The Australian Women's Weekly January 2019

It’s that time of year when we inevitably reflect on our lives, the year that was, and the things that are most important to us. For me 2018 was all about challenging myself in a demanding but rewarding new job (as Editor-in-Chief of this wonderful publication) and learning how to juggle that with my other treasured roles of mother, daughter, sister, friend and wife (not always successfully!) In our first issue of the new year we check in with several prominent Australians to find out what 2018 held for them – the highs, the lows and everything in between. For Grant Denyer and his wife Chezzi it was a year of hard work, fresh farm air and thankfulness. With the dark days behind them, and a shiny new Gold Logie,…

LETTER of the MONTH I never miss an issue of The Weekly and I absolutely loved the extensive coverage in the December 2018 issue of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex during their tour of Australia. I think they are a perfect match and have done wonders for the popularity of the royals. Harry is everyone’s favourite. His down-to-earth, friendly personality has won the world over, and Meghan has taken to her duties with a natural ease and grace. Personally, I can’t wait to see even more of them in The Weekly – especially when baby Sussex arrives! F. Henham, Bairnsdale, Vic. MOUTH-WATERING MEMORIES Sitting on the couch, I was wondering what menu to set for Christmas Day. Then my eyes landed…

AACTA magic AS THE STARS stepped out for Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Awards (AACTA), Nicole Kidman asked audiences to support smaller films like Boy Erased, for which she was awarded the Best Supporting Role gong. “Please go and see these movies,” she said, “otherwise we won’t have the chance to make them anymore.” MISSION TO SUPPORT GIRLS Princess Mary was beaming brightly during a colourful two-day visit to Kenya to support projects designed to improve the rights of girls and women in the east African country. New York’s Times Square became a real catwalk as more than 150 models of all shapes and sizes strutted in response to the narrow beauty standards in the Victoria’s Secret fashion show. People came from as far as Melbourne to participate. MARGOT…

Striding through a field laced with green and gold grasses, Grant Denyer visibly unwinds, heading for his herd of shaggy Highland cattle. “Some have names, not all,” explains the Family Feud favourite. “There’s Rory, Crazy Eyes, Goldie, Nerida ... We’ve got six of them, so we’re pretty much cattle barons now. Farmer Grant and his fake farming skills, trying to pretend he’s the real deal.” He flashes those famous pearly-white teeth. “My hat does most of the talking for me.” With a “huge year” behind him, the workaholic entertainer and racing car driver is wearily taking stock on the smallholding near Bathurst, in Central West NSW, that has finally taught him how to slow down and savour his time with wife Cheryl and daughters Sailor, seven, and Scout, three. Beyond…

Jacqueline Kennedy, the greatly admired former First Lady, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the age of 64. The illness spread rapidly through her body, and Jackie opted to die at home, in her spacious apartment in Manhattan. Sister Lee Radziwill rushed to Jackie’s side. For a brief time, their long, complicated relationship seemed to melt away and they were just as close as they had been in their youth. She died at home on May 19, 1994 –ironically on her father “Black Jack” Bouvier’s birthday – surrounded by her family. Lee wept. But when Jackie’s 38-page will was read, Lee discovered that substantial cash bequests were left to family members (including Lee’s two adult children), friends, and employees – but nothing to her. Sibling rivalry It’s been 24 years…

It’s a room where too few female voices are heard, but when Julia Banks stood up in parliament on the stroke of noon on November 27, days before the Christmas recess, her words echoed around Australia in a flash. Julia’s new boss, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, wasn’t in the House. Neither were his tight-knit team, who just three months before had so brutally removed Malcolm Turnbull from his job as leader, which is pertinent, because much of what Julia had to say was about them. Julia confesses she was nervous. But she was also resolute. “I was very focused,” she tells The Weekly in a bold and extraordinarily frank exclusive interview, speaking at length for the first time since she courageously blew the whistle on what she calls the bullying…