Los Angeles, January 13-14, 2007 – Australia Week in L.A. was extra special this year, with a tribute to late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, at the Penfolds Icon gala on Saturday. All eyes at the black tie event were on his widow, Terri Irwin, and TV star daughter, Bindi, who are both trying to recover from Steve’s tragic death from a stingray attack last September. Guests at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza offered words of comfort to Terri, while eight-year-old Bindi seemed quite self-assured. When handlers on the red carpet asked Bindi if she was comfortable posing for photos with her backup dancers, she calmly replied, “I’m fine.”
Cate Blanchett, Dominic Purcell, Rachel Griffiths, and Olivia Newton-John attended the Penfolds gala, where fellow high-profile Aussies Russell Crowe and Naomi Watts were also honored. (Nicole Kidman was noticeably absent.) Watts’ boyfriend, Liev Schreiber was by her side, and Sacha Baron Cohen joined fiancée Isla Fisher for the evening. John Travolta has, er, touched up his hair.
The next day, Bindi Irwin busted out her dance moves onstage for the first time at the G’Day USA family concert, alongside her “Crocmen” dancers. Mom Terri Irwin and her dad’s friend, Wes Mannion, brought exotic animals onstage, and Australian sensation The Wiggles performed.
