Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 21, 2025 i New Zealand Woman's Weekly

Another week at Cannes saw a fresh batch of stars sharing their latest projects in the hopes of taking home the coveted Palme d’Or. Rihanna, 37, couldn’t hide her joy over being pregnant with her third baby, as she supported partner A$AP Rocky, 36, at the premiere of his Spike Lee film Highest 2 Lowest. Meanwhile, new parents Jennifer Lawrence, 34, and Robert Pattinson, 39, earned rave reviews and a nine-minute standing ovation for their new thriller flick Die, My Love about a young mother who develops postpartum depression. Scene stealers…

MARISKA MYSTERY The actor finally finds her birth dad For 26 years, Mariska Hargitay has played tough but empathetic cop Olivia Benson in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. While on-screen she fights for the truth, off-screen she’s been hiding a huge family secret. After more than three decades of closely guarding that secret, Mariska has finally announced it to the world in the documentary My Mom Jayne, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Mariska’s mother was 1950s screen siren Jayne Mansfield, and she was raised to believe her dad was Jayne’s second husband, Hungarian actor and bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay. In the documentary, which Mariska directed, the Lake Placid star, 61, tells how she began to suspect in her twenties her father was, in fact, a former Las Vegas…

When slalom canoeist Finn Butcher won gold at the Paris Olympics, he famously dedicated his medal to his father Dale in an emotional gesture that won the hearts of the nation. But also with him was his girlfriend of nine years, fellow slalom canoeist Courtney Williams, who was assailed by a barrage of conflicting emotions. “It was an incredibly tough time,” admits Courtney, 27, who juggles slalom training with her marketing job at Signature Homes in Mount Maunganui. “I’d been feeling pretty low because I’d just missed out on a place at the Games myself. “Finn and I are really close with Australian slalom canoeist sisters Noemie and Jess Fox, and they were all in the Olympics, but I wasn’t. Watching all my friends compete while I was on the…

Weekly In her own words... Julianne Taylor Julianne Taylor has been a registered nurse and a furniture designer. Currently a registered nutritionist, she is completing her PhD, with a focus on the relationship between food sensitivity and rheumatoid arthritis. The 65-year-old is also a world champion powerlifter. "My father was a psychiatrist and a Baptist minister, and my mother trained as a physio, although her heart and soul were in her family. I was the first born of four and Mum used to make us beautiful matching outfits. She knitted vests and jumpers for Dad and even made some of his suits. I was 10 when Mum taught me how to sew and I was so proud when I wore a shift dress I’d made to Ruapōtaka Primary School. By…

‘I was feeling lost, sad and hurt. Water was always healing for me’ Underwater, nothing else matters for freediver Benedicta Meredith. Either spearfishing and collecting seafood or diving to record depths, Benny, as she’s known to everyone, is at peace, connected to her late mother Trudy, who first instilled in her a love of the ocean. “When I started freediving, I really tapped into the mindfulness that comes with it, being aware of my body and the breathing technique,” says Benny, 36. “Now I can clear my mind, and calm myself and nerves in stressful situations. Before I didn’t have the tools to do that.” The national women’s freedive record holder, after diving 47 metres with fins in Cyprus last year, Benny has come a long way from the version…

Lazy, crazy chocolate cake PREP + COOK TIME 1 HOUR 30 MINS + COOLING SERVES 8 2 cups self-raising flour 1 cup caster sugar 35g cup cocoa powder 1 cup water 2/3 cup (160ml) whole-egg mayonnaise (see tip) 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract White chocolate shavings, to serve (optional) CHOCOLATE ICING ½ cup cream 100g milk chocolate, coarsely chopped 50g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped 1 Preheat oven to 150°C/130°C fan. Grease a deep 20cm round cake tin. Line base with baking paper. 2 Beat all the cake ingredients with an electric mixer on low speed until combined. Increase speed to medium and beat until smooth and paler in colour. Pour mixture into tin and smooth the surface. 3 Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until a skewer comes out…

LADYLIKE POLISH The perfect dress strikes a balance between elegance and ease. Look for styles with long sleeves, a cinched waist and a flattering midi length to capture that distinctive, royal-approved silhouette. Effortless yet refined, it’s a formula that works for everything. GRACEFUL STANCE The perfect heel doesn’t have to sacrifice comfort for style. Sensible yet chic, these heels offer just the right amount of height, while keeping your feet happy all day. From block heels to kitten styles, they’re the go-to choice for looking polished. COMPILED BY LEIGH MATHESON. HERITAGE CLASSICS These patterns are more than just prints – they’re a living link to history. Whether you go bold or subtle with classic houndstooth and tweeds, these time-honoured designs add instant character to any look. NOBLE GEMS You don’t…

London The British capital is packed with royal landmarks. Site of the world’s most famous balcony, Buckingham Palace is where King Charles was born on November 14, 1948. You can take a guided tour of its state rooms for 10 weeks each summer (this year from July 10 to September 28), and on selected dates in winter and spring, but you’re unlikely to run into a royal – they’re usually at Balmoral when gates open to the public. A short walk along The Mall and through Green Park brings you to St James’s Palace, which was built on the site of a former leper hospital by King Henry VIII in the 1530s. This castle was once Charles’ official London address and except for exclusive guided tours that run on select…

Just like she was as a child, Michèle is agog at the halt on equality There’s a cartoon that’s been doing the rounds on social media – it shows a woman holding a protest sign which reads “Equal Pay for Women” as she says to the man next to her, “Oh, this sign has been in my family for generations.” It neatly encapsulates the exhaustion many of us felt as we were blindsided by the government’s sudden decision to make major changes to the Pay Equity Act and immediately halt all active claims. Strictly speaking, equal pay – the idea that a woman standing next to a man and doing the same job should get paid the same wage – is not the issue now. That was our mothers’ and…

WEEKLY STAFF EDITOR Marilynn McLachlan LIFESTYLE & BEAUTY EDITOR Anna Lee CHIEF SUB-EDITOR Denise Bowden SUB-EDITOR Darren Bevan ART DIRECTOR Mirella Monteiro DESIGNERS Anna Pétursdóttir, Béla Trussell-Cullen, Debby Wei, Hayley Pearce PHOTO EDITOR Kellie Blizard CONTRIBUTORS Catherine Milford, Donna Fleming, Elisabeth Easther, Fleur Guthrie, Julie O’Reilly, Kasia De Vydt-Jillings, Leigh Matheson, Megan McChesney, Nicky Pellegrino, Rebekah Hebenton ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Claire Chisholm claire.chisholm@aremedia.co.nz SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER Chloe Jordan, Amy Madden ACCOUNT MANAGER Sara Grace Aldis SENIOR COMMERCIAL BRAND MANAGER Angela Wei angela.wei@aremedia.co.nz COMMERCIAL BRAND MANAGER Georgia van Koningsveld DIRECTORY SALES MANAGER Kim Chapman 021 673133 classifieds@xtra.co.nz ARE MEDIA GROUP MANAGEMENT CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Jane Huxley GENERAL MANAGER Stuart Dick EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Sarah Henry PRIVACY NOTICE New Zealand Woman’s Weekly is published by Are Media Limited (Are Media). Are Media may…

I blame myself. For years, I’ve chosen not to buy into the whole data collection movement that so many people have been seduced into. When I was running marathons, 99 percent of the running group ran with satellite tracking watches on their wrists that told them how fast they ran each five-kilometre stretch, and what their heart rate was and how much oxygen they’d taken in. At the end of each training session, they would compare their stats. My trainer Gaz told me I needed one and because he’d been right about most things when it came to my running, I bought one. But I’d forget to turn it on or off and I didn’t really know what all the different functions were for. Besides, if I was breathing, presumably…

My pick-me-up song is... The Stevie Wonder song As performed by Mary J. Blige and George Michael. It takes me back to great memories from my university days. My comfort food is.. . Porridge with a scoop of protein powder. Best way to wake up on early mornings in winter. My love of opera began when... I saw my first genuinely thrilling opera, Turn of the Screw, at Covent Garden in London in 2002. The shop I can’t walk past is... The museum shop at Te Papa in Wellington and Auckland Art Gallery. My on-stage ritual is... Never whistle on stage, never turn my back to the audience during applause and never wear my coat backstage. It’s all the superstitions! My favourite moment of La Bohème is... Our director Bruno…

Surprise! While hosting the Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s Hot Pink Party in New York, Elizabeth Hurley, 59, revealed that her beau Billy Ray Cyrus, 63, would be joining her and son Damian, 23, in London to celebrate her upcoming 60th. Rhythm & blues Almost 30 years after the release of her debut single, princess of pop Kylie Minogue, 56, proved she is just as popular as she wowed crowds in Glasgow to kick off the UK leg of her world tour. A STITCH UP There’s something for Hannah Waddingham fans of all ages in cinemas this week. The 50-year-old took a break from promoting Mission Impossible to celebrate her role in the new live-action Lilo & Stitch film. She’s a fun guy When she’s not on movie sets, you can…

We’ve featured many politicians in the Weekly over the years and when I read our latest story with Education Minister Erica Stanford, I was once again struck by the sheer workload and personal sacrifices involved in public service. With television sound bites or a pull-away quote in a news article, it’s easy to forget that politicians are everyday people too. That’s why I like highlighting their stories within our pages. As a former teacher, I’ve followed the rollout of the school phone ban with interest. I’m also watching closely to see whether New Zealand will follow in the footsteps of countries like Australia and restrict social media access for under16s, both issues Erica has championed. From page six, she opens up about meeting her husband, how her life changed when…

It’s been the best news to come out of the royal family in a while. During an official engagement the King, who is still having ongoing cancer treatment, was asked by a well-wisher how he was doing and, after giving a thumbs-up signal, he replied, “I like to think I’m on the better side.” His positivity comes as a relief after concerns for the monarch’s wellbeing were raised earlier this month in the interview Prince Harry did with the BBC. In it, he said, “I don’t know how much longer my father has.” Charles, 76, hasn’t revealed what type of cancer he has or the treatment he’s undergoing. Unlike his daughter-in-law Catherine, Princess of Wales, 43, who announced in September that she’d finished chemotherapy for her cancer and confirmed in…

Everybody needs good neighbours! In 1985, that iconic theme song introduced the world to a brand-new soap that would soon become beloved around the world. Over the past 40 years, it has helped launch the careers of some of Australia’s biggest names, including Margot Robbie and Kylie Minogue, as well as some lucky Kiwi actors. Though the series initially survived cancellation in 2022, Prime Video announced earlier this year the series will end in December. Before they say farewell perhaps for the final time, we look at the Kiwis who made their mark on Ramsay Street. You can watch Neighbours Tuesdays to Thursdays at 5pm on TVNZ 2 or TVNZ+. ALAN DALE He’s famous for his roles in Ugly Betty, The OC and 24, but before he made it big…

CANCER Jun 22 – Jul 23 You give endlessly, but this week reminds you that your energy isn’t unlimited. Notice where your emotional reserves are being drained and give yourself permission to pull back. This is your chance to tend to your inner world. You deserve the same care you show everyone else. LEO Jul 24 – Aug 23 You’re on the edge of something exciting, but before you leap, take time to sort through what’s unresolved. Whether it’s a half-finished task, a lingering conversation or clutter that’s crowding your space, tying up loose ends will make your next move clearer. VIRGO Aug 24 – Sep 23 You’re seeing things clearly this week – not just with your head, but with your whole self. A work issue or relationship dynamic…

Cover story In the late ’90s, when political science student Erica Poppelbaum sat cold-calling people in her market research job, she had to listen to the guy next to her do the same joke, in the same part in every interview for four hours. There was eye-rolling, yet also the beginning of a crush – and respect for the fact that he never had a single person on the phone say no to him. His joke worked every time. The guy – Kane Stanford – wasn’t someone new. He had been on Erica’s radar as “the weird kid who everybody loved” when the pair attended Rangitoto College on Auckland’s North Shore together. Their names on the fifth form speech trophy, a year apart, summed them up well. “While I pontificated…

The award for the most romantic member of the royal family must go to Mike Tindall, who shared several heartfelt posts on social media to celebrate his wife Zara’s 44th birthday. The pair, who were at a charity golf event, were photographed toasting Zara’s big day with Champagne while gazing into each other’s eyes. In his message, Mike, 46, said, “Happy birthday to the better Tindall. She’s even let me play golf on her birthday.” He also shared a photo of them on the golf course, captioning it, “One of us is more photogenic than the other.” Other behind-the-scenes shots of Princess Anne’s daughter include mum-ofthree Zara giving former rugby international Mike a pep talk over breakfast before his golf game, and her pretending to dance with Strictly Come Dancing…

When talented Christchurch singer Steffany Beck wrote her country anthem What Would Dolly Do, her wildest hope was that the icon herself might hear the track one day. In a twist that feels like it was lifted straight from a Hollywood film, just a few months after the song’s release, Steffany was performing a small gig in Rangiora when she was spotted by none other than Dolly Parton’s longtime PR agent. He has since come on as her musical mentor, along with a former Sony Music promoter, to help the world see Steffany’s star potential. “I put the thought out into the universe that I’d love for Dolly or her team to hear this song, and to know how much I admire and respect her,” the 35-year-old shares. “Thank you,…

From her Wānaka kitchen window, So They Can charity founder Cassandra Treadwell often wondered what it would be like to stand atop mountains Black Peak and Mt Gold that command her daily view. So when it came time for her annual 1HumanRace fundraiser, she knew the perfect challenge – summiting them both in five days. “During Covid when everything shut down, we came up with the concept asking people to walk or run 85 kilometres to support the 85 percent of girls in Baringo, Kenya, who suffer cutting and child marriage before 13,” explains Cass, 52, adding she’s delighted since its launch that number has dropped from 85 to 60 percent of girls. But this year, climbing 2289 metres to the top of Black Peak and 1311 metres to Mt…

Fresh from Australian Fashion Week, these standout styles are turning heads for all the right reasons. From sleek finishes to undone texture, here’s what dominated – and how to get the look at home. ELEVATED SIMPLICITY This is understated glamour that’s anything but basic. A deep part adds intention, while polished, fluid waves lend a feminine edge. It’s a style that speaks volumes without shouting – perfect for when you want to feel powerful, elegant and completely put together. GET THE LOOK Start by applying volumising mousse to damp hair for texture and hold. Create a deep middle part, then blow-dry using a round brush to lift and smooth each section, ensuring the roots are fully dry. Use a curling tool to set soft waves, clipping each section to cool.…

Reese Witherspoon, 49, actor, entrepreneur, producer When I’m making friends, I have to be brave and being brave is just jumping. I imagine myself as a little kid jumping two feet into a cold pool. Once you get in there, it’s not as cold as you thought it would be. Dr Brené Brown, 59, author, research professor Fitting in is about assessing a situation and becoming who you need to be to be accepted. Belonging, on the other hand, doesn’t require us to change who we are – it requires us to be who we are. Melissa McCarthy, 54, screenwriter, producer, actor I love to throw a loud, aggressive compliment. I yell things at people a bunch, like, “You’re doing great!” or, “You look terrific!” I’ll roll down the window…

Kevin’s dinner invite must have been lost in the mail! I was watching some Michael McIntyre buffoonery on my phone this week. It was so funny, it made me 20 minutes late for my half-hour gym session. Still, 10 minutes of exercise is better than nothing. So I rewarded myself with a flat white and poached eggs on toast. I love Michael McIntyre. He’d be on my list if I were ever asked: “You’re hosting a dinner party and can invite four famous people – who would they be?” I wouldn’t necessarily want Michael cracking jokes all night, just sharing amusing observations with another favourite, Billy Connolly, if he were well enough to attend. The others would be Paul McCartney (“Bring your guitar, Paul”) and 8 Out of 10 Cats’…

Letters to the Editor THE WHOLE TOOTH! ● Winning letter Michèle A’Court, I do enjoy your articles, but felt I must take you to task on a comment you made in a recent edition (NZWW, April 21). You stated, “dental practices in the ’70s, where they filled all your perfectly good teeth with black amalgam ‘just in case’.” Because of the appalling state of children’s teeth in 1921, the School Dental Service was started when extractions generally outnumbered fillings. Over the years, with checks every six months, the dental health of our population greatly improved. Although the whole dental industry may have applied preventative and restorative practices more rigidly than perhaps today, it is erroneous to say perfectly good teeth were drilled for no reason. Dental professionals still had a…

Some of the several exciting things about living in another country for a few weeks are not the glamorous bits and pieces, but everyday stuff, like catching public transport and shopping. I do have a soft spot for other people’s supermarkets. Here at our temporary home in Los Angeles, we have a supermarket a 15-minute walk away down the hill, though I’d prefer it was up the hill, for a slightly easier journey home with my bursting bags. It’s easy to get carried away in an American store. For a start, everything’s so big – there is no small in this country. Except, I was excited to find, when it comes to bread. At home, I resent buying a whole loaf when all the wife and I require is a…

The mourning show A funeral brings all of Rory’s women together Nostalgia, grief, longing, guilt... this novel is alive with emotion. The Good Mistress invites you into the lives of three very different women and I think all of us will relate to at least one of them. Juliet is beautiful, impulsive, irresponsible – her whole life she’s been a hot mess and being older hasn’t changed anything. Although now living in Auckland, Juliet has flown back to her small Irish hometown because her mother is sick. Plus, she has another motive for being there. The man she has loved obsessively ever since she was a teenager has died suddenly. Before his death, she and handsome, troubled Rory had rekindled their passion. Now Juliet is going to attend his funeral…