New Zealand Woman’s Weekly Issue 12, 2022

If the Film Independent Spirit Awards results are anything to go by, Maggie Gyllenhaal will be holding an Oscar in her hands come the Academy Awards at the end of March. The 44-year-old The Deuce star continued to lap up the praise for her directorial debut The Lost Daughter, picking up Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Feature. Maggie could barely hold back her tears as she accepted her many accolades. Though the tent overlooking a Santa Monica beach was filled with this year’s hottest Oscar contenders, most of them were not in the running as the Spirit Awards only honours small-budget films and television. Kiwi director Taika Waititi, 46, who is the co-creator and co-writer of Indigenous American teen series Reservation Dogs, was also a winner with the show taking Best Ensemble…

I think Dame Helen Mirren is just wonderful – and I’m certainly not alone in that. She was recently given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild and not only did she look fabulous, her speech was funny and raw. But despite her success, there’s always that niggly thought she’s not good enough and she’s going to be “found out”. I know so many women who have felt like this at some point in their lives, including those who have shared their stories within these pages, so it is really important to build each other up as much as we can. We also have lots of local stories to enjoy. Broadcaster Rachel Smalley returns to our airwaves this month after taking a four-year break, and shares why she stepped…

Helen Mirren is nothing if not cheeky. The 76-year-old actress stood on stage at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in LA on February 28 looking radiant in her pastel pink frock, complete with matching headband, to accept a gong for her lifetime of achievement. “I suppose I’m still alive, so by that measure I’m eligible,” quipped the acting legend. “But honestly, any achievement that I’ve succeeded in is the result of my mantra, which is basically to be on time… and don’t be an ass.” The Fast & Furious star then sparkled with naughtiness as she exaggeratedly mouthed the word “hole”, making the audience break into fits of laughter. It’s no secret that Helen has the kind of chutzpah that makes fans fall in love with her every time she steps into a…

As the world reeled in shock at the death of Shane Warne, sports stars and celebrities all over the globe paid their respects to the Australian cricketing legend. And none was more devastated than Elizabeth Hurley and her 19-year-old son Damian. Sports icon Shane, 52, enjoyed an intense relationship with Liz, 56, after meeting in a private box at the races in 2010. The pair immediately hit it off and remained close friends after their relationship “fizzled” in 2013. “I feel like the sun has gone behind a cloud forever. RIP my beloved Lionheart,” the British actress said in a social media post after Shane died of a heart attack while holidaying with friends on the island of Koh Samui in Thailand on March 4. Model Damian also took to social media, sharing private…

When Rachel Smalley returns to radio next week, it will be with a happy heart and new energy, thanks to two things: a four-year break from broadcasting and the support of a close group of women friends. Her show First Light on the new radio station Today FM means an early start at 5am every day, but she has done this before when she hosted Early Edition for four years at Newstalk ZB. She left in 2017 because she needed a life change and, she realised afterwards, she was exhausted. “I had a few coffees with really smart women in the corporate world at the time and I told them I didn’t know what to do,” she recalls. “I didn’t know what my transferable skills were. To be honest, I didn’t even know…

She’s the most widely recognised woman in the world and thanks to a life lived in the public eye, we know a huge amount about the Queen. But now royal biographer Robert Hardman has lifted the lid on what has really gone on behind the scenes – including in the turbulent last couple of years – in the life of Her Majesty. In his latest book, Queen of Our Times: The Life of Elizabeth II, published to mark her 70 years as monarch, Robert looks at some of the most defining moments of her reign, recalling what the public saw and what was happening behind closed doors. For example, in 1992, when one disaster after another befell the royal family – leading to the Queen dubbing it her “annus horribilis” – it was…