The Australian Women's Weekly May 2021

The news of Aussie icon Carla Zampatti’s sudden passing came as a terrible shock to us at The Weekly. It seems like just yesterday she was making last-minute adjustments to a custom gown for our Christmas cover, running a perfectionist’s eye over the red satin as she fastidiously hand-pinned the hem. The look she created was spectacular, the perfect marriage of contemporary and classic – much like the woman herself. Carla had a special and long-running association with The Weekly. Our Style Director Mattie fondly recalls how the designer created a bespoke pale pink gown for Crown Princess Mary to wear on a shoot at her place in Denmark for our 80th birthday issue. Princess Mary was as enamoured of the look as we were, wearing it on several occasions…

Long live the King I wish to commend you on your wonderful article on the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Role Model Royals, AWW, April). They have served their country and the Commonwealth well. I can’t wait until they become King and Queen. I also want to see cute little Prince George become our king – he is a generous, kind boy who will make a great monarch. Long may they live! L. Morrissey, Strathdale, Vic Medical miracle Our two-year-old daughter, Yvonne, was diagnosed with kidney cancer – a Wilms’ tumour – 50 years ago. We were devastated as no one knew how to treat it. But we, too, were lucky (Ray of Hope, AWW, April). The specialists at Royal North Shore Hospital tried a drug to shrink the grapefruit-sized…

I just wanted to express my appreciation for the extract from Dear Mum (Letters To Mum, AWW, April). These memoirs were so beautiful, honest, open and raw. Amanda Keller may have cried as she was writing about her much-loved mum, but I also had tears in my eyes reading her touching tribute. Rebecca Gibney’s letter to her brave and treasured mum was also incredibly heartfelt and truly inspiring. Well done, Samuel Johnson, for continuing to spread the love in this most thoughtful way.…

A portraiture project created by the Duchess of Cambridge to capture the trials and quiet triumphs of the COVID-19 pandemic has been turned into a book to raise money for much-needed mental health support. Through her Hold Still project, Kate invited people from all over the UK to submit portraits, saying, “I wanted to use the power of photography to create a lasting record of what we were all experiencing.”…

Toni Collette The Aussie actress is making her directorial debut! Toni and The Crown’s Nick Payne will write a screen adaptation of the novel Writers & Lovers. Serena Williams After auctioning off personal memorabilia, Serena gave all proceeds to the Black Dog Institute’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Lived Experience Centre. Cate Blanchett Cate is adding her star power to the Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs) this year. She will present the Book of the Year prize.…

The best business advice I’ve been given is … never expect anyone to know who you are. The one thing I won’t do to win Celebrity Apprentice is … be duplicitous. The last text I sent said … “What a week, on high speed, where did it go?” The last time I cried was … in happiness, talking about my kids. My greatest DIY disaster was … walking up a set of stairs with red paint and tripping. It was like a crime scene! One style trend I’ll never try is … a bath in the bedroom when there is no bathroom in sight! My guilty pleasure is … time. There never seems to be enough of it so when I get it, I sink into it with pots of…