Why are people so fascinated by Dancing With the Stars front-runner Bindi Irwin?

Australian Bindi Irwin on Dancing With the Stars. Photo / The Washington Post

Everything Bindi Irwin does makes news. At least, that's what it feels like when you're bombarded with headlines about the 17-year-old Australian actress and wildlife conservationist. Whether she signs on to Dancing With the Stars, Instagrams a picture with her boyfriend or simply makes a Walgreens run, Irwin remains firmly in the spotlight.

This has been true since she was a small child, frequently appearing on television in tiny zookeeper outfits with her superstar father, the famed "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin. After her 44-year-old father's death in 2006, when he was pierced in the chest by a stingray while filming a TV special, the attention on Bindi Irwin skyrocketed.

It feeds into a strange - but somewhat understandable - fascination with the children of deceased celebrities. Losing a parent at a young age is unnatural and devastating, so there's already an element of morbid curiosity, coupled with the public spectacle: Think Kurt Cobain, Michael Jackson or Anna Nicole Smith. Anyone would feel sympathy for kids for going through that nightmare with the world watching. Though they're strangers, years later, you still might be interested about the well-being of Frances Bean Cobain or Paris Jackson or Danielynn Birkhead.

What sets Irwin apart is that the fixation increases when the child is a very visible presence in the celebrity's life. That's certainly the case with Irwin, even more of a pop culture mainstay this fall as the front-runner on Dancing With the Stars. (As usual, she and partner Derek Hough wowed the judges on Monday's show, landing a perfect score.) Irwin is a natural in front of the camera, which makes sense - she made her first TV appearance before she was 6 months old. While filming a 1998 commercial, Steve Irwin sat baby Bindi on a crocodile: "You're watching Animal Planet with the Crocodile Hunter ... and family!" he said.

From there, Irwin was her dad's partner in crime, going with him on TV shoots and research projects. Pictures flooded the media of Steve Irwin with his daughter in one arm, a koala bear or crocodile in the other. "My dad has let me help whenever he thought it was safe," Irwin, age 6, chirps in one TV special. The two teamed up for a series called Bindi the Jungle Girl to air on Animal Planet and Discovery Kids. The original plan was for the show to be "a father-daughter thing," according to the network.

Steve Irwin poses with his daughter Bindi Irwin October 2, 2005 in Uluru, Australia. Photo / Getty Images

That made it all the more crushing when Steve Irwin died months later. Eight-year-old Bindi, heartbreakingly adorable in her signature tiny khakis, delivered a speech at her father's memorial service at the Australia Zoo in front of millions on TV: "My daddy was my hero. He was always there for me when I needed him," she read as her mom cried in the audience holding Bindi's 2-year-old brother, Bob. "I don't want Daddy's passion to ever end. I want to help endangered wildlife just like he did. I had the best daddy in the whole world, and I will miss him every day."

From that moment, Crocodile Hunter fans all over the world couldn't get enough of Steve Irwin's sweet, bubbly, surprisingly eloquent daughter. True to her word, Irwin threw herself into her father's legacy. Bindi the Jungle Girl aired for two seasons and made Irwin the youngest Daytime Emmy award recipient in history. She recorded a kid's fitness video and a CD. She got a clothing line and her own Bindi doll. She and her mother, conservationist Terri Irwin, were anointed Australian tourism ambassadors, charming the likes of David Letterman and Ellen DeGeneres in TV appearances.

In 2010, one newspaper noted the launch of a "tongue-in-cheek 'Free Bindi' campaign, which seems to consist entirely of a line of snarky T-shirts ... This mirage-like wellspring of concern has to do with the notion that Bindi is being coerced to follow in her father's footsteps." But Irwin didn't slow down. Her first movie acting gig in a direct-to-DVD Free Willy release as a teenager, and starred in a Hallmark movie sequel Return to Nims Island in 2013.

Bindi Irwin performs on Dancing With The Stars. Photo / Getty Images

There's still a tragic thread running through it all, as much coverage focuses on the aftermath of her father's death. It's a major theme on Dancing With the Stars this season. During September's premiere, Irwin danced the jive to Elton John's Crocodile Rock, dressed in khakis before whipping them off to reveal a sparkly green dress.

"My mom says any time Dad would watch me dance around the zoo that he would cry," Irwin explained. "I think that the real reason I'm doing this is to make him proud and everyone back at home in Australia proud."

Things got more emotional the following week when Irwin danced to AC/DC's You Shook Me All Night Long and choked up when she recounted that it was her dad's favorite song. "I remember when I was really little dancing to that song with Dad, and it means everything to me," she said. In episode four, Irwin completely broke down while rehearsing a contemporary dance tribute to her father, struck by a sudden memory of him from when she was little.

"It took a really long time to understand what actually happened," she sobbed. "For the rest of my life, I kind of feel like he's going to come home." Even the judges were on the verge of weeping by the end of her performance.

Actress Bindi Irwin and professional dancer Derek Hough. Photo / Getty Images

Now, with the DWTS finale just a few weeks away, the Mirror Ball Trophy is Irwin's to lose - she's a clear favorite. The viewers love her, as evidenced last week by the outcry over a Los Angeles judge who demanded proof of her father's death to approve that she (as a minor) was allowed to receive her DWTS winnings directly. At the same time, it's a reminder her rise to fame will also carry a reminder of tragedy.

"Bindi was so strong at the time, but when you love someone that much, it's like totally losing a piece of your heart," her mother Terri Irwin said in one DWTS video. "You're really not going to get over it."