The Australian Women's Weekly September 2015

OUR MOST successful cover this year was with Dame Judi Dench, who at 80 smashed the ageist assumptions around who should be on the front of a magazine. It showed that Judi appeals to women of all ages in much the same way as Dame Helen Mirren, 70, who is also much-loved by women 19 to 90. So we have dedicated this issue to the changing nature of what it means to be “old” and spoken to a range of women who seem to test the boundaries, by looking and feeling a lot younger than the traditional notions of what it is like to be in your 40s and beyond (see page 50). Thankfully, it now seems wrong to refer to someone like Helen Mirren as “old”. And here in…

Letter of the month Thank you for sharing Tara Brown’s story (The Story Behind TV’s Toughest Woman, WW, Aug). She is a wonderful interviewer, journalist and the real deal – balancing work, family and whatever life brings her. I, like Tara, will never understand why a parent (in my case, my mother) will not have contact with us. I am the daughter of an alcoholic mother with six siblings. I am also a mother to six children and 10 grandchildren, whom I adore and spend much time with. We are also expecting another little bub – my daughter-in-law is expecting, due March 2016. We are all very excited to have another to love and cherish. My monthly magazine subscription is also a gift from my daughter-in-law and I look forward…

You came to us for REAL STORIES More than 45,000 people read Diana Kidd’s column about how her eating habits were harming her children. “I sit here typing this now – years later – with tears pouring down my face,” Diana (below) wrote. “What lower primary school age kid should have to go to a party and fear he would be poisoned? What kid goes to a party and refuses to even eat popcorn? What kid deserves to live daily with fear and anxiety surrounding one of the simple pleasures in life? The answer is NONE. Not one kid deserves this – what the hell had I done?” I am very grateful more people are giving voice to this. I am definitely one of those children who, through a very…

FUTURE IS SAFE Over lunch in Sydney, the high-profile judges of The Australian Women’s Weekly /Qantas Women of the Future awards drilled down on the 15 semi-finalists to choose the winner. The results will be revealed in the October issue. FASHION LAUNCH David Jones showcased its Spring/Summer 2015 collection at its Sydney flagship store and a host of celebrities turned out to see and be seen, and to gauge what lies ahead in the fashion stakes. CHANGE AGENTS A hint of Hollywood came to the harbour city when Hugh Jackman and Deborralee Furness hosted an Adopt Change event in support of adoption reform.…

MEET THE JUDGES WHO ARE THE women who hold power in Australia? And how do they wield it? Now in its second year, The Weekly’s annual Power List was fiercely debated by our selection panel over lunch. Our judges looked at the 2014 Power List and determined who still had power, who had lost it and which movers and shakers were on the brink of assuming it. The Australian Women’s Weekly Power List 2015, compiled in association with CPA Australia, will be revealed in our October issue – where we will look at how these women made it and what motivates them.…

CLASS IS AN old-fashioned concept. It speaks to a time when politeness was valued, manners were paramount and a person’s contribution to pop culture was measured on a whole lot more than a sliding scale of Kardashian. It’s a concept with which Maggie Tabberer is more than familiar. She’s built a decades-long career on it, after all. More than a simple style icon, Maggie T holds a place in the heart of this nation that few could hope to emulate. Certainly, if you look back on the history of The Australian Women’s Weekly, there are few faces more synonymous with the title than Maggie’s. And so here she is, on the cover of the magazine and spearheading an issue dedicated to the notion of growing old gracefully. She may be…