Inside Bindi Irwin's Incredibly Normal Life

Bindi Irwin may have been raised in a zoo as the daughter of the late Steve Irwin (aka "The Crocodile Hunter"), but she lives a wildly normal life, all things considered. At the time of this writing, Bindi is already an established wildlife conservationist who continues to live and work at the Australia Zoo (her childhood home) alongside her mother Terri and younger brother Robert. She isn't afraid to get her hands dirty and care for any and all creatures, even the most notorious ones, all while documenting her khaki-wearing, outdoor-loving life on Instagram for her more than three million followers to see. 

Bindi is also a proud dog owner and wife. She married Chandler Powell, her longtime beau and eventual coworker, in a small, intimate ceremony at the family zoo in March 2020. She's young, spunky, down-to-earth and always carries the memory of her dad close to her heart. While it may not necessarily be "normal" to hang out with an albino python on national TV, when she's not on-camera, Bindi Irwin is living an incredibly normal life in Australia.

Although prom is not the most popular tradition in Australia, Bindi Irwin got to experience the American teenage rite of passage with her Florida beau-turned-hubby Chandler Powell. The fun-loving couple met back in 2013 when Powell, in Australia for a wakeboard competition, visited the Australia Zoo and was lucky enough to have Irwin as his tour guide. Sparks flew and not even continents and oceans could get in the way of true love. For several years, they remained in a long-distance relationship but communicated regularly, sometimes with old-fashioned letters, and visits. But before Powell asked Irwin for her hand in marriage, he asked her to be his prom date in 2016. 

On prom night, a 17-year-old Irwin shared on Instagram a collage of photos showing her date in a dapper suit and the wildlife conservationist wearing a lacy black dress. Irwin admitted to feeling like "a real life Disney princess" in the caption. And she looked it as well.

Bindi Irwin may have already been an actress, animal conservationist, and Dancing with the Stars Season 21 winner all before her 17th birthday, but she was still your average teenage girl — and sometimes seemed more excited over major (and very normal) milestones, like getting her driver's license. Upon earning it, she excitedly shared the news and a photo on Instagram. In the caption, she thanked the Queensland Police for helping her pass the test and revealed what she was driving.

"It was wonderful to take my test in St. George and pass the first time and in my Dad's giant old ute!" she wrote. Ute is short for utility vehicle in Australia, as Today explained. The truck was so special to her father that it was even a part of his memorial service, which was held in the Crocoseum at the Australia Zoo in 2006. Keeping his spirit alive, she drove the truck before passing it on to her younger brother Robert, who's learning how to drive it as of March 2020.

Bindi Irwin wed pro wakeboarder Chandler Powell in a stripped-down ceremony at the Australia Zoo on March 25, 2020. The lovebirds were originally set to tie the knot in April at the same venue, according to Entertainment Tonight, but ultimately moved the date up. The young couple made the most of the occasion in the Australia Zoo's Gardens, with only a handful of guests, including Irwin's family. 

Considering the social-distancing measures in place, it wasn't exactly how Irwin pictured her wedding day, but she embraced it wholeheartedly, telling ET it ended up being "perfect." Instead of staying in a fancy villa somewhere near the water for their honeymoon, the newlyweds spent it surrounded by around 1,200 zoo animals. "We didn't have any of the fancy frills or anything," Irwin told ET of her wedding. "And it's great if you do when you get married, but for us it was about being together no matter what happened." Love must truly conquer all!

Like many girls who grew up watching Disney fairytales, Bindi Irwin dreamed of meeting her Prince Charming someday. After all, her parents, Steve and Terri, were the epitome of true love. Irwin wanted that for herself. "I've wanted to get married since I was a little girl," she said in a wedding day special of her family show, Crikey! It's the Irwins, on Animal Planet.

Irwin has always loved weddings, according to her mom Terri, who said as much in the wedding episode. Anytime they'd go on a family trip, Irwin would always pick out a bridal magazine at the gift shop to pass the time, she recalled. Irwin said it's probably because she always thought weddings were so "magical" and it was the one "girly" thing she loved growing up, maybe because it was everything her "rough and tumble" life at the zoo was not. She also loved the romantic element. "Finding a person that you love more than anything and having a fairytale day," Irwin said.

Bindi Irwin occasionally gets dolled up for red carpet events and, of course, wasn't opposed to wearing dozens of tight, flashy dresses as she danced her way to the winner's circle on ABC's Dancing With the Stars in 2015. But she feels most like herself when she's dressed down. "We always say, 'Khaki is not a color, it's an attitude,'" Irwin revealed her family's motto during an interview with Good Morning America, while wearing none other than khaki, along with her hubby Chandler Powell and brother Robert Irwin. 

Khaki is her daily uniform at the Australia Zoo, and she hopes to pass on the look to her children someday, like her parents did for her and her brother. "One day it'd be special to have my own little wildlife warriors! I think it's a way away right now, but if and when it does happen, I can guarantee you they'll have their own khaki," she told New Idea in late 2019.

Wildlife conservationist Bindi Irwin is too busy saving the planet's animals to spend hours on her makeup and hair routine every day. Which is what makes her more like us than any other celebrity out there. Irwin prefers a simple, natural look, according to a video interview with 9Honey. Her go-to beauty items are eyeliner and lip balm. "Because I travel so much and I'm doing things constantly, I always have a chapstick in my pocket," she said. 

Not only is she practical, but she's also pretty relatable. During the interview, she admitted to never coloring her hair (yes, that's her natural hue and yes, we're jealous) and only cutting it once a year. We can totally relate! Life gets busy and sometimes haircare falls to the wayside. All Irwin does to her hair, for the most part, is wash and brush it. "That's all I do! It's really boring," she laughed. While she definitely has genetics to thank for her glowing hair (not all of us are so lucky), we can't help but wonder if maybe being outside and around animals every day is the best beauty routine out there. Irwin surely makes it seem so!

Crikey! It's the Irwins star Bindi Irwin lives a blessed life in Australia, but it doesn't mean things have always been easy for her. When she was just eight years old, she lost her father and role model Steve Irwin. The pain of that loss is still very real for her as an adult, so she does what she can to honor his memory during TV appearances and on social media.

In early 2020, while the Australian wildfires raged on, Irwin wrote a tribute to her late father on Instagram, sharing a photo of him holding a baby kangaroo. "Dad spent his life working so hard to protect wildlife and wild places, especially in Australia," she wrote. "I wish he was here right now to give advice and strength during this time of devastation with the bushfires."

Not long after the wildfires, another force threatened Irwin's world as she and her family — not unlike others around the globe — had to temporarily close their business. "For 78 days we have wondered if and when we would ever open our doors to guests again," Irwin captioned a photo of her family on Instagram. Luckily for the Irwins, the zoo was able to reopen on June 12, 2020.

Bindi Irwin dotes on her puppy Piggy just as much as any other dog mom would. Following her engagement to longtime love Chandler Powell in early 2019, the couple took the obvious next big step — adopting a dog. The lovebirds announced the happy news on Powell's Instagram feed, where he posted a sweet photo of the newlyweds and what appears to be the cutest Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

"Welcoming our newest and cutest family member. Introducing Piggy our gorgeous puppy," Powell captioned the post. "Can't wait to begin the new decade giving this sweetheart the happiest and most loving home. 2020 here we come!" Piggy is a regular on her mom's Instagram feed, and we can see why. From giving sweet kisses to cuddling in bed and roaming the Australia Zoo, this pup is absolutely adorbs, and is living a pretty sweet dog life. 

Despite their famous last name, Bindi Irwin and her brother Robert are your average brother and sister, who just so happen to wrestle crocodiles and appear on national TV together. If Irwin's Instagram feed is anything to go by, it seems like the two like going on adventures together, and Robert seems just as close to his new brother-in-law, Chandler Powell.

Robert even walked his sister down the aisle during her small, intimate wedding ceremony at the Australia Zoo in early 2020. Robert was overjoyed by the honor and commented on one of his sister's Instagram photos from the big day. "It was a truly incredible day and one of the most special moments of my life walking you down the aisle and watching you start your married life together. I love you both!" he wrote (via People).

Robert even helped Powell plan the perfect proposal. But when Powell first started dating his sister, Robert, like any dutiful brother, put him through the ringer. "I always thought Chandler was great, but you have to put him through the test," he told Access Hollywood. He even had Powell feeding gators and crocodiles to prove himself worthy of his sister — in true Irwin family fashion.

A self-described "wildlife warrior," Bindi Irwin claims to love any and all animals. But during an interview with Larry King Now, Irwin admitted to having a pretty normal phobia of bees and wasps. "They kind of intimidate me," she said. Although Irwin deals with larger wildlife like kangaroos and crocodiles, it's those tiny stinging insects that, she said, seem to have it out for her. "I always seem to be stung by them," she told Larry King. Though, she doesn't mind bees in cake form. During her 21st birthday celebration, which was traditionally held at the Australia Zoo along with hundreds of visitors, she blew out the candles to a bumblebee-shaped cake. 

Even bigger than her fear of bugs, though, is elevator doors. "It's this teeny tiny phobia that when I step into an elevator, I'm scared of the doors," Irwin said. To which King offered advice: "Step back." Irwin admitted she prefers avoiding elevators altogether and takes the stairs when she's able.

Bindi Irwin's star power doesn't make her immune to stress. In fact, she's is known to stress out over life's little details, including that of her 2020 nuptials with longtime boyfriend Chandler Powell. During the wedding planning process, her family often compared her to TV's most organized character, Parks and Recreation's Leslie Knope played by comedian Amy Poehler, according to USA Today. "If you want to know the real truth, she has been planning [her wedding] since she was about 7," her mom Terri Irwin told the publication. 

Even her new hubby sees a resemblance between his wife and the popular character. "Bindi is 100 [percent] Leslie Knope. She has colored-coded binders, she has itineraries for all of us, it makes my job easy," Powell told Good Morning America. Although sometimes even the most organized of people leave some things for the last minute. "I left my dress until the last minute but I'm really excited about it," Irwin told GMA. "It's really special."

It's widely known that many celebrities have exotic animals as household pets. Pro boxer Mike Tyson has had pet tigers and Justin and Hailey Bieber own Savannah cats. Unlike her fellow celebrities though, Bindi Irwin doesn't hang out with exotic animals because they're her pets, but because it's her job to care for and rehabilitate all the many crocodiles, koalas, and other animals the Australian Zoo takes in.

Hanging out with some of the wildlife is just a perk of the job, something she's loved doing since she was a little girl growing up in a zoo. "I just loved absolutely everything," Irwin said about animals during an episode of Crikey! It's the Irwins. "I loved every single animal and wanted to hug it and kiss it no matter what." For Irwin, these animals aren't adornments, but an essential part of the circle of life, one that she wants to help preserve. 

Bindi Irwin was and always will be a daddy's girl. As she's growing into an animal-loving, bright young woman, Irwin is always looking for ways to honor her late dad's memory, even with her family show on Animal Planet — Crikey! It's the Irwins — which is the family's first show on cable TV since Steve Irwin's death in 2006. 

"We're lucky to do what we love, which is work with wildlife and be so involved with all our conservation work, but we're also able to take other people on the journey with us, which is something very, very unique to our little lives. That's what's really special and something dad was passionate about," Irwin told The Hollywood Reporter. 

Losing a parent isn't easy, especially at only eight years old, but Irwin remained strong and has made it her mission to continue her father's conservation work through the Australia Zoo. Since she was young, she's always "wanted to be just like dad," she revealed in a clip for the Animal Planet series. "I wanted to be catching snakes and wrangling crocodiles." As an adult, she was able to start living that legacy.

Bindi Irwin doesn't need much in life to be happy. All she needs is her family and animals — a far cry from other celebrities who crave more material things, like sports cars and private jets. The fact that she gets to work with animals every day and live with her family (her mom Terri, brother Robert, and her hubby Chandler Powell) is a dream come true in of itself. 

During an interview on Crikey! It's The Irwins, Irwin said she can't imagine doing anything else in life than working with wildlife whenever people ask her if she'll ever get bored of it. "I think my jaw drops to the floor every time someone asks me that. This is living the dream. This is who I am," she said. Irwin plans to continue on her family's legacy of caring for wildlife patients at Australia Zoo's Wildlife Hospital and educating the world about every animal.

"Our conservation work isn't just what we do, it's a part of who we are. It's an incredible privilege to do so much for wildlife and wild places around the world," she told One Country, proving she's just a normal young woman wanting to make a small difference in the world.