Bindi Irwin

Bindi Irwin
Irwin in June 2013
Born	Bindi Sue Irwin (1998-07-24) 24 July 1998 Buderim, Queensland, Australia
Occupation	Actress, television presenter, Singer
Years active	2000–present
Parent(s)	Steve Irwin Terri Irwin
Relatives	Robert "Bob" Irwin (Grandfather)
Awards	Silver Logie Daytime Emmy

Bindi Sue Irwin (born 24 July 1998)^[1] is an Australian actress, singer, television personality and conservationist. She is the daughter of Steve Irwin (star of The Crocodile Hunter) and Terri Irwin. She has been involved in acting, singing, songwriting, game show hosting, and has created an instructional fitness DVD. She is also known for winning season 21 of Dancing with the Stars (U.S.).

Her first name comes from the name of her father's favourite female crocodile at the Australia Zoo, and her middle name, Sue, is from the family's dog Sui. According to her father, Bindi is an Australian Aboriginal word that means "young girl".^[2]

Early life

Bindi Irwin was born in Buderim, Queensland.^[1] She began appearing on television shows as early as age two.^[3] She appeared regularly in her father's television shows, including The Crocodile Hunter Diaries, and also appeared in the 2002 film The Wiggles: Wiggly Safari in a credited cast role. She is of English and Irish ancestry, with abundance of Irish ancestry on her father's side.^[4]

Irwin was homeschooled until 2014, when she enrolled at TAFE Queensland East Coast. She has completed a Certificate III in Business, and is currently studying for a Certificate III in Tourism.^[5]

Career

Irwin was the presenter of a 26-part wildlife documentary kids show called Bindi the Jungle Girl, a production of the Discovery Kids television network.^[6][7][8] Her father was filmed in many of the early shows before his death in September 2006, when production was temporarily put on hold.^[9] The series premiered in June 2007 on Discovery Kids.

Bindi's father, Steve, was killed by a stingray barb on 4 September 2006. He was setting up to shoot ocean reef footage for a show that would include segments with himself, because weather prevented him from filming footage for a different show.^[10][11] Irwin and her mother announced that she would continue her late father's conservation and television work.^[12] Steve Irwin had said he supported Bindi's career, claiming "I just want to be co-star to my daughter".^[13]

On 20 September 2006, Irwin received a standing ovation after delivering a eulogy 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 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.^{[14][15][16][17]}

In June 2007, Irwin hosted a US television special about her father called My Daddy the Crocodile Hunter.^[18] She also starred in a child fitness DVD in which she sang and danced with a group called Bindi Kidfitness. She made a hip hop album called Trouble in the Jungle. 'Bindi and The Crocmen' sang "Trouble in the Jungle" on The Today Show in November 2007 and Irwin was learning how to play the piano.^[14][19]

In September 2006, at age 8, Irwin appeared on the cover of the Australian magazine New Idea, the youngest person to have done so in the magazine's 104-year history.^[20]

Photos showing Irwin and her mother Terri at Edwards AFB to film a segment for Bindi the Jungle Girl in 2007

In early January 2007, Irwin appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. At that time, she was also scheduled for appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman and an attendance with Russell Crowe at a major dinner. She was promoting her new video, Bindi Kidfitness, and fulfilling her role as a newly appointed "tourism ambassador" for Australia.^[21]

Irwin appeared on Larry King Live on 11 January 2007. She said that creative writing was her favourite subject and maths her least favourite. She also said that she enjoyed being homeschooled because she and her teachers were such good friends.

At the 2007 Kids' Choice Awards, Irwin presented the award for "Favorite Male Singer", with help from George Lopez and Tyler James Williams, which was won by Justin Timberlake. She also presented at the Logie Awards of 2007, with help from Glenn Robbins for 'Most Outstanding Children's Show', which was won by The Upside Down Show.^[22]

On 22 November 2007, Irwin appeared with her mother Terri in the 81st Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and performed songs from her album Trouble in the Jungle with The Crocmen on a jungle animal float.^[23][24]

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 when she won the award for "Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series". The previous record was held by Camryn Grimes, who won the "Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series" at age ten for her performance in The Young and the Restless.

On 26 December 2009 Irwin appeared live on stage at Australia Zoo with new backup singers/dancers The Jungle Girls.

Irwin commits 10% of her wage to Wildlife Warriors, the charity founded by her family in 2002.^[25]

She starred as Kirra in the movie Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove, released on 23 March 2010.^[26]

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.^[27] It was produced in association with Sydney-based Sticky Pictures, under commission from ABC, and debuted in July on ABC3.^[28]

Irwin starred in the sequel to Nim's Island playing the lead character Nim, originally played by Abigail Breslin.^[29]

In 2012, Irwin appeared as Sunday Clovers on the episode "Mirror rorriM" of the Canadian television series, My Babysitter's a Vampire.

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 with her family, where she announced a partnership with animal theme park company Seaworld.^[30] This decision was strongly criticized by animal rights group PETA, who criticized the Irwin family for supporting a company accused of animal abuse, referencing the documentary Blackfish.^[31]

In October 2014, Irwin was awarded Young Conservationist of the Year by the Australian Geographic Society.^[32]

In August 2015, Irwin was announced as a competitor on Dancing with the Stars – season 21,^[33] paired with five-time champion Derek Hough.^[34] 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.

Filmography

Television

Film

Internet

Dancing with the Stars performances

Irwin, who was partnered with Derek Hough, won season 21 of Dancing with the Stars (U.S.) on 24 November 2015. Irwin and Hough hold the record for the most perfect scores, with eight.

¹ Score by guest judge Alfonso Ribeiro.

² This week only, for "Partner Switch-Up" week, Irwin performed with Valentin Chmerkovskiy instead of Hough. Hough performed with Alexa PenaVega.

³ Score given by guest judge Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

⁴ Score given by guest judge Olivia Newton-John.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bindi Irwin.

• Story of Steve and Terri at Animal Planet
• Bindi Irwin at Australia Zoo
• Bindi Irwin at the Internet Movie Database

Steve Irwin
Bob Irwin • Terri Irwin • Bindi Irwin Wes Mannion • John Stainton
TV series	The Crocodile Hunter (episodes) Croc Files The Crocodile Hunter Diaries Ocean's Deadliest
Films	The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course
Related articles	Bindi the Jungle Girl Growing Up Wild Crikey steveirwini MY Steve Irwin 57567 Crikey Wildlife Warriors
Steve Irwin • Steve Irwin