Steve Irwin, the world-renowned Crocodile Hunter, left the world unexpectedly when he tragically died on September 4, 2006. While Irwin achieved worldwide fame for his wildlife documentary series, his activities as a conservationist, and his Wildlife Warriors Worldwide charity, he also served another prominent role: a father to Bindi Irwin.
Bindi Sue Irwin, Steve's eldest daughter, is the 20-year old girl who takes after her father for his love of animals. Although she didn't inherit a large sum when Steve died, she was left with something more valuable: his legacy. Bindi is now making waves by following in her father's footsteps.
A Celebrity In Her Own Right
Bindi is certainly a celebrity, but she was able to do it on her own without riding the coattail of her father for too long. After she won Dancing with the Stars, Bindi became famous when she stepped out of her father's shadow. She has been making a name for herself.
It wasn’t only with her participation in the dancing TV competition. She has shown great versatility and potential by hosting game shows and even trying out rapping as part of her projects. Although animal care is definitely important for her, her life is not solely focused on this.
Irwin's Young Girl
The famed Crocodile Hunter and his wife, Terri, welcomed Bindi in July 1998. She came into the world in Buderim, near Queensland's Sunshine Coast. According to Steve, his daughter's name was taken from his beloved crocodile at the Australia Zoo, which has been in the family for a couple of decades.
The Zoo, which the family managed, was an investment by Steve's parents way back in the '70s. In Aboriginal language, Bindi also means "young girl." Her middle name, Sue, is also in memory of an animal. In this case, it refers to one of the dogs the family owned, named Sui.
The Animal-loving Duo
When Steve Irwin's fame was blowing up as a household name, Bindi grew together with him in the spotlight. Thanks to Irwin's attention-grabbing wildlife antics, his following grew together with his earnings. Their shows such as Croc Files and The Crocodile Hunter would star both Bindi and Steve.
At just two years old, Bindi became a part of the animal-loving father-daughter combo the fans came to love! She starred in other projects and was being homeschooled. After all, her schedule around shootings didn’t allow her to attend a regular school as she would’ve done had she led another lifestyle.
Unexpected Child Star's Downfall
Aside from acting beside her father in his shows, Bindi was also making appearances in 2002's The Wiggles: Wiggly Safari. Even at a young age, it was evident that Bindi was building up her fortune with her TV appearances. When that was over, she got her own Discovery Kids show.
Bindi the Jungle Girl was a hit. Steve would also make special appearances in the show. Success was starting to build for Bindi. Unfortunately, it was around that time that Steve met his fateful death and Bindi’s life was turned upside down. Her father was no longer there to guide her.
Steve Irwin's Death
On the day of his death, he had nothing else in mind except his love for his daughter. Although there was bad weather going on that prevented him from shooting Ocean's Deadliest, his underwater documentary, he nevertheless went on to shoot some footage for Bindi's show.
Steve was filming a six-foot-long stingray when, tragically, it went into a frenzied attack. Its tail pierced Irwin on the chest and he was declared dead shortly thereafter. Despite the accident, Irwin was still given credit as a brave animal-lover that went far and beyond.
The Memorial Speech For Her Father
Bindi's greatest inheritance from her father was probably the support of his millions of adoring fans. And even though Bindi was only eight years old when her father had died, she still managed to deliver a moving, tear-jerking speech which she penned on her own.
She delivered it via national television to millions of viewers. Those who attended the memorial service - a strong crowd estimated to be around 5,000 - gave her a standing ovation. A week later, her speech was crowned as the small screen's moment of the year. It was also estimated that his funeral was watched by more than 300 million people worldwide.
The Tribute
Together with her mother, the equally, crocodile-loving kid vowed to continue her father's legacy and conservation work. Since their family was a bit well off then, they managed to survive without much support from the network. Around June of 2007, the family hosted My Daddy, The Crocodile Hunter.
This was a one-off US television documentary devoted to the late Steve Irwin. In addition to that, Bindi, now a budding singer, also paid tribute to him on her second album. She was learning how to play the piano and, even at her young age had other projects.
The Multi-awarded Childstar
Although Bindi wasn't making as much money as fellow child stars her age, she made history in 2008. During that time, the nine-year-old won as an Outstanding Performer in a Children's series award, for which she was crowned as the youngest person ever in Daytime Emmy history to have won one.
Before she welcomed 2009, she was able to release Bindi Kidfitness Volume 2 Jungle Dance Party, her second fitness DVD. In 2010, she made her acting debut in Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove as Kirra. Even at a young age, she would give 10% of her income to Wildlife Warriors.
Bindi's Celebrity Status
Shortly after she came into the limelight, she managed to stay in there for a long time, increasing her earnings as she grew older. Throughout the following decade, she has appeared in numerous shows. She got the titular role on Nim's Island and became a guest on My Babysitter's a Vampire.
Later, she became the host of Bindi's Bootcamp, the game show where her family's zoo was featured. The adventure show had the purpose of showing the importance of taking care of the wildlife. They did this by setting challenges in which the contestants had to show their knowledge regarding the subject.
An Award & a Controversy
Apart from her acting stints, Bindi also had other work outside of show business. She was named Young Conversationist of the Year in 2014 by the Australian Geographic Society. However, six months before that, Bindi's family came into hot water when they announced a partnership with Seaworld.
This was clearly a move against her father's take on preserving animals. Whether it was because of an investment move or they believed Seaworld couldn't do any harm, Bindi's grandfather even posted his sentiments on his official website. However, animal advocate organizations, like PETA, showed their strong disappointment.
The Dancing Star
Luckily, wise as she was, Bindi was able to turn the favor towards her in 2015 when she joined the star-studded cast of Dancing with the Stars. Together with Derek Hough who served as her partner, they were able to get eight perfect scores before they ultimately became the winners.
Although Bindi was only 17 at that time, we're confident that her winnings were more than enough to cover any student expenses, had she needed one. However, given how hard-working she had been since she was only a toddler, this was not one of her main concerns.
Bindi's Education
Regardless of the fame and fortune that she acquired over her teenage years, which could easily last until her retirement, Bindi still pursued her education. Up until the age of 16, Bindi was homeschooled because of her busy schedule. However, she wanted to pursue higher studies.
Therefore, she was admitted at TAFE Queensland East Coast in 2014. While she was already a very talented young lady, she didn't want to slow down in learning. She took classes in both Tourism and Business. She completed her Business degree and should be getting her Tourism degree soon.
Bindi's Love Interest
Bindi might just be the true testament to the old phrase that fortune does favor the brave! Aside from learning a lot about how she should manage her investment portfolio, Bindi likewise learned to manage her time - so much that she was still able to find love.
In 2014, she met the professional wakeboarder, Chandler Powell. Coincidentally, according to his grandfather, Chandler had always had a fascination with the Irwins. Their love was so great that Chandler decided to relocate from his native Florida to Australia in order to be close to her.
A Strict Family
Despite their seemingly perfect love story, the couple saw each other very rarely. Chandler and Bindi would only see each other every couple of months. Aside from that, Bindi's brother Robert and mother would always chaperone the two. After all, they were only teenagers and needed supervision according to their families.
What really bothered Bindi was that Chandler would hang out with Robert more often rather than with Bindi every time they met. However, this only goes to show how well her family accepted him. It speaks highly of the long-lasting relationship they will probably have.
Professing Their True Love For Each Other
Like teenage love often does, theirs would eventually and gradually blossom into something serious. When the two were old enough, the Crocodile Hunter's daughter professed her undying love and declared that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with the wakeboarder. She claims he’s the love of her life.
Knowing her father as well as she did, she instinctively knew that Steve would have approved of their relationship. There was no anxiety regarding what he would’ve thought. In fact, Bindi has a very interesting theory regarding Chandler getting into her life and staying for good.
Bindi's Belief
Call them crazy or probably a bit dizzy from all their time in the sun, but Bindi actually believes that her love affair with Chandler was actually engineered by Steve in his afterlife. According to some reports, Bindi feels that her father structured their meeting.
According to her, Steve wants Chandler to look out for his daughter and continue his legacy. Recently, it was announced that Chandler has moved into his own quarters at the Australian Zoo. Although not a property of his own, we're sure he's happy living there.
Gushing Over Instagram
It seems like the power couple is gushing over each other even in public! The two take to Instagram to regularly express their love for each other. A quick scroll on their Instagram accounts shows the relationship’s journey. One of Bindi’s photos is captioned: "Thank you for being such a light in my life…”
It’s no surprise that they remain that affectionate towards each other. Young love is definitely a beautiful thing. How involved Chandler will get in the family business is yet to be seen, but we wouldn’t be surprised if he starts appearing in nature shows with Bindi.
Marriage Rumors
In mid-2017, however, there were several rumors circulating that the two planned to get hitched when they made a romantic trip to Las Vegas. Surely, with fortunes as big as theirs, it wouldn't be surprising; they could easily afford to marry each other on a whim.
However, these rumors remained just that: rumors. Despite their series of Instagram posts that hinted at the idea, Bindi's camp affirmed that there were still no plans of the two getting married anytime soon. They’re taking their time to enjoy their youth. After all, Bindi’s only 20 years old!
Tell-tale Signs of Marriage
To add more fuel to the fire, the couple posted photos where they wore identical green Ring Pops. Well, certainly, this could easily be a sign that the two are close to tying the knot. Again, however, it was later denied. Apparently, the couple still has no wedding plans.
The photos they shared were only to commemorate International Diamond Day. They certainly know how to play with the media. The frenzy about tying the knot had lowered a little bit. We wouldn’t be surprised if they opted for a secret ceremony like many celebrities have done.
The Mischievous Couple
Despite the rumors about their getting married, Bindi confessed on the Today Show that they were just being playful. She jokingly mentioned that it wasn't a real engagement, especially since she could eat the ring! Fans are confident that it won't be long until the two walk down the aisle.
After all, a big commitment requires much thinking. What we do know is that Bindi has the support of her family. Hopefully, she also has her father’s blessing, and he will be proud of whatever her decision is. Meanwhile, we’re sure we’ll keep seeing plenty of Bindi in the future.