At a glance
- Bindi Irwin made a triumphant return to the 2026 Steve Irwin Gala in Brisbane.
- The 27-year-old has been extremely transparent about her battle with endometriosis and has cited the chronic pain as the reason for her absence from past Las Vegas events.
- Terri Irwin and Chandler Powell have both hinted at Bindi’s attendance at the Las Vegas Steve Irwin Gala in May 2027.
Bindi Irwin is one of the few celebrities who has been extremely candid about her gruelling journey with endometriosis, shedding light on the disease.
Over the years, her health has impacted her ability to show up physically in the ways she once did.
After her noticeable absence at the 2026 Steve Irwin Gala in Las Vegas, many wondered whether she would attend the Brisbane gala in November.
To everyone’s delight, Bindi was in fact front and centre at the annual wildlife fundraising event. The 27-year-old was glowing as she shared a video of the evening’s outfit: a stunning strapless emerald green evening gown.
Earlier in the year, following the Las Vegas gala, Terri and Robert Irwin revealed to E! News that Bindi was “doing so much better.”
“Things like a lot of travel are a bit challenging for her at the moment, and so she’ll be here next year to celebrate,” Terri explained.
“You gotta remember, in Australia Zoo there are 500 in our team. There are about 500,000 acres of conservation land that we have. Someone’s got to hold down the fort. So, Bindi’s doing a great job at that,” added Robert.
In an Instagram post following the 2026 Brisbane gala, Bindi’s husband Chandler also confirmed their planned attendance at the 2027 Las Vegas event.
“The Steve Irwin Gala was incredible. Always amazing to see how many people Steve can bring together in the name of conservation. The countdown is on until the Steve Irwin Gala Las Vegas in May,” read the post.
After years of unexplainable pain, fatigue, cramping and nausea, the Wildlife Warrior finally underwent “extensive” surgery in early 2023, which confirmed her endometriosis diagnosis.
In the three years since her diagnosis, Bindi has had more than 50 lesions removed.
“A chocolate cyst that was adhering my ovary to my side was removed. An appendectomy and a hernia repair. I’ve felt indescribable, inescapable pain,” she wrote on Instagram.
“Trying to keep my invisible illness to myself after being told by doctors it was just ‘part of being a woman.’ I spent 10 years being undiagnosed. As a teenager and young woman, I felt weak and deeply insecure. I was trapped in my own body.”
After bravely battling this invisible disease since she was 17 years old, Bindi has proudly championed raising awareness.
“We need to take away the stigma of talking about women’s health. It’s time to have open discussions and make change on a global scale.Young girls and women shouldn’t feel alone with pain in the driver’s seat of their lives,” she previously shared on Instagram.
In May 2024, she received the 2024 EndoFound Blossom Award from the Endometriosis Foundation of America and in her acceptance speech, she spoke about how the disorder had ruled her life.
“My pain escalated to new heights. It utterly consumed my life,” she shared.
“I vividly remember lying on the floor with my daughter next to me, and she was crying and crying because she didn’t know what was wrong with me. And all I wanted was to be there for my daughter. But endometriosis was sucking away every last piece of joy and my ability to function in life.”
“I hated looking in the mirror, because all I could see was the pain, and I felt like I had lost myself. And now I feel like I’m gaining my sense of self again. I’m realising that I am so much more than my pain, and that’s something we all have to remember,” Bindi continued.
Bindi welcomed her daughter, Grace, in 2021 – two years before her endometriosis diagnosis. Throughout her pregnancy, Bindi recalled the “severe, unexplained pain” to the point she believed she was miscarrying.
“I thought I was losing our beautiful daughter,” said Bindi, who shares Grace with her husband, Chandler Powell.
“We’re so lucky to have Grace. So many women can’t fall pregnant due to problems with endometriosis.”
After undergoing surgery, Bindi felt like a “completely new person.” When she first announced her diagnosis on Instagram in March 2023, Bindi admitted the surgery was “scary, but I knew I couldn’t live like I was.”
