Terri Irwin

• 1. Introduction

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  Terri Irwin was reportedly hiking through Cradle Mountain in Tasmania with her two children on the morning of the 4th of September 2006. Her husband, the conservationist Steve Irwin, was killed that same morning. Today she is an American and Australian conservationist, naturalist, zookeeper, and television personality. How does an American who tended injured wild animals end up making her home in Australia? What did a family famous for crocodile adventures do with its fame, and how did one of them carry it forward alone? And what became of the television shows, the charity and the animals the couple built together?

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• 2. Oregon Beginnings

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  Terri Elizabeth Raines was born on the 20th of July 1964 in Eugene, Oregon. She grew up with two older sisters, Bonnie and Patricia, and a half-brother named Rolfe. Her father, Clarence Alonzo Raines, lived from 1921 to 2008. He served in the U.S. Navy as a radioman on the USS Boise and later became a lieutenant with the Eugene Police Department. Her mother, Julia May, known as Judy, was a schoolteacher from Youngstown, Ohio, who lived from 1926 to 2014. The family raised Terri as a Christian.

  Alton Baker Park, Spencer Butte and the Willamette Valley were the playgrounds of her free-range childhood. She explored them with friends. As she grew older, she took a job at Westates Flagman Inc., a long-haul trucking business her parents owned. Her father kept bringing injured animals home from the highways, and those rescues sparked her interest in protecting wildlife.

  In 1986, Raines started a wildlife rehabilitation facility called Cougar Country. There she educated the public and released foxes, raccoons, bears, bobcats and cougars back into the wild. The facility handled as many as 300 animals each year. In 1989, she worked as a veterinary technician at an emergency veterinary hospital to deepen her understanding of animal welfare. Two years after that, she would tour rehabilitation facilities on the other side of the Pacific.

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• 3. Love at First Sight

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  In 1991, Raines was touring wildlife rehabilitation facilities in Australia when she met Steve Irwin. He later described the encounter as "love at first sight". Raines had a strong first impression of her own. She thought there was no one like him anywhere in the world. To her, he sounded like "an environmental Tarzan, a larger-than-life superhero guy".

  Four months after they met, the two were engaged. They married on the 4th of June 1992 at the First United Methodist Church of Eugene.

  Marriage meant leaving Oregon for Queensland. Raines relocated to Australia as Steve's wife, and Cougar Country closed its gates when she left.

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• 4. The Crocodile Hunter Years

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  The Irwins spent their honeymoon trapping crocodiles together, and John Stainton filmed it. That footage became the first episode of their wildlife documentary series, The Crocodile Hunter. The program debuted in Australia in 1992. Broadcast on Animal Planet, it found success in more than 130 countries and reached an estimated 500 million people.

  The couple owned and operated Australia Zoo while they filmed. Two spin-offs followed. Croc Files ran from 1999 to 2001, and The Crocodile Hunter Diaries ran from 2002 to 2006. In 2002 came a feature film, the adventure comedy The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course. It was Terri's feature film debut.

  Also in 2002, Terri and Steve founded Wildlife Warriors, a non-profit organization created to fund conservation efforts around the world. Four years later, that charity would sit at the center of one of the most public moments of her life.

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• 5. A Family Life

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  Bindi Sue Irwin was born on the 24th of July 1998. Her parents named her after two of Steve's favorite animals: Bindi, a saltwater crocodile, and Sui, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

  Robert Clarence Irwin followed on the 1st of December 2003. His name honors two grandfathers: Steve's father, Bob, and Terri's father, Clarence.

  The Irwins were teetotalers. They were happily married, yet they did not wear their wedding rings, a choice made for safety reasons.

  Terri Irwin has not dated since her husband died, and she has no interest in another romantic relationship. She finds it "wonderful" when widows find love again. For herself, she says she already had her "happily ever after."

  On the 25th of March 2021, Terri became a grandmother when Bindi gave birth to a daughter, Grace Warrior Irwin Powell.

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• 6. Loss and Farewell

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  At Batt Reef, near Port Douglas in Queensland, Steve Irwin was taking part in the production of an underwater documentary. The barb of a short-tail stingray pierced his chest, and the injury killed him.

  Five days later, a private funeral was held in Caloundra. Steve was buried that same day in a private ceremony at Australia Zoo.

  On the 30th of September 2006, a public memorial service took place in the zoo's 5,500-seat Crocoseum. It was broadcast live on television in Australia, the United States and Asia. More than 300 million people watched. Attendees were encouraged to donate to Wildlife Warriors.

  After the service, the Nine Network aired an exclusive interview between Terri and the television presenter Ray Martin. The special attracted 2.9 million viewers. Irwin was praised for speaking in a natural and eloquent way.

  On the 31st of October 2006, she was invited to the Royal Albert Hall to present a Special Recognition Award to Sir David Attenborough. The occasion was the British National Television Awards. In a short speech, she named Attenborough as a great inspiration to her husband. He, in turn, praised Steve for introducing new audiences to the natural world.

  Michael Barnes, the Queensland State Coroner, reported that authorities handed Irwin the original video of Steve's death in late December 2006. They destroyed every copy to keep the footage from the public.

  In November 2007, Irwin published a memoir, My Steve, through Simon & Schuster Australia.

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• 7. Carrying the Zoo

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  After Steve's death, Terri was named sole owner and chairwoman of Australia Zoo in Beerwah, Queensland. A debt collection agency sued her and the zoo for $2.5 million around that time. A court later dismissed the lawsuit.

  Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Institute became a partner when Irwin signed on to a three-year research program tied to the zoo. The program funded two research projects on humpback whales, each worth $250,000. "Learning about whales is part of a bigger picture," she said. "Our oceans are in jeopardy and the more research we gather about whales, the more knowledge we have to help us save, protect and preserve our delicate oceans."

  The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society also received her support. Irwin was present when one of its vessels was launched and renamed after her husband.

  From October 2018 to February 2022, she starred alongside her two children in the reality series Crikey! It's the Irwins.

  In 2019, she announced an $8 million wildlife camping project. It was expected to draw 39,000 visitors each year. The Crocodile Hunter Lodge, a luxury hotel on the grounds of Australia Zoo, opened in 2023.

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• 8. Honors and Screen Credits

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  The 15th of March 2006 brought Irwin an appointment as an honorary Member of the Order of Australia. It recognized her services to wildlife conservation, the tourism industry and charitable organizations.

  On the 15th of November 2009, she became a naturalized Australian citizen. The ceremony coincided with Steve Irwin Day celebrations in the Crocoseum. Her appointment to the Order became substantive upon that naturalization.

  In 2007, she won the Queensland Telstra Business Women's Award. In 2015, she was a finalist for Queensland Australian of the Year.

  The University of the Sunshine Coast made her an honorary senior fellow. The University of Queensland presented her with an honorary Doctor of Science degree for her work in conservation, research and support for high-quality science.

  In 2023, she was inducted into the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame. The citation praised her "outstanding business leadership and for internationally recognized contributions to wildlife and habitat conservation and to Australian tourism."

  Her screen credits reach beyond her own series. They include the film The Wiggles: Wiggly Safari, the documentary Eco-Pirate: The Story of Paul Watson in 2011, and Kangaroo: A Love-Hate Story in 2017. She also appeared on Ocean's Deadliest in 2007. She was a guest on Dancing with the Stars in 2015, and she returned for a second season in 2025.

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