Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 30, 2025 i New Zealand Woman's Weekly

Harry Potter star Emma Watson has a need for speed – and it’s landed her in a cauldron of trouble! The actor, who played Hermione Granger in the wizarding films, was banned from driving for six months recently after being caught speeding in her $67,000 Audi – her fourth traffic offence in two years. In addition to her disqualification Emma, reportedly worth $140 million, was ordered to pay $2300 in fines. The 35-year-old has taken a step back from Hollywood to study for a doctorate in creative writing at Oxford University and did not attend the five-minute hearing. But a representative assured the court that she is “in a position to pay the fine”. Just last year, the star was in hot water after parking her Audi illegally outside a…

The last few times we’ve seen Prince George, it’s been at official events like Trooping the Colour, where he’s looked rather formal in a jacket and tie. However, the photo released by his parents the Prince and Princess of Wales to mark his 12th birthday on July 22 shows the grinning future king looking a lot more like other youngsters his age in jeans and a fleece, and sporting a friendship bracelet on his wrist. William and Kate also posted a video of the shoot with photographer Josh Shinner in which George and his younger siblings, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven, are mucking about in the garden of their country home, Anmer Hall.…

For 40 years, she’s been the storyteller behind some of our country’s greatest sporting achievements – including bringing lucky America’s Cup red socks to public attention – and a pioneer in putting women’s sports on the map. Suzanne McFadden, 57, was recently made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the King’s Birthday Honours for her services to sports journalism and women. In the 1990s, she was the only female sports journalist in the NZ Herald newsroom, crafting stories on clunky typewriters and earning the nickname “Diva” for stamping her foot while fighting to get netball and minority sports on the front page. These days, the proud nana of two grandsons freelances from home in Auckland’s Hobsonville, including writing for website LockerRoom and providing weekly sports commentary…

Sharpen up If your partner’s been stretching out the life of his razors just a little too long, this might be the perfect nudge. The BarberShopCo – with 23 stores across the North Island – is offering a free pack of Earnest Empire Precision Cartridges (rrp $16 for four) with every haircut to help take the edge off everyday expenses. “Times are tough, so we’re innovating to save our clients $6 million in the next year alone,” says CEO Adam Johanson. “A sharp razor is a small luxury that actually makes a big impact, but we know it’s often the first thing to be overlooked.” All customers need to do is download the free app, join the virtual queue and get a haircut. Buy a one-off razor handle (rrp $16)…

Society is built on generosity. This is one of the main lessons of the Take a Hit game, which I (an associate professor of public policy) play with my public policy undergraduates every year. I ask eight of them to form an orderly queue so that they cannot see the chest of the person in front of them. I ask them to each hold a hand to their chest, either clenched as a fist, for 0, or with a finger up to indicate that they want chocolate. I walk down the queue noting who wants chocolate. They all get a piece as long as at least three people in the group asked for 0. They took a hit so that the other members of the group might prosper. There are…

Letters to the Editor HERE’S TO THE FUTURE ● Winning letter Having lost my partner of 16 years recently, things haven’t been easy. But today the sun came out after many rainy days, and I found the time to simply sit and watch the big white clouds billow, develop and finally dissolve. What a magical world we live in, and just a simple pleasure such as this is enough to refresh and bring joy after hard times. There really is such a thing as a silver lining. Another joy is reading the Weekly. I especially enjoyed Kevin Milne’s column about his conversation with his late father (NZWW, July 21). I have often wondered what my late mother would have thought of fax machines, which themselves are now relics of the…

After I rediscovered Fiji last year, I came straight home and booked a week at the same resort for the same time a year hence. The seven days with the grandkids and my daughter in the tropical paradise was so blissful, idyllic and easy, I wanted to do it all again. My son-in-law declared he wouldn’t be staying at home next time, so we paid a deposit on two bures at Musket Cove – a family lagoon bure for them and a beachfront bure in the adults-only part of the resort for me. But as time went by, life intruded. Unexpected expenses cropped up. Work environments evolved and all of a sudden, a week in Fiji seemed like an impossibly frivolous use of time and disposable income. The deadline for…

This week’s cover star, Dame Helen Mirren, proves once again that age is no barrier to living boldly. She’s embracing life at full throttle – fearless, vibrant and unapologetically herself. Yet as she shares from page six, “There’s always that endless niggling feeling. ‘Oh, God. I’m going to be found out any minute now.’” It’s a powerful reminder that even the most confident women carry moments of self-doubt – and choose to move forward anyway. Former Shortland Street star Lynette Forday also shows us another kind of courage. She’s been on an emotional journey, making the difficult decision to pack up her family home into boxes – 13 years of memories – and begin a whole new chapter. “I’m open to where the universe will take me,” Lynette shares from…

“I think every woman in our culture is a feminist. They may refuse to articulate it, but if you were to take any woman back 40 years and say, ‘Is this a world you want to live in?’ They would say, ‘No’.’’ “The great marriages are partnerships. It can’t be a great marriage without being a partnership.” “You can’t control how other people see you or think of you. But you have to be comfortable with that.” “All you have to do is to look like crap on film and everyone thinks you’re a brilliant actress. Actually, all you’ve done is look like crap.” “The whole thing of clothes is insane. You can spend a dollar on a jacket in a thrift store. And you can spend a thousand dollars…

A new biography on Gwyneth Paltrow has lifted the lid on her split with Brad Pitt. Author Amy Odell says the pair met in 1994, when Gwyneth, now 52, auditioned for Brad’s movie Legends of the Fall. She didn’t land the part, but Brad, now 61, suggested she play his wife in his next movie, Se7en. In between, Gwyneth also received an offer to star with Keanu Reeves, now 60, in Feeling Minnesota. “Unsure which one to take, she consulted with a friend, who said, ‘Well, who do you want to date, Brad Pitt or Keanu Reeves?’” says Amy. Gwyneth chose the part opposite Brad in Se7en. The following year, Gwyneth got rave reviews for her role in Emma, but Amy says her success had an impact on her relationship…

A new photo released to mark Queen Camilla’s 78th birthday shows Her Majesty in her happy place – the garden of her Wiltshire home, Ray Mill House. Bought with the proceeds of her divorce from her first husband, Ray Mill is where she goes for some privacy out of the royal spotlight and pottering in the garden helps her to relax. But there may be another reason for her beaming smile – the birthday gift she received from her husband, the King. Charles gave her a new title, Vice Admiral of the United Kingdom, making her the first woman to ever hold the title. It can only be awarded by the sovereign. Also making her smile was a fun outing with her five grandchildren a couple of days before her…

For 50 years, Val McClean and Bill Jack celebrated wedding anniversaries together, not as a couple, but as lifelong family friends, never imagining in their eighties, they’d celebrate it as each other’s husband and wife. “If anyone asked me a year ago if I would marry Bill, I would have said never,” laughs Val, 83. “But then there’s the old saying, ‘Never say never’.” They first met more than half a century ago at their sons’ football game. Bill was the team manager and Val’s late first husband Alan was the coach. As their children became friends, the parents did too, including Bill’s late first wife Carol. “Our families just liked one another,” recalls Val. “We started having meals together every weekend at one house or the other and playing…

Haloumi schnitzels & kūmara chips PREP + COOK TIME 15 MINUTES MAKES 4 PORTIONS 200g sourdough bread ½ teaspoon smoked paprika 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped 3 eggs, beaten lightly 75g wholemeal plain flour 450g haloumi, cut in half horizontally Olive oil, to shallow-fry 2 medium kūmara, scrubbed, cut into thin rounds ASSEMBLY INGREDIENTS (FOR RECIPES AT RIGHT) 250g baby beetroot, cooked ½ cup (160g) caramelised onions 2 wholegrain bread rolls (1 oval, 1 round) 4 long slices store-bought chargrilled eggplant 90g baby spinach leaves ¼ cup (75g) aioli 2 eggs 1 Tear bread into a food processor bowl. Add paprika and parsley, processing until fine crumbs form. 2 Pace egg, flour and breadcrumbs in three separate shallow bowls. Dip each piece of haloumi in flour, shaking off excess.…

From science-backed skincare to clever hair tools and multitasking make-up, the latest beauty launches are all about innovation, efficiency and serious results. These are the standout new launches worth knowing about. Spot on! Battling breakouts? Mark August 6 in your diary – that’s when this clever new blemish formula hits the market. The Ordinary Sulfur 10% Powder-To-Cream Concentrate, $19.20, is designed to minimise the appearance of breakouts in under an hour. Just a pinch of powder transforms into a lightweight emulsion as you apply it, blending seamlessly into skin. Each bottle delivers more uses than 150 pimple patches – and it’s gentle enough for sensitive skin. Thirst aid Quench dry, stressed-out winter skin with Mecca Max Milk It Soothing Moisture Mist, $33. This milky hydrator is packed with calming, moisture-boosting…

When the cold sets in and the sky turns endlessly grey, it’s natural to crave a little comfort and a bit of escapism. The mornings are darker, the evenings shorter and somehow it all settles into your bones. But what if your great escape didn’t involve a plane ticket or a credit card? What if the best kind of reset was waiting just down the hall? Think about it: your bathroom is where each day begins and ends. It’s where you prepare to face the world and where you come to wash it off. With just a few thoughtful touches, like a plush new mat, a calming scent or softer light, the whole space can shift. What was once purely functional becomes a retreat: a cocoon, a mood-lifting haven and…

Recently on this page I mentioned that as a geeky teen, I’d spend school holidays reading to even younger geeky kids whose parents dropped them off for Story Hour at the Levin Public Library. I’d grown up being read to, by my mother Donna mostly, though also I can’t not mention Listen With Mother, the fabulous radio show for several generations of preschoolers hosted by Dame Kate Harcourt on RNZ. Both women – Donna and Dame Kate – were actors who knew how to tell a story, play a character and bring a tale to life with nothing but their voice. I’d sit still by the radio in the morning or lie still in bed at night and listen to them read to me long after I was capable of…

EDITOR Marilynn McLachlan LIFESTYLE & BEAUTY EDITOR Anna Lee WRITER Rebekah Hebenton CHIEF SUB-EDITOR Denise Bowden SUB-EDITOR Darren Bevan ART DIRECTOR Mirella Monteiro DESIGNERS Anna Pétursdóttir, Béla Trussell-Cullen, Hayley Pearce PHOTO EDITOR Kellie Blizard  CONTRIBUTORS Donna Fleming, Elisabeth Easther, Fleur Guthrie, Fiona Hawtin, Kasia De Vydt-Jillings, Megan McChesney, Julie O’Reilly, Nicky Pellegrino ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Claire Chisholm claire.chisholm@aremedia.co.nz SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER Chloe Jordan, Amy Madden, Jacquie Fraser 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 use and disclose your…

The song I listen to when I need a pick-me-up is... Definitely Jump by The Pointer Sisters. The groove is irresistible and even if you’re in a slump, you can’t help but smile when you hear it and shake your booty. It always gets everyone onto the dance floor too – it’s one of my faves to sing with Tina [Cross] and Suzie [Lynch] in The Lady Killers. My favourite part about being in Chicago is... I’ve loved this show for the longest time and always wanted to be in it, but I thought at the age of 59, maybe my chance to be in it had passed. So being in this production is an absolute bucket-list moment for me. The shop I can’t walk past is... Mt Eden Hospice…

While I very much enjoyed the first novel in Santa Montefiore’s “time-sliding” series, book two is next-level gripping. It takes us back to the Gilded Age in New York, an era of wealth and glamour but also tragedy, bringing the whole thing to life. Pixie Tate has extraordinary powers. She can travel back to a previous era and inhabit the body of another woman. Pixie uses her time-sliding powers to help unhappy spirits who are earthbound and causing problems for the living. In Secrets of the Starlit Sea, she is summoned to Manhattan’s opulent Aldershoff Hotel, where a restless spirit has been trashing the place. The angry ghost has been summoned accidentally during a séance held to try to locate a famous missing diamond. And now he is refusing to…

Showgirl steps out As speculation continues to grow about a romance between Pamela Anderson and her The Naked Gun co-star Liam Neeson, the 58-year-old kept her cool while out in New York to promote the comedy romp. Buckets of fun! Lindsay Lohan, 39, and Jamie Lee Curtis, 66, made sure they had their popcorn as they attended a special screening of the highly anticipated sequel Freakier Friday. Jamie said of reuniting with her co-star, “We had a good time. We love each other.” Just for laughs For the past 15 years, Natalie Portman, 44, has starred in one Oscar-winning movie after the other, but she is finally making her rom-com return! She was spotted filming her new flick Good Sex along with co-star Rashida Jones (left), 49, in New York.…

He wants to fix his feud with his family and get back on speaking terms with his dad, the King. But don’t expect Prince Harry to try to return to his royal roots in the UK. That’s the message from Harry’s team following rumours that the reason two of his staff held “peace talks” with one of the King’s aides was because he fears being banished. Author Tom Bower claims Harry, 40, is “desperate” to patch things up with his father, 76, because he’s concerned that once his brother Prince William, 43, is King, he’ll be effectively exiled. “Harry is seriously worried that when his father dies, William will literally banish him and he will have no status in Britain at all,” explains Tom. But a spokesperson for Harry says…

Sticky sesame chicken wings SERVES 2 800g chicken wings 125g Greek yoghurt 2 tsp celery salt 2 tsp white pepper 1 tsp black pepper Canola oil, for frying 100g cornflour 50g rice flour ½ tbsp toasted sesame seeds Chopped cucumber, roasted cashews, to serve 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce (see recipe, right) or store-bought 2 tbsp honey 2 tbsp lime juice GARNISH 1 tbsp coriander, chopped 1 spring onion, sliced Zest of 1 lime 1 fresh chilli, thinly sliced 1 In a bowl, mix chicken wings with yoghurt, celery salt and peppers. 2 Set aside to marinate for at least 1 hour. 3 Make the sweet chilli sauce (recipe right, or use store-bought). Mix sauce, honey and lime juice together and heat to combine, either in the microwave or a…

Summer-flowering bulbs are the often-forgotten sisters of the better-known spring line-up – daffodils, tulips and bluebells. But lilies? They’re absolute stars. These beauties are showy, fragrant and last well as cut flowers. For the best display, plant bulbs in groups in a decorative container that you can bring indoors as they begin to bloom. You will need ● 1 glazed pot or container, at least 10cm-deep ● Yates Thrive Premium Potting Mix or a bulb-specific mix, such as Tui Bulb Mix, which is formulated for optimal bulb growth ● Bulbs (we planted white orientals and pink casablancas) ● Sphagnum moss 1 Fill your container with potting mix that’s rich in slow-release fertiliser and organic matter. 2 Plant bulbs about 8cm- deep – roughly twice the height of the bulb. Place…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Lisa Kudrow will be hoping her Friends will be there for her on the big day. Here’s to her celebrating with cake – and no smelly cats – when she turns 62 on July 30. Elsewhere, maybe Aquaman star Jason Momoa will follow his love for New Zealand and head to Queenstown for his 46th on August 1. VIRGO Aug 24 – Sep 23 You may feel the pull to retreat and recharge, so make sure you honour it. Your intuition is louder when you slow down. An old memory or idea resurfaces for a reason – give it space. A short solo outing or quiet moment could spark a plan that sets you up for the season ahead. LIBRA Sep 24 – Oct 23 The future feels…

I’m a bad driver and I’m getting worse. Not in a dangerous way. My skill set behind the wheel is intact and I still have my defensive driving instincts. Everyone is safe, it’s just that I’ve become a less pleasant captain to travel with. A bad driver in the sense that my passengers can’t wait to get out of the car. Because for some reason, probably age, I have started commentating out loud about other people’s behaviour on the road. This seems to have coincided with an increase in their bad driving, the net result being an almost constant stream of yelling, criticising, mocking and correcting. It’s one that’s becoming more and more polluted with blue language. Of course there hasn’t been an increase in bad driving, just a reduction…

After almost a year on the road, Cyndi Lauper is back for one last Time After Time. The 72-year-old wowed crowds in New York as she kicked off the final weeks of her farewell tour. Though she knows she still has the pipes, she admits she wanted to say goodbye while she could still belt out her beloved tunes. “I don’t want to be 80 with the walker going, ‘Come on, girls!’” the Grammy winner explains. “I want to be proud of what I’m doing and I am.” Though she’s saying farewell to the stage, Cyndi isn’t putting down the instruments any time soon. She’s been working on the music for the upcoming Broadway adaptation of the 1988 classic film Working Girl.…