Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to the newest episode of Teen Beat. I am your adult host, Danielle Fishel, podcaster, TV director, recent ballroom competitor, mom of two, and a former child actor who spent all of her teenage years in front of cameras and a live studio audience as Topanga Lawrence on the 90s TV show, Boy Meets World. From my first kiss to my first haircut, you saw it all.
Every Friday night on your local ABC affiliate. And now, more than 30 years later, it's time I turn the tables. Every week I'm sitting with a celebrity, someone who has made their wildest dreams come true, hoping I can now expose their childhoods to the world in an almost tit-for-tat situation, assuming it will give us a glimpse into the person they are today.
Since their first pimple wasn't also broadcast as part of a TGIF block of programming, the least they can do is share it with me now. I gave you my childhood. It's time we hear yours.
And on this episode, as a teenager who spent most of her free time shopping at the mall, carrying a vanilla ice blended, extra vanilla, and complaining about boys, I'm ready to finally walk a little on the wilder side.
My guest was raised in Eugene, Oregon, the youngest of three daughters in a family that was concerned about the environment at a time when most people figured that was just Captain Planet's job. Her father owned a trucking company, bringing home wild animals he would find injured on the highway in order to nurse them back to health.
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Chapter 2: What inspired Terri Irwin's journey into wildlife conservation?
And from that moment on, she'd dedicate her life to conservatism and preserving all forms of wildlife, eventually becoming one of the world's most beloved zookeepers. Her interests and related travels would bring her to Australia at the age of 27, where she would meet her future husband, Steve Irwin, in a chance encounter at a wildlife rehabilitation center.
You know, where we all hang out on vacations. They would marry eight months later, film their first documentary during their honeymoon, and the rest is history. They'd have two children, Bindi and Robert, before Steve's death in 1992 from an injury sustained while filming their wildly popular TV series, The Crocodile Hunter.
Overnight, she would become a single mother and single zookeeper, taking over every aspect of the family business, the Australia Zoo in Bear Walk, Queensland, making sure her husband's legacy continued well beyond not only his life, but for generations to come.
Today, I will talk to her not only about her own backstory, but also how she navigated the teenage years of her own children, two absolute gems who have now individually captured the hearts of both Australia and the United States, reminding the world not only of her mission statement on conservatism, but also just pure kindness. To say she is impressive is a gross understatement.
But I know deep down somewhere inside, there might just be an awkward teenager. Let's find out with my Teen Beat guest this week, the pride of Australia, Mrs. Terry Irwin. Terry, thank you so much for talking to me. Oh, thank you. I really don't think there is a single human being in the world that wouldn't jump at the opportunity to learn more about you. So I consider myself to be very lucky.
Well, that's very kind, because I was thinking, who wouldn't jump at the opportunity to have a chat with you? Because this is really special. So thank you very much for thinking of me.
Of course. You were truly one of the very first people I thought of, especially after getting to know your family just the tiniest bit during Dancing with the Stars. I thought to myself... Wow. That is a woman who should be studied. That's somebody who has a perspective to share that everyone can benefit from. So I would like to start by talking about your dad a little bit. Oh, my dad. Yeah. Yes.
And your life in Oregon. So he... Right. And he would bring home wounded animals that he would encounter on the highway for rehabilitation. Can you describe what this like makeshift vet scenario looked like at your home where you would rehab these animals?
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Chapter 3: How did Terri meet Steve Irwin and what was their early relationship like?
Yeah.
Sure thing. Now, I was very lucky to have such terrific parents. And my dad was just amazing because, you know, he's the guy who grew up in the Depression, was in World War II, was a motorcycle cop, and then finally landed driving heavy haul truck. So he would drive all over the place and then come home with little animals that may need help. But he was also very good at building things up.
And he really gave me these gifts with how to approach life, to treat other living beings. And I felt very lucky to have that upbringing. So I can remember one time in particular, he brought home these Maganzer ducks. And just for starters, I had no idea what a Maganzer duck was. And I'm like seven years old.
I also don't know what a Maganzer duck is.
Yes. So this duck comes in, these ducklings, right? Because the mama was hit by a car. So he brings the ducklings and they have a thin bill with kind of serrated edges. So they're not like... platypus bill. They're like a predator bill.
Little knives. Yeah. Little knives.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So we're like, this is confusing. This is a duck, but it's not interested in grain or anything. What do we do? So when I was seven, the way we Googled was called the Encyclopedia Britannica. Love a good encyclopedia set.
Love a good encyclopedia set.
Yeah.
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Chapter 4: What challenges did Terri face as a single mother after Steve's passing?
Yes, so we were looking up what on earth is this and discovered that Meganzer ducks, who are really cute, when they grow up, they have this real cool haircut and they're just darling little things, but they eat things like little minnows and worms and insects.
And so my dad put something together for these ducks with a kid's wading pool and we would go down to the creek and we would catch minnows. hundreds of minnows. And then we would go out at night and he taught me to take a flashlight and put red cellophane on it.
Because when the night crawlers came out of the ground at night and you shone a light on them, the little worms would disappear back into the earth. But the red light they didn't see. So then you could pick up the earthworms to feed the ducks. And the ducks were so tiny. that they would eat a worm and the worm would like move them because they were little and the worm was big.
But I learned how to catch night crawlers, how to feed these ducklings and took care of them until they were big enough to fly, which was really special.
It strikes me hearing you tell that story that it seems like a lot of the most influential men in your life have had such a wonderful mix of strong masculinity mixed with a lot of that other like divine feminine side that's very empathetic and caring for animals. Like what wonderful representation for a man, you know, to have both.
Oh, I agree. I agree. And what great lessons to learn. Like I can remember, of course, I wanted to keep them forever and ever. And he said to me, he said, look at your bedroom. You have everything you need in here. You have toys. You have a window with a view. He said, imagine if I brought you your food in your room, but you never got to leave your room.
And I was like, hmm, I'd get pretty bored. So he said, that's why you have to totally let stuff go. So I went, oh, I get it. Even though they're happy and healthy, they want to fly and do their own thing. Yeah. Very good at explaining things to me as well. But I always appreciated that. And I found his kindness a strength. Yes. Being willing to stop and help and fix the problem.
and come to the end solution and and let them go so it was really really special but you're right i've always admired men who are so secure in their masculinity that they can raise everyone up they're not like i have to be the top dog and be all tough um i want to raise you up and and have you succeed and do well and do what you love
I love that. What were you like in high school? Tell me about teenage Terry. I like to think about you just walking around nursing squirrels and rabbits in the halls. But I suspect you and I may not have been so different in high school. What were you like? Well, I see.
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Chapter 5: How does Terri navigate the teenage years with her children?
OK, because I imagine you as the cool kid and I was kind of. kind of not quite as cool.
Okay. I beg to differ. I imagine that people just didn't recognize your cool.
That's it.
That's it.
I was the mysterious veiled cool kid. Okay. But yeah, I was really passionate about working. So from the time I was a tiny tot, I loved And whether I had a lemonade stand or I was picking beans, Robert always loves my picking beans story. And Bindi will say, don't ask her her picking beans story because I picked beans all summer and made $50. And now in the real world...
Who would work three months for $50? I mean, come on. Oh, my gosh. Wait, what kind of pick? Who were you picking beans for? Well, you know, it's just a farm that had string beans and you could be gainfully employed. To pick beans and then weigh them at the end of the day. And then you got however much per pound and then they would sell the beans.
So they had a lot of, I think the child labor is the wrong word, but they had a lot of young people that they employed.
They had a lot of young people who were eager and didn't know that maybe they were being slightly taken advantage of.
So by high school, I had this kind of work ethic. And I started working in the family business around that time. And so I was working ā we had a business ā that it was primarily a pilot car company. And pilot cars are the ones that go in front of and behind of great big loads on a truck, whether it's logging equipment or a giant boat or whatever.
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Chapter 6: What unique experiences did Terri have while raising her children?
OK, so when when it was like depression era, that was about all your entertainment. People would have like a square dance in the barn or everyone would get together and dancing was free. So when everyone would get together and dance, if someone was dancing with someone else and there was a little bit of conflict, oh my gosh, Henry was dancing with Lola and Lola's married to Bert.
You know, it was scandalous. So my parents said... you know, nothing good comes from this. So there was like no dancing. So no dancing, no dancing.
You had like a Kevin Bacon upbringing, like no dancing. Dancing was, was yeah. Okay. That's very interesting. I mean, I understand. I understand the perspective where I understand. Yeah. They, they had seen a lot of scandal come from dancing and intermingling and they decided we don't want to bring the scandal into our family. Yeah.
So I respected that because instead of just saying no, it was like, here's the reason. And the other thing I wasn't allowed to do is go to drive-in movies. So I've been to drive-in movies, obviously. But when I was in my teens, like 15, 16, it was like no drive-in movies. And now I would give anything to find a good drive in theater because the nostalgia is so wonderful.
But yeah, other than that, it was, you know, pretty much having friends and getting together during the summer and doing schoolwork together. And I felt very blessed because I had kind of across the board friends. So I didn't. just hang out with the cool girls or the sporty guys or the nerdy science club. I was really privileged to be friends pretty much with everybody. So I was really lucky.
I love that. That's actually very much how I feel about my friend groups. From the time I was very young in elementary school, junior high and high school, there was no one, there was like no particular group of people where I didn't have at least one friend in that group where there wasn't somebody I could... say like, hi, how are you? And knew about them.
And I really have pretty much always gotten along with just about everybody. I find everybody fascinating in some way, even if I can't relate to someone in particular for whatever their interests are. I find their story fascinating. And I think that is always the good foundation for curiosity is always a good foundation for friendship.
I think that's a really great way to put it. And I think you kind of miss out if you're in this little clan and just keeping to these few people. You miss out on a lot of wonderful people. But I can feel that from you being that inclusive and easygoing. And I really respect that.
And that's kind of what I want to emulate is being that kind of person where you're approachable and easy to get along with. So whether... people were having a great day and were having fun or someone was having some kind of problem and wanted to talk about it. It was really nice to be able to just really communicate with everybody, which was great.
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Chapter 7: How did Terri's upbringing influence her parenting style?
And, you know, a lot of kids will be like, I want to be like my parent. So my mom was a stay at home mom, but my dad had all these different jobs. So I was like, maybe I'll join the Navy. Maybe I'll be a cop. And he said to me, I really don't want you riding motorcycles on the road because it's just so dangerous.
So dangerous.
Yeah.
And that was ironic because driving pilot car is tremendously dangerous. But I respected, you know, that he said that and just really wanted to buckle down and work in the family business, but also had that passion with working with wildlife and that kind of connection. It made me feel more complete. I felt very empathetic towards these animals. And It made me more empathetic to people as well.
And I know when I was 14, I volunteered at a rest home working with older people when rest homes were stereotypical rest homes. So they... weren't terribly awesome places. Right. And kind of sad. And I found just that spirit of wanting to kind of lift people up. But I remember meeting this one man. I don't remember his name. I'm so sorry. But he had like thick white hair in a crew cut. And he was
103 years old. Wow. And what took me aback by him were his eyes. So he had these piercing blue, beautiful eyes. And I was like, oh my God, there's like a 20 something year old man in there. Like you could see him.
You could see the child in him.
In the old guy suit, you know?
Yes, yes.
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Chapter 8: What memorable stories does Terri share about her children?
And then you said the pilot car thing being so dangerous when you were talking about the pilot car and even being the lollipop girls on the road.
Yes.
Those seem like two of the most dangerous jobs one can have.
I felt lucky. I know when I turned 18, because then I could drive at work, and one of my first jobs was taking a truck from Eugene, Oregon to Los Angeles. And it's a 16-hour drive, but it's longer than that with a truck, right? Yeah, of course. And Dad said, okay, here's... Here's your deal. And I remember thinking, I don't know if I can do this because I've just turned 18.
But my dad thinks I can do it. So I must be able to do it. So I always appreciated that he just believed I could do stuff. So I took off on that trip. And keep in mind, you know, no cell phones. If you wanted to call, it was a pay phone. And it was a huge trip. And I was back in... About five days, I think it was. I was home and everything went great. But you're absolutely right.
I mean, being on the road all the time is tricky and has its own risks. But I felt that really set me up for life to have someone saying, I believe you can do this.
Yes, yes. So, so wonderful. So when do you create Cougar Country?
Cougar country. Yes. Intriguing how the old cougar has so many meanings. I know.
Yes. Why don't you tell us about cougar country?
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