Robert Irwin has the perfect way of keeping his dad close.
As the 21-year-old prepares for Dancing With the Stars’ semifinals on Nov. 18, Robert detailed the two keepsakes from dad Steve Irwin—who died in 2006—he wears on every performance day: a button-down shirt that Robert repaired, as well as a ring he created from keys to his childhood home he found in Steve’s office.
“These two things are a way to keep me close to home and to what’s most important to me,” he said in his Nov. 17 video, for which he wore both the shirt and the ring. Of the repaired shirt, he added, “I like that it still looks and feels like him. Each one of the holes, and the tears, and each of the missing buttons tells a story.”
The environmental advocate went on to detail how he begins every Tuesday—show day on Dancing With the Stars—by putting on the shirt, which he then wears to the studio and for his first dress rehearsals before getting into wardrobe.
“So before you guys see that dance in costume, I’ve always done that dance at least once in dad’s shirt,” he said. “It keeps me close to home, it keeps me close to him. It just feels like a big hug every time I put it on.”
As for the ring, it bears the number of Australia Zoo, his and his family’s home located at 1638 Steve Irwin Way.
“It’s the most beautiful experience,” Robert continued of Dancing With the Stars, which has allowed him to pay tribute to his dad multiple times this season. “In some way, I want him part of it. Because this experience has truly changed my life. And I know I wouldn’t be here without him and his legacy that I get to continue.”
He added, “I’m just so grateful that I’m heading into the home stretch, this is it. I’m doing this for a purpose and a cause that is close to my heart: before anything else, I’m an animal conservationist. I proudly continue the work that my mum and dad started.”
And indeed, his mom Terri Irwin couldn’t be prouder. As she wrote on his post, “This is incredibly special and meaningful. Your dad would be chuffed for sure. He loved you so much,” adding, “I love what you did with your dad’s keys.”
But while Robert has honored his dad’s legacy during Dancing With the Stars, he also paid special tribute to Terri for the season’s “Dedication Night” on Oct. 14. For dance in Terri’s honor, Robert and his partner Witney Carson danced to Phil Collins' “You’ll Be in My Heart.”
The dance, which saw Terri join her son in the end, left Robert in tears.
“She's an absolute hero to me, because I was 2 when I lost dad,” Robert shared after the performance. “As I got older, [I] started to realize just how hard it would have been for her to be there for us, and all the while continue dad's legacy that her and dad built together.”
Growing emotional, he added he’s “never been able to capture the feeling of gratitude I feel for it.”
“At every milestone when I just wished that my dad was there, she was there,” he said. “And that was enough.”
For more on the Irwin family and their close bonds, read on.
Steve Irwin
Being the Crocodile Hunter was more than Steve Irwin's career—it was his destiny.
"I was born into it," he told Yahoo! Australia in 2002. "Didn't have a choice."
From a young age, Steve joined his herpetologist dad Bob Irwin and wildlife rehabilitator mom Lyn Irwin on expeditions and helped at their reptile park in Australia's Queensland. He captured and relocated crocodiles as part of a public safety and conservation effort by the government.
In 1991, Steve took over his parents' reptile park. It was there he met wife Terri Irwin while she was visiting from Oregon. After they wed in 1992, they began filming the docuseries The Crocodile Hunter.
Steve and Terri continued their passion of spreading conservation education through their TV shows and park, which they grew into the Australia Zoo, and became parents to daughter Bindi Irwin and son Robert Irwin.
Steve died on September 4, 2006, after a stingray's barb entered his heart while he was filming in the Great Barrier Reef. He was 44.
Today, his legacy lives on through his work and family.
"The proudest thing I've achieved personally," he said in a video shared by Australia Zoo, "is my children."
Terri Irwin
Like Steve, Terri developed a love of animals at an early age—working at an emergency veterinary hospital and wildlife rehabilitation organization before meeting her perfect mate.
"I think it’s definitely fate that brought us together," she told Oprah Winfrey in 2002, "and that ability to seize opportunity and not be afraid. Steve’s really good at not being afraid. But when I met him and he said, 'Do you want to get married and live in the Australian bush and catch crocodiles with me?' It was a bit of a leap of faith to say here’s a wonderful opportunity in the most incredible, wonderful, sexy guy I’ve ever met."
After Steve's death, Terri continues to run Australia Zoo, lead their nonprofit Wildlife Warriors and drive conservation efforts. She also released her book My Steve in 2007, became an Australian citizen in 2009 and starred on the show Crikey! It's the Irwins with her kids from 2018 to 2022.
"My life is very full and very rich," she told Us Weekly in May 2025. "And every day I wish Steve was here, but I'm so lucky."
Bindi Irwin
Born in July 1998, Bindi has grown up on fans' screens.
After making her TV debut on The Crocodile Hunter, she went on to star on shows like Bindi: The Jungle Girl and Crikey! It's the Irwins. She also won season 21 of Dancing With the Stars in 2015.
In addition to following in her parents' footsteps with her conservation work, Bindi is the author of the children's book You Are a Wildlife Warrior!: Saving Animals & the Planet and an advocate for those battling endometriosis, having shared her own journey.
She's ushering in the next generation of Irwins, too. In 2021, she and husband Chandler Powell welcomed their first daughter together, Grace Warrior Irwin Powell.
And, of course, keep her dad's memory alive remains a priority.
"To the world, you will forever be remembered as the greatest Wildlife Warrior," she wrote on Instagram in February 2025. "To me, you’ll always be the most incredible dad and now our family’s guiding light. I love you and I miss you every day."
Robert Irwin
Five years after Bindi was born, Robert made his debut in December 2003.
And just like his family, he has used the power of television to teach others about nature, including on series like Wild But True and Crikey! It's the Irwins.
Separately, Robert has hosted shows like I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, done some modeling and won season 34 of Dancing With the Stars. He also knows his way behind the camera and is a wildlife photographer.
Otherwise, he stays plenty busy working at the Australia Zoo and continuing his dad's work.
"He is my superhero. He always will be," Robert told BBC Radio 2 in 2024. "He was I think a superhero to an entire generation. There is not a day goes by where someone doesn't share a story about him. To hear that, it really means the absolute world. It's an honor. It really is an honor to make sure everything he lived and died for continues."
Chandler Powell
Just like Steve and Terri, Bindi and Chandler met when the Florida native was visiting the Australia Zoo.
In 2013, Chandler (then a professional wakeboarder) was in Australia for a competition and went on a zoo tour led by Bindi.
"We hit it off right away," he recalled on a 2024 episode of the In Real Life Podcast. "There was no looking back as soon as we met each other. It was like we were on the same wavelength immediately."
Because they were just teenagers at the time, Chandler spoke to Bindi's mom before pursuing a relationship.
"I didn't hear from Chandler for quite a while afterwards," Bindi told Entertainment Tonight in 2016, "and that's because he sent a letter asking if he could stay in contact with me."
In a full-circle moment, they then tied the knot at the Australia Zoo in 2020.
"Marrying your best friend ..." Bindi wrote on Instagram in May 2025, "10/10 would recommend."
Grace Warrior Irwin Powell
Grace entered the world in March 2021 and quickly inherited her family's love of wildlife. Although, Bindi isn't having her daughter get close to the crocodiles yet.
"When she is 18, and if she wants to help us feed the crocodiles, that’s great—but not now and not anytime soon," she told TODAY.com in February 2025. "I understand how wildlife behaves and...I don’t ever have Grace in a situation or meeting an animal that she’s not ready for. Her world pretty much revolves around koalas, tortoises, giraffes and red pandas… which I know she’s totally good with."
And yes, Grace knows all about her grandfather Steve.
"I always said I want to make sure that Grace knows Dad, her 'Grandpa Crocodile' as she calls him," Bindi gushed to Us Weekly in May 2024, "and it's really special watching her just loving the documentaries."