Tragic Details About Steve Irwin's Daughter Bindi Irwin

Bindi Irwin went through her life's biggest trial publicly. She was just a little girl when Steve Irwin died in a tragic encounter with a stingray while filming an underwater documentary on September 4, 2006. He was just 44 and left behind an 8- and a 2-year-old. In many ways, Bindi's life has been shaped by the tragedies that struck her family, starting with the loss of the family matriarch and then her father. Grief isn't the only obstacle she has faced in her young years.

The "Dancing With the Stars" winner has suffered from health issues that left her questioning whether she'd be able to have a family of her own. When she got pregnant with her daughter, she spent her entire pregnancy fearing she might lose her. "I would often have times where I thought I was miscarrying because I would have severe, unexplained pain," she said on "Good Morning America" in 2023. But through all of life's tribulations, Bindi drew strength from her father's spirit.

"The Crocodile Hunter" believed in looking at the glass half-full, and that's how the "Crikey! It's the Irwins" star chooses to tackle life as well. "I love the fact that dad just enjoyed every single second of life," she said. "He was the one who always told me to stand up for what I believe in, and he really taught me to be courageous," she told Insider in 2018. Bindi's achievements as a conservationist and mother would surely make Steve proud, but her journey has often been rocky. 

In June 2021, Bindi Irwin made shocking revelations about Bob Irwin, the conservationist who inspired the work that made his family famous. But their shared passion did little to help his relationship with his granddaughter. When a Facebook follower asked her why she only celebrated her father, husband, and father-in-law in a since-deleted post (via 7News), she claimed Bob cut ties with her. "He has returned gifts I've sent him after he opened them, he has ignored my correspondence and from the time I was a little girl he has ignored me," she wrote.

However, estrangement wasn't the only problem. Bindi also accused her grandfather of mental abuse. "He has never said a single kind word to me personally. It breaks my heart but itis not healthy to engage in an abusive relationship," she added. In 2008, Bob severed ties with the family-owned Australia Zoo, which he founded in the '70s and is currently run by Steve Irwin's widow, Terri. Details of what went down between them following Steve's death were never made clear.

However, Bob's biographer claimed he was shocked by Bindi's claims, arguing that was not how he viewed their relationship. "To be perfectly honest we haven't told him the full extent of the comments because we're quite concerned about how he might take that," Amanda French said on "The Latest" (via 7News). Despite his issues with Terri, Bob always had nothing but love for his grandchildren, she added. "He's got photos in his hallway of the kids."

In May, Bindi Irwin had fans worried when she missed an event to honor her father. They had good reason to be concerned, as Bindi couldn't attend due to a health emergency that resulted in an appendectomy. "After many months of a grumbly appendix, I finally had to seek help the day of our Steve Irwin Gala," she captioned an Instagram post. Despite the scare, Bindi eased her followers' minds by assuring them she was on the mend. "Surgery was a success. My appendix was removed," she wrote.

At the gala, Bindi's brother, Robert Irwin, shared that she flew out to the event despite the intense pain from a ruptured appendix. "She came to Las Vegas and was ready to come to the gala, put on a brave face in a lot of discomfort and a lot of pain and said, 'Nope, I'm just going to tough it out, I'm going to go for it,'" he told People. But her doctor ultimately had to make the decision that prioritized her health. "The surgeon said, 'No, your appendix is going. That thing's gotta come out.' Health has to come first," Robert revealed.

However, the appendectomy wasn't the only procedure she had done on that day. "I also had a repair to a large hernia I acquired through childbirth four years ago. Thankfully, I am on the road to recovery," she continued. In March 2021, Bindi welcomed her first child, a daughter named Grace Warrior, with her husband, Chandler Powell. 

Bindi Irwin believes her daughter was a miracle. That's because she was able to conceive Grace after a decade-long journey with endometriosis, a condition characterized by the abnormal growth of uterine-like tissue outside of the uterus. Endometriosis often causes severe pain and heavy periods and can interfere with fertility. After experiencing symptoms since early adolescence, Irwin was properly diagnosed in 2023. "Going in for surgery was scary but I knew I couldn't live like I was," she revealed on Instagram. "Every part of my life was getting torn apart because of the pain." Irwin's surgeon removed 37 lesions and a blood-filled cyst located on the ovary.

The procedure helped with the pain, but it did more than that. Irwin finally felt heard. Her journey was marked by dismissal, making her feel invalidated and weak. "A doctor told me it was simply something you deal with as a woman," she shared. As a result, she tried to ignore her body and stopped advocating for herself. "I gave up entirely, trying to function through the pain," she wrote. Her surgeon was astounded by what he found. "[His] first words to me when I was in recovery were, 'How did you live with this much pain?' Validation for years of pain is indescribable."

Since there's currently no cure for endometriosis, Irwin's treatment is ongoing. During her appendectomy, doctors found another 14 lesions. But surgery was a turning point. "It's night and day," she said on ABC News' "Good Morning America" in 2023. 

Bindi Irwin was just 8 years old when Steve Irwin died. Losing him was the hardest experience of her life. Nearly two decades later, she has found ways to live with the pain, but it's certainly still there. What helped her through the years was journaling. "One day — I wrote it in my journal, actually — I was like, 'This is it; I am choosing not to wallow in sadness anymore,'" she said on the "What About Death" podcast in 2021. "I am choosing to find the strength that Dad had and continue on."

In September 2006, Bindi stunned the crowd and the millions watching on TV with her tear-jerking eulogy at her father's memorial. "It was something where I personally wanted to say to the world, to anyone watching, to anyone who wanted to hear it that we would be carrying on," she said on Oprah Winfrey's "Where Are They Now?" in 2016. And that's what she and Robert Irwin did. Steve's kids are carrying on his legacy as conservationists. 

That's despite his death being work-related. Instead of viewing the animals she grew up around with fear, she chose to honor what her father stood up for. "In anyone's life, if you lose someone that close to you, you end up coming across these crossroads where you can either curl up in a corner and just forget about everything or stand up and remember that person and celebrate their life and legacy," she said on ITV's "This Morning."

Steve Irwin's death wasn't the first time Bindi Irwin lost a loved one. She was just a toddler when her grandmother, Lyn Irwin, died in a car accident in 2000, but her death left a big hole in the family. Like Bob Irwin, Lyn was also a conservationist. Lyn and Bob moved the family to Queensland, where they opened the then-called Beerwah Reptile Park, now Australia Zoo. It was there that the Irwins' lifelong history with wildlife began. She specialized in wildlife rehabilitation, work that inspired Steve and Terri Irwin's career journey.

Bindi recognizes that without Lyn, her own life would probably have been different. "My parents opened the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital in memory of my grandmother who was a beautiful wildlife carer," she wrote in a 2019 Facebook post. It was partly because of Lyn that Bindi found her calling. "Today, we have treated over 86,000 sick, injured and orphaned animals giving them a second chance at life. This #WorldAnimalDay let's take a moment to be a little more kind and respectful of all species," she continued. 

Even though Bindi virtually has no memories of her grandmother, she still feels the hole she left. "Happy Birthday to my dad and grandmother. I wish so much that I could give you birthday hugs. You are both in my heart today and I hope you are celebrating together," she captioned a February 2018 Instagram post featuring a photo of Steve and Lyn together (seen above).