Born in Upper Ferntree Gully, to Lyn and Bob Irwin 22 February 1962, Steve moved with his 2 sisters and parents to Beerwah, Queensland, to open Beerwah reptile and fauna park in 1970. He had an instant passion for animals, growing up working with his parents at the reptile park. Steve already knew what he wanted to do.
He caught his first venomous snake at the age of six and would always look out for animals around the place. At the age of 9, Steve was already helping his dad catch small crocodiles swimming around a boat ramp and tackle them back into their small boat called a dingy.
By 1980 Steve called the reptile park home. He worked all day everyday to make sure the animals were safe and healthy with his friend Wes Manion. By 1991 he took ownership of the reptile park, on the 6 of October he met Terri Rains, a visitor at the zoo. Years later they got married and spent their honeymoon filming a documentary of the wildlife. With 2 kids Bindi and Robert Irwin Steve's life was great. He had many documentaries on animals and loved the zoo.
On 4th of September 2006, he went snorkelling to get footage for a show called Bindi The Jungle Girl, this was a series he was developing presented by his daughter Bindi.
He came across a short-tailed stingray and followed it to get footage for the show. The stingray got into a defensive position and viciously stabbed Steve 100 times within seconds his last words were “I'm dying.” He was only 44 at the time of his death.