The Topp Twins are the New Zealand Herald Entertainment Heroes for 2022. Photo / Supplied
The Topp Twins are the New Zealand Herald Entertainment Heroes for 2022. Photo / Supplied
Each year the New Zealand Herald profiles extraordinary New Zealanders who have made a difference in the entertainment world. The award celebrates entertainers who spread joy, fight for causes, champion equality and make a difference.
This year’s winners have done all that while fighting cancer behind the scenes. But they still refuse to think of cancer as “a battle”, instead labelling it just another part of their lives.
For 40 years the Topp Twins have entertained New Zealanders, creating a legacy rooted in laughter. Today that legacy transcends generations.
“You can just do something little to make somebody’s life better, you know? Even if it’s just a couple of spoons,” says Lynda Topp, one-half of the iconic duo, as she recalls a recent moment at a cafe.
A mother and her young daughter approached the spoon-playing and yodelling star.
“She said ‘my daughter is absolutely hell-bent on learning how to play the spoons’. And so I got a few spoons out of the cafe and taught her how to hold them and everything like that, and then I gave her the spoons. And the kid was like beside herself.”
These small acts have fuelled an extraordinary career, one that stemmed from “a pretty amazing childhood”.
“Our mum and dad were always there for us and they were incredible. There were no boundaries in the sense that girls could do anything,” she tells the Herald.
The 64-year-old Dames grew up in Huntly on a farm alongside their brother, Bruce, and parents Jean and Peter. They credit that free-range upbringing for shaping them into who they are today.
“That was a freedom that we had as kids, and we were good kids. You didn’t talk back to Mum and Dad, you didn’t answer the phone. That was something that Mum and Dad did.”
Their parents’ influence played out in their later lives and their activism when they encountered injustice or anything “we just felt was wrong”.
“I think that was our mum. Mum was just the most gorgeous mum. She’s 92 now and she’s always been there for us and she’s still there for us.”
Their father, Peter, passed away in 2019.
The Dames began their careers as singers, playing at home, then small gigs and parties. The humour came second but it was always built into the sisters.
“If there was a party at home or something like that, we’d get the guitars out and sing. And it seemed that Jools and I knew every old song that had ever been written. We just knew them.
“And then we started to get gigs and start performing. And then the comedy and the characters came out from that.”
Characters like Ken and Ken, Camp Mother and Camp Leader - all ingrained in the childhood memories of millions of New Zealanders.
“We had characters that people could identify with. Everybody knows a Ken, or Uncle Ken, or a mum like Camp Mother and Camp Leader. People just identified with those characters.
From Springbok tour protests to the nuclear-free rallies of the 80s and many homosexual law reform marches, “we were there pretty much for every protest that was on in New Zealand that was important”.
Lynda fondly recalls a time the twins planned to get arrested for “standing our ground,” but that plan was quickly quashed by pals.
“I remember a friend yelled out ‘You two get back over there, please. You’re gonna have to sing at the Glue Pot to raise money for all the people who get put in jail tonight.”
“So a lot of people knew our politics. They knew that we were lesbians, they knew that we were proud of who we were.
“I think eventually if you just hang in there and you say, ‘this is who I am, and I’m proud to be who I am,’ in the end, New Zealanders will respect you for it.”
“No way that I can ever be on my own”
When it comes to a bond, it’s clear that what this pair share runs deeper than a sisterhood.
“We’ve been together ever since we were born - we’ve never not been together. You always know somebody’s got your back and that’s an amazing feeling to have. You know that somebody is there no matter what. No way that I can ever be on my own.”
But for the first time in their lives the twins did have to go it alone after being diagnosed with cancer - Lynda for the first time and Jools for the second - during Covid lockdowns. The risk they posed to each other’s health was too great and the geographical distance too large.
“When New Zealand says the Topp Twins it’s always Jools and Lynda. We’re never apart. We’re never alone in that sense. We’re a unit in the public eye.
“When we were apart, people would always say, ‘Hey Lynda, how’s Jools?’
“It’s been one of the biggest questions that people have asked us in our lives over the years. We will always be together and that’s an amazing feeling to have. That there’s someone there for you for your whole life.”
Jools and Lynda have spoken openly about their cancer battles. Photo / Supplied
“You can’t kill a weed”
The twins are determined not to see the health obstacles they face as “a battle”. Instead, they choose to think of it as “just getting better” and themselves part of a team of New Zealanders fighting the same disease.
When it came to her grade 3 invasive breast cancer diagnosis, Lynda says the discovery was something of a relief as she got answers on what was going on.
“And then you get that sort of moment where you think, ‘What are we doing now? What’s our plan?’”
For Lynda and Jools, their treatment plans are slightly different, but Lynda declares: “We’re both alive and kicking.”
Lynda was diagnosed with chemo-induced peripheral neuropathy, a type of nerve damage to the feet caused by chemotherapy, something she describes as “debilitating sometimes”.
“I’ve got a lot better since I’ve been diagnosed. And sometimes it’s just painful.”
She’s trying a host of alternative methods, which she says are helping her after being told there was nothing to treat it, only painkillers.
So far she’s found relief in acupuncture, an overseas-sourced plant-based pill and has been working with her local gym which did a balancing programme for her.
“There are other methods and if you just have a good attitude about it, you can just get on with your life and deal with what you have to deal with.”
For Jools, Lynda says her cancer has metastasised - and is now on a programme where she takes pills and has monthly injections.
“But like my mum says, ‘you can’t kill a weed’,” Lynda laughs.
“We are just so grateful that we are still alive and we are still kicking and so loved by New Zealanders.”
At home, their focus has shifted to what brings them joy.
“We are farm girls - we’ve all got our animals and Jools has got horses. We love hanging out with friends and I’m lucky to have a beautiful partner, my lovely wife. She’s been amazing.
“Jools has incredible friends and her ex-partner has been incredible as well. I think it’s important to have family and friends involved when you are sick. When you feel like you have a support system behind you it makes it a lot easier.”
“We are just so grateful that we are still alive and we are still kicking and so loved by New Zealanders.” Photo / Supplied
“We’ve just had a pretty amazing life”
Things have been tough for their careers too, with Covid restrictions meaning for two years they couldn’t earn an income. But now things are back up and running the twins reckon they’ve got more left in the tank to give their adoring fans.
“We’re still looking at more gigs we reckon,” with their first one back set for January 14, at the Lake Hayes A&P show. And although it’s the smallest A&P venue in the country, Lynda shares that’s a welcome relief, having to navigate the grounds transforming from Ken and Ken judging sheep, to Camp Mother and Camp Leader tasting the finest in Kiwi baking.
“It just feels right to perform at an A&P show. That’s been our bread and butter over the years.
“We have been affected by our treatment and chemo and Jools has had radiation this year, so we are a little bit tired. Sometimes we get a little bit exhausted and so we thought, let’s do that. It’s the smallest showground in New Zealand. We know we’ll be able to get around.”
There’s also a televised variety show, Topp Class, celebrating 40 years of the Topp Twins, which is due to air on Prime TV on Tuesday 13 December at 8.30pm. It features Karen O’Leary and a host of other comedic and musical talent who gathered last month to pay tribute to the iconic duo’s four decades in entertainment.
Lynda describes the concert as “amazing” and expressed her gratitude at having the entertainment industry rally for them.
And Kiwis can get excited because the twins also perform during the special.
“We’ve just had a pretty amazing life, you know and New Zealand’s always been here. I think we’ve been loyal to our New Zealand audience too. We’ve always been there for them and you know, now they’re there for us, which is really nice.
So if they could say one thing to those fans, what would it be?
“Thanks so much for being who you are and being so supportive and there for us and believing in us. You make us smile.”
The Topp Twins, Jools and Lynda in their iconic roles of Camp Mother and Camp Leader. Photo / Supplied
Entertainment Heroes - Runners-up:
Taika Waititi
The Kiwi director is continuing to take over Hollywood, releasing his second Thor movie Love and Thunder in 2022.
He told the Herald ahead of its release that it’s nice to “remind himself of home” in Aotearoa with his films.
“It’s also nice for Kiwis to be able to see themselves … I just like the idea of representation across the board and inclusiveness.”
The Oscar-winning director also hosted the 2022 MTV EMAs with his now-wife Rita Ora and won a Film Independent Spirit Award for Reservation Dogs.
There’s plenty more to come from Waititi, with two shows in the works right here in New Zealand: an upcoming remake of Time Bandits and season 2 of Our Flag Means Death.
Oriini Kaipara made history when she became the first journalist with a moko kauae to present a mainstream news bulletin in 2019. In 2022, the Newshub journalist has continued to champion the moko kauae and Māori language.
This year, she made headlines after sharing her response to a viewer’s comment complaining that her moko was “offensive”. Kaipara recommended he leave his ignorance in “another lifetime, preferably in the 1800s”, before signing off in te reo from “the lady with the moko kauae who speaks Maori but MOSTLY English on TV”.
The fearless newsreader told the Herald at the time that she knew “exactly what would come” from being on a Pākehā TV channel.
“Does that mean I just let it happen? Nah. But I pick and choose my battles.”
Rob Ruha featured on this list last year along with musical group Ka Hao, which he helped form, but his achievements in 2022 prove his place as a stalwart of Aotearoa’s music industry.
Ruha has continued to encourage the rise of waiata Māori in mainstream music in 2022. After his song 35 with Ka Hao went viral last year, it won a slew of awards this year, from the coveted Apra Silver Scroll Award to cleaning up at the Aotearoa Music Awards.
Ruha wants simply to be known as an “artivist” - a blend of musical artist and activist. He’s worked tirelessly to champion waiata Māori for years and shows no signs of slowing down.
Rob Ruha. Photo / Erica Sinclair Photography
Rena Owen
Rena Owen rose to fame with her defining role in Once Were Warriors as Beth Heke.
But in 2022, the 60-year-old actress took on the most daunting role of her career: playing Dame Whina Cooper in the biopic Whina.
For Owen, the most important part of playing the role was carrying on Dame Whina’s message: kotahi tātou (we are one), which still rings true today.
“Whina wasn’t about tearing people down or dividing them. She was always about coming together. It was for the love of the country. We are always stronger together than divided.”
The film was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews and went on to win the Pasifika Award for Best Feature Film at the Hawai’i International Film Festival Awards.
