Evie Ferris, John Pearce (entertainer), John Pearce, Caterina Mete ...

Wiggly Safari ''Wiggly Safari'' is the 14th album by Australian band the Wiggles. It was released in 2002 by ABC Music distributed by Roadshow Entertainment. It was nominated for the 2002 ARIA Music Award for Best Children's Album but lost to Hi-5's ''Bo ...

'' in a credited cast role. She is of English, Irish and Swedish ancestry. Irwin said about being a dual citizen (Australian-American), in an interview with ''

Brisbane Times ''Brisbane Times'' is an online newspaper for Brisbane and Queensland, Australia. It is owned and run by Nine Publishing, publishers of ''The Age'', ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' and other mastheads. As of 2024, the editor is Sean Parnell. H ...

'': "What's really nice is being a dual citizen both here and in the US so I think I get to vote there as well." Bindi was eight years old when her father was killed by a stingray barb during the filming of an underwater documentary. On 20 September 2006, Irwin received a standing ovation after she delivered a

eulogy A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person, especially one who recently died or retired, or as a term o ...

for her father in front of a crowd of 5,000, and a worldwide television audience of more than 300 million viewers. In the 2006 ''

TV Week ''TV Week'' is a weekly Australian magazine that provides television program listings information and highlights, as well as television-related news. Content ranges from previews for upcoming storylines of popular television programs, particu ...

'' readers' poll, her speech received 43 percent of votes and was voted the television moment of the year. Her mother stated that, apart from some assistance with typing, Irwin had written the speech herself. Irwin was homeschooled until 2014, when she enrolled at

TAFE Queensland East Coast TAFE Queensland East Coast covers the Sunshine Coast and part of the Wide Bay Burnett region in Queensland, Australia. It was formed in 2013 by the amalgamation of the Sunshine Coast Institute of TAFE and the Wide Bay Institute of TAFE and ...

. She has completed a

Certificate III The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) specifies the standards for educational qualifications in Australia. It is administered nationally by the Australian Government's Department of Education, with oversight from the States and Territ ...

in Business, and in 2016 was studying for a Certificate III in Tourism. In June 2021, Irwin claimed of her grandfather, Bob Irwin, that her entire life "has been psychological abuse from him." She also stated that Bob "never said a single kind word to her personally", and had “shown no interest” in spending time with her or her family. Irwin denied these comments through a spokesperson not long after.

Career

Irwin has been an active television personality and conservationist since a young age. She was the presenter of a 26-part wildlife documentary kids show called ''

'', a production of the

Discovery Kids Discovery Kids, stylized as discovery k!ds, is a brand name owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Starting as a television block within Discovery Channel, the brand expanded as a separate television channel in October 1996. Discovery Kids on NBC was ...

television network. Her father was filmed in many of the early shows before his death in September 2006, when production was temporarily put on hold. Bindi Irwin and her mother announced that she would continue her late father's conservation and television work. The series premiered in June 2007 on Discovery Kids, with papers reporting that Steve Irwin had supported his daughter's career, saying "I just want to be co-star to my daughter". Irwin commits 10% of her wages to

Wildlife Warriors Wildlife Warriors, originally called the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation, is a conservationist organization that was established in 2002 by Steve Irwin and his wife Terri, to involve and educate others in the protection of injured, threa ...

, the charity founded by her family in 2002.

Music career

On 27 November 2006, Irwin released her debut album ''Bindi Kid Fitness with Steve Irwin and The Crocmen''. A year later on 17 November 2007 she released her first single "Trouble in the Jungle". This was the only single to feature her rapping. "Trouble in the Jungle" includes a tribute song to her father Steve called "My Daddy The Crocodile Hunter". Irwin released two fitness

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

s for children and sang "Trouble in the Jungle" on ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...

'' with The Crocmen in November 2007. At this point, Irwin started learning how to play the piano. She then released her second album ''Bindi Kid Fitness 2 Jungle Dance Party'' on 11 October 2008. Irwin originally had a band called "Bindi and The Crocmen". As of 2009 she had a new band called "Bindi and The Jungle Girls". Irwin eventually released her third album in 2013, ''Bindi and The Jungle Girls African Dance Party''. She released her fourth album, ''Bindi and The Jungle Girls Bindi's Island Dance Party'' in 2016.

Appearances in other media

In September 2006, at age 8, Irwin appeared on the cover of the Australian magazine ''

New Idea ''New Idea'' is a long-running Australian weekly magazine aimed at women, now published by Are Media. History The magazine was first published in 1902 by Fitchett Bros. The founder was Thomas Shaw Fitchett. It was subtitled A Women's Home Journal ...

'', the youngest person to have done so in the magazine's 104-year history. The following June, Irwin hosted a US television special about her father called ''My Daddy the Crocodile Hunter''. Irwin appeared on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...

'' in early 2007. At that time, she was also scheduled for appearances on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...

'' and an attendance with

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor and film director. Russell Crowe filmography, His work on screen has earned him List of awards and nominations received by Russell Crowe, various accolades, including an Academy Award, two Gold ...

at a major dinner. She was promoting her new video, ''Bindi Kid Fitness'', and fulfilling her role as a newly appointed "tourism ambassador" for Australia. Later that month, Irwin appeared on ''

Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' is an American television talk show broadcast by CNN from June 3, 1985 to December 16, 2010. Hosted by Larry King, it was the network's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Ma ...

'', where she stated that

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

was her favourite subject and maths her least favourite. She also said that she enjoyed being

homeschooled Homeschooling or home schooling (American English), also known as home education or elective home education (EHE) (British English), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted ...

because she and her teachers were such good friends. Alongside

George Lopez George Edward Lopez (born April 23, 1961) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is most known for starring in his self-produced ABC sitcom '' George Lopez''. His stand-up comedy examines race and ethnic relations, including Mexican ...

and

Tyler James Williams Tyler James Williams (born October 9, 1992) is an American actor and rapper. He began his career as a child actor, making several appearances on ''Saturday Night Live'', ''Little Bill'', and ''Sesame Street''. Williams later rose to prominence ...

, Irwin presented the award for "Favorite Male Singer" at the 2007 Kids' Choice Awards, which was won by the show's host

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

. With help from

Glenn Robbins Glenn Maxwell Robbins (born 30 December 1957) is an Australian comedian, writer, actor, television and radio presenter. He is best known for '' The Comedy Company'', portraying Kel Knight in ''Kath & Kim'' and adventurer Russell Coight in '' A ...

, Irwin also presented the award for 'Most Outstanding Children's Show' at the

Logie Awards of 2007 The 49th Annual TV Week Logie Awards was held on Sunday 6 May 2007 at the Crown Palladium in Melbourne, and broadcast on the Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australia ...

, which was won by ''

The Upside Down Show ''The Upside Down Show'' is a children's television series produced by Blink Films and Sesame Workshop. It was made for Noggin, a channel co-founded by Sesame Workshop. The series is set in a strange apartment building where the doors lead to a ...

''. In late November 2007, Irwin appeared with her mother Terri in the 81st Annual

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the American-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States ...

and performed songs from her album ''Trouble in the Jungle'' with The Crocmen on a jungle animal float. She starred as Kirra in the movie '' Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove'', released on 23 March 2010. In 2012, Irwin hosted a wildlife-themed game show called '' Bindi's Bootcamp''. Filmed at Australia Zoo, the contestants were put through "adventure challenges" to educate and test their wildlife knowledge. It was produced in association with Sydney-based Sticky Pictures, under commission from ABC, and debuted in July on

ABC3 ABC Entertains is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was launched on 4 December 2009 as a children's channel called ABC3. It was rebranded on 19 September 2016 to ABC ME. It rebra ...

. Irwin starred in the '' sequel to Nim's Island'' playing the lead character Nim, originally played by

Abigail Breslin Abigail Breslin (born April 14, 1996) is an American actress. Following a string of film parts as a young child, she rose to prominence at age 10 after playing Olive Hoover in ''Little Miss Sunshine'' (2006), for which Breslin received a nomin ...

. In 2012, Irwin appeared as Sunday Clovers on the episode "Mirror rorriM" of the

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

television series, ''

My Babysitter's a Vampire ''My Babysitter's a Vampire'' (released as ''My Babysitter's a Vampire: The Movie'' in some regions) is a 2010 Canadian comedy horror television film directed by Bruce McDonald. It stars Vanessa Morgan and Matthew Knight. The film's plot cente ...

''. In 2013, Irwin made a brief appearance on the Australian TV series '' Big Brother'' to surprise housemate Tim, who had mentioned her several times throughout the series, saying "I want to thank you for being an incredible Wildlife Warrior. I hope when you're out of the house you can come visit me". In March 2014, Irwin appeared on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

'' with her family, where she announced a partnership with animal theme park company

SeaWorld SeaWorld is an American theme park chain with headquarters in Orlando, Florida. It is a proprietor of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, animal theme parks, and rehabilitation centers owned by United Parks & Resorts. The parks host shows st ...

. In August 2015, Irwin was announced as a competitor on

of the American reality television series ''

'', paired with five-time champion

Derek Hough Derek Bruce Hough (; born May 17, 1985) is an American professional Latin dance, Latin and ballroom dancer, choreographer, actor and singer. From 2007 to 2016, Hough was a professional dancer on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC dance compe ...

. Since Irwin was a minor during the competition, she required special permission by California courts to perform. Irwin and Hough were declared the winners of the season on 24 November 2015. On 1 April 2019, Irwin appeared as a guest judge during week 7 of Australian ''Dancing with the Stars'' season 16.

Awards

On 4 May 2008, Irwin won the Most Popular New Female Talent Logie Award. Then on 13 June 2008, at the age of nine, she became the youngest performer ever to win a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

when she won the award for " Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series". The previous record was held by

Camryn Grimes Camryn Grimes (born January 7, 1990) is an American actress. Career She played Cassie Newman on ''The Young and the Restless'' starting in 1997. In 2000, at age 10, she became the youngest winner ever of the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstandi ...

, who won the "Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series" at age 10 for her performance in ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...

''. In October 2014, Irwin was awarded Young Conservationist of the Year by the Australian Geographic Society.

Personal life

In July 2019, Irwin became engaged to Chandler Powell, an American professional

wakeboarder Wakeboarding is a water sport in which the rider, standing on a wakeboard (a board with foot bindings), is towed behind a motorboat across its wake and especially up off the crest in order to perform aerial maneuvers. A hallmark of wakeboarding ...

from Florida. The couple first met as teenagers at Australia Zoo in November 2013. On 25 March 2020, they were married in a private ceremony at Australia Zoo. Irwin gave birth to a daughter, Grace Warrior Irwin Powell, on 25 March 2021, which was their first wedding anniversary. In March 2023, Irwin posted a post-surgery photo after suffering from

endometriosis Endometriosis is a disease in which Tissue (biology), tissue similar to the endometrium, the lining of the uterus, grows in other places in the body, outside the uterus. It occurs in women and a limited number of other female mammals. Endomet ...

. She stated that she has been suffering for a decade and doctors had removed 37 lesions and a cyst during the operation. In May 2025, she underwent surgery to remove her appendix, during which a hernia was also stitched up and 14 endometriosis lesions were removed.

Discography

Albums

Video albums

Singles

Filmography

Television

Film

Internet

''Dancing with the Stars'' performances

Irwin, who was partnered with

, won

of ''

'' (U.S.) on 24 November 2015. Irwin and Hough held the record for the most perfect scores, with eight. This record was broken by

Jordan Fisher Jordan William Fisher (born April 24, 1994) is an American actor, singer, and dancer. He began his career with recurring roles on several television series, including '' The Secret Life of the American Teenager'' in 2012 and '' Liv and Maddie'' ...

in season 25. ¹ Score given by guest judge

Alfonso Ribeiro Alfonso Ribeiro (born September 21, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, singer, and television host. He is best known for his roles as Carlton Banks on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', Alfonso Spears on the sitcom ''Silver Spoo ...

. ² This week only, for "Partner Switch-Up" week, Irwin performed with

Valentin Chmerkovskiy Valentin Aleksandrovich "Val" Chmerkovskiy (born March 24, 1986) is a Ukrainian-American professional dancer, best known for his appearances on the U.S. version of '' Dancing with the Stars'', which he won three times. Chmerkovskiy is a two-time ...

instead of Hough. Hough performed with

Alexa PenaVega Alexa Ellesse PenaVega ( Vega; born August 27, 1988) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Carmen Cortez in the first four '' Spy Kids'' films and Julie Corky in the 2004 film ''Sleepover''. In 2009, she starred as the title cha ...

. ³ Score given by guest judge

Maksim Chmerkovskiy Maksim Aleksandrovich Chmerkovskiy (born January 17, 1980) is an American Latin– ballroom dance champion, choreographer, and instructor. He is widely known as one of the professional dancers on the American television series '' Dancing with t ...

. ⁴ Score given by guest judge

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

Logie Awards The TV Week Logie Awards (known colloquially as The Logies) is an annual ceremony celebrating and honouring the best shows and stars in Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The event is telecast live and ...

References

External links

Story of Steve and Terri
at

Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel focusing on the animal kingdom owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1 ...

Australia Zoo
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Irwin, Bindi Sue 1998 births 21st-century Australian actresses Living people Australian conservationists Actresses from Queensland Australian child singers Australian child actresses Australian children's television presenters Australian women singers Australian film actresses Australian people of American descent Australian people of English descent Australian people of Irish descent Australian people of Swedish descent Australian television actresses Australian television personalities Australian women television personalities Australian women television presenters Dancing with the Stars (American TV series) winners Daytime Emmy Award winners Bindi Logie Award winners Participants in American reality television series People from Nambour, Queensland People from the Sunshine Coast, Queensland Australian expatriate actresses in the United States