Biography

Bindi Sue Irwin was born July 24, 1998 at 9:46 PM in Nambour, Queensland, Australia. The daughter of Steve and Terri Irwin, Bindi has been surrounded by animals her entire life. As an infant and toddler, Bindi was especially fond of snakes and her parents taught her to love animals. Bindi was even named after two animals: Bindi (meaning "little girl" in Australian Aborigine), Steve's favorite female crocodile, and Sue after the family dog, Sui. When she was just one year old, Bindi already recongnized and was able to make the sounds for all the animals in the zoo! Bindi is also an experienced traveler, having been on over 300 flights by her fifth birthday. While Steve was alive, Bindi and her mum would travel along with Steve around the world for his "Crocodile Hunter" documentaries. Bindi also frequently visited Oregon, where her mum grew up, in order to visit her grandmother.

2002 was also the year that Wildlife Warriors, a wildlife conservation charity, was founded by Steve and Terri. When Bindi started working, she always donated 10% of her wages to this wonderful organization. On December 1, 2003 at the age of five, Bindi became a big sister to Robert Clarence Irwin, named after their paternal grandfather Robert who founded Beerwah Reptile Park, now the Australia Zoo, and their maternal grandfather Clarence. Bindi is home-schooled, so she is able to do her studies while traveling and/or working.

Bindi has always been a star attraction at the Zoo, and her brother Robert is a big star now, too. People from around the world come to see them at the Zoo, and thousands come in each year for their respective birthday parties on July 24 and December 1. On December 7, 2004, Australia Zoo launched Bob and Bindi Wear to help promote the Zoo.

In 2006, the Irwins decided it was time for Bindi to be a star in her own right. They began working on projects for her to do, such as two Bindi's Kitfitness films, a new TV series called "Bindi the Jungle Girl," and a CD of fun jungle songs called Trouble in the Jungle. Bindi's films were to be directed toward a young audience and teach them about health and fitness and wildlife conservation. Bindi would also sing and dance in the films with The Croc Men and started to perform with them for guests at Australia Zoo.

Sadly, Bindi's father Steve passed away on September 4, 2006 after being fatally pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while filming a documentary in Batt Reef, Queensland, Australia. His memorial was at Australia Zoo on September 20th and millions of viewers tuned in to watch as Bindi gave a beautiful and inspirational speech about her daddy, her hero. Because of Steve's death, the family decided to take some time off and postpone the release of Bindi's new work for a few months until 2007.

The Kidfitness movies were released in January 2007 and Bindi's TV show premiered in June 2007. Bindi toured around the world and went on talk shows to talk about the work she did and how she wants to continue her father's conservation work, educating people about endangered species and how to help animals. On July 24, 2007, Bindi became an official staff member at Australia Zoo when she was presented with a walkie-talkie on her ninth birthday. November 15, 2007 marked the first Steve Irwin Day, an international and annual event to celebrate Steve's life.

In 2008, Bindi promoted her clothing line and continued to perform at the Zoo. In 2009, Bindi traveled to Cape Town, South Africa to film Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove. In December 2009, the staff at Australia Zoo decided that since Bindi was getting older it was time to change up her act a little bit: on December 26th Bindi appeared live onstage with her new backup singers/dancers: The Jungle Girls. In 2010, Bindi spent much of the year traveling to promote her Free Willy film while she was not performing or studying. Bindi also spoke about the importance of everyone signing the petition to Save the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve. Her mother Terri and brother Robert were with her every step of the way.

Bindi is a talented young lady with a bright future ahead of her. Her father Steve would certainly be very proud of her.