How Bindi Irwin broke the Hollywood curse of child stars

While many child stars inevitably go off the rails, Bindi Irwin has managed to avoid all the usual pitfalls of finding fame at a young age.

The 21-year-old conservationist and media personality became famous when she was just two years old, thanks to her late father, Steve ‘The Crocodile Hunter’ Irwin.

Now all grown up and engaged to be married, Bindi has successfully dodged many of the scandals that plague former child stars. 

In an interview with Stellar magazine in July last year, Bindi credited her levelheadedness to having found a sense of purpose.

‘I’m living the dream! How many young people start their day watching a giraffe being born and end the day bottle-feeding a joey kangaroo?’ she said. 

‘I don’t know how I’d cope if I was living in suburbia with a goldfish.’

Bindi was just eight years old when her father, Steve, was killed by a stingray barb in September 2006 at the age of 44.

Since his tragic passing, Bindi, her mother Terri Irwin, and younger brother Robert Irwin have continued his legacy.

Along with Bindi’s American fiancé, Chandler Powell, they manage Australia Zoo, carrying out the work Steve never got a chance to finish.  

‘I care about the planet and my destiny is to make a difference,’ Bindi told Stellar Magazine. 

‘We’re doing it our own way, but you can feel Dad’s spirit in everything we do. I’ve found such comfort in being able to follow in his footsteps.’

Bindi became a household name after appearing on The Crocodile Hunter Diaries with her dad when she was only two. 

It wasn’t until 2006 that she started to became a star in her own right, after releasing a pop album and filming the show, Bindi the Jungle Girl.

Steve filmed many episodes of the 26-part wildlife documentary with her, but sadly passed away before it premiered on Discovery Kids in June 2007. 

By the time it aired, Bindi had reduced millions around the world to tears after giving an emotional eulogy to her ‘hero’ father at his televised funeral in September 2006.

Although the Sydney Morning Herald explained in August 2019 that many believed the family would fade from the spotlight following his death, they did the opposite.

Bindi, under the love and guidance of Terri, 55, carved out her own career path, while continuing to promote the protection of wildlife. 

In 2007, she fronted an American television special, My Daddy the Crocodile Hunter, while releasing a pop song of the same title, and was announced as an ambassador for Tourism Australia.

The following year, aged nine, following many other TV documentaries and a kids fitness DVD, Bindi won the Logie award for Most Popular New Female Talent.

She also acted, landing the lead in Free Willy: Escape from Pirate’s Cove, which was released in 2010, playing the role of Kirra, who tried to save a male orca.

Although each new venture continued to propel her stardom to new heights around the world, the Irwin’s family values and close bond kept her grounded. 

In 2015, the Australian star was announced as a participant on the American version of Dancing With the Stars, and went on to win the show. 

But throughout all of her ventures in the spotlight, Bindi has always brought the attention back to the Irwin family’s Wildlife Warriors organisation.

Originally called the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation, it was founded in 2002 to involve and educate in the protection of injured, threatened or endangered wildlife.

In 2013, Bindi met her now-fiancé, Chandler, 23, when the former American wake-boarder went on a guided tour of the Irwin’s Australia Zoo in Queensland.   

Following their chance meeting, Chandler wrote to Terri to ask her permission to chat to Bindi, with the couple then embarking on a long-distance relationship.

In July 2019, Bindi and Chandler announced their engagement, with him relocating to Australia in recent years and joining in the family work at Australia Zoo.