Robert Irwin | |
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![]() Irwin in 2022 | |
Born | Robert Clarence Irwin 1 December 2003 Buderim, Queensland, Australia |
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Years active | 2004–present |
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Website | robertirwinphotos |
Robert Clarence Irwin (born 1 December 2003) [1] is an Australian conservationist, television personality, wildlife photographer, and actor. He is the only son of conservationists Steve and Terri Irwin, and is often noted to share similarities with his late father. [2] A zookeeper at Australia Zoo, Irwin is frequently involved in activities that his father originally participated in.
Irwin starred in and co-produced the Animal Planet television series Crikey! It's the Irwins (2018–2022) with his mother and older sister, Bindi. He currently co-hosts the Network 10 program I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here alongside Julia Morris, which earned him a Logie Award nomination for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television.
Robert Clarence Irwin was born on 1 December 2003 in Buderim, Queensland. [1] His father, Steve Irwin (1962–2006), was an Australian conservationist best known for his wildlife documentary series The Crocodile Hunter (1996–2004). [3] He owned and operated Australia Zoo with his wife Terri Irwin ( née Raines), an American zoologist from Eugene, Oregon. [4] Irwin was named after his paternal and maternal grandfathers, Bob Irwin and Clarence Raines. [5] He has an older sister, Bindi, who is also a conservationist and television personality. [6] The siblings are dual citizens of Australia and the United States, [7] and are of English, Irish, and Swedish descent. [8]
During a public show one month after Irwin was born, his father carried him in his arm while hand feeding a chicken carcass to a 3.8-metre (12 ft 6 in) saltwater crocodile. [9] Irwin was close to the reptile, and comparisons were made in the press to the singer Michael Jackson dangling his son Prince outside of a German hotel window. [10] The incident prompted the Queensland Government to change its crocodile handling laws, banning children and untrained adults from entering crocodile enclosures. [11] Special dispensation, however, was granted to a child who met a very strict set of guidelines and training requirements. [11]
When Irwin was two years old, his father was killed by a stingray injury to the heart while filming an underwater documentary. [12] His mother was named the sole owner of Australia Zoo, where he and his sister were homeschooled following their father's death. [13] In 2012, at age 8 years and nine months, and after extensive training and under expert supervision, Irwin was allowed to feed freshwater crocodiles for the first time, [14] whose males max out at about 3 metres (9.8 ft). [15]
Irwin made small appearances in his sister's documentary series Bindi the Jungle Girl (2007–2008). [16] In 2009, he had a cameo role in the family film Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove and won Biggest Greenie at the Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards alongside his sister. [17] Irwin earned a Logie Award nomination for Most Popular New Male Talent in 2013 for his role in the television series Steve Irwin's Wildlife Warriors . [18] He also released a series of books, titled Dinosaur Hunter, which he co-authored with Lachlan Creag and Jack Wells. [19] Irwin co-hosted the Discovery Kids series Wild But True (2014–2015), [17] which was nominated for the International Emmy Kids Award for Best Kids: Factual. [20] In 2015, he made a guest appearance on the British wildlife series Ten Deadliest Snakes with Nigel Marven . [17]
Irwin was runner-up in the junior category of the 2016 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition. [21] [22] Irwin is also a photography contributor to the Australia Zoo Crikey magazine. [23] He uses his love for photography to help raise awareness about wildlife conservation. He has also raised tens of thousands of dollars for the Irwins' non-profit organization Crocodile Diaries by auctioning canvas prints of his work at events worldwide. He has also met with world leaders such as His Majesty King Charles III to discuss the protection of natural habitat. [23]
On 16 February 2017, Irwin made his late-night television debut when he appeared on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon . He presented an African dwarf crocodile, a screaming armadillo, a red-tailed boa, and a sloth to the host, Jimmy Fallon. [24] [25] [26] Irwin subsequently went back to appear on The Tonight Show on multiple occasions, showcasing a different selection of animals each time. As of April 2019, Irwin has appeared on the show eleven times.
Irwin has embarked upon many photography expeditions around the globe [23]
On 6 April 2017, Irwin was invested as a member and ambassador of Scouts Australia, formalising a partnership between the organisation and Australia Zoo. The partnership aims to encourage Australia's young people to become involved with wilderness and conservation. [27] [28] He has also given various interviews to magazines for teenagers as a current reference such as Vanity. [29]
On Australia Zoo TV, Irwin appears on his own channel. [30]
In 2020, he guest starred in the Bluey episode "The Quiet Game", [31] voicing a dingo retail clerk named Alfie.
In February 2022, during filming for an episode of Crikey! It's the Irwins , Irwin had to make an emergency escape from a crocodile enclosure after an overzealous 3.7-metre-long (12 ft), 350-kilogram (770 lb) saltwater crocodile, named Casper, ignored the food Irwin was offering him and instead made a beeline for Irwin himself. Irwin managed to scale the enclosure walls just in time and avoided injury. [32] [33] [34]
In October 2023, it was announced that Irwin would replace Dr Chris Brown as the co-host of Network 10's reality television show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! alongside returning host Julia Morris, for the show's tenth season in 2024, [35] [36] resulting in Gold Logie nominations for them both. [37] He returned for the eleventh season in 2025. [38] In September 2024, Irwin and Nomzamo Mbatha became the first two Earthshot Prize Global Ambassadors. [39]
In April 2025, Irwin was announced as a competitor on season 34 of the American reality television series Dancing with the Stars . [40]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2010 | Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove | The Pirate Boy | Cameo |
2015 | The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water | Kyle the Seagull | Voice; Australian version |
2025 | Zootopia 2 | Robert Furwin | Voice |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2007 | Bindi the Jungle Girl | Himself | 1 episode |
2011 | Kate Plus 8 | Episode: "Australia Zoo Visit" | |
2014 | Dino Dan: Trek's Adventures | Foreign Exchange Student from Australia | Episodes: "Dino Pals" and "Dino Mommas" |
2015 | Ten Deadliest Snakes | Himself | Episode: "Australia" |
2017–2019 | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | Guest; 13 episodes | |
2018–2022 | Crikey! It's the Irwins | Series regular Also co-producer | |
2019–2022 | The Kelly Clarkson Show | Guest; 5 episodes | |
2020 | Bluey | Alfie | Voice; episode: "The Quiet Game" |
Sesame Street | Himself | 1 episode[ citation needed ] | |
Earth to Ned | Himself | Episode "A Ned's Best Friend" | |
2021 | Irwin Family Adventures | Also co-producer | |
2022 | RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under | Guest; season 2 episode 1 | |
Kurt Fearnley's One Plus One | Episode: Robert Irwin [41] | ||
Have You Been Paying Attention? | Himself | Guest quizmaster, episode 25 | |
2024– | I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! | Co-host | Replacing Chris Brown and alongside Julia Morris |
2025 | Dancing with the Stars | Himself / Contestant | Season 34 [42] |