New Zealand Woman’s Weekly Issue 13, 2022

It may be a ceremony honouring the best of British cinema, but it was a Kiwi film that took out the evening’s top prize at the BAFTA Awards. Dame Jane Campion’s gritty Western The Power of the Dog won Best Film and the 67-year-old Wellingtonian also won Best Director. Her leading man Benedict Cumberbatch, 45, had to accept the honour on Jane’s behalf as she was busy in Los Angeles picking up the same honour at the Critics’ Choice Awards. Broadway star Ariana DeBose was beaming in yellow as she picked up another Best Supporting Actress statue for her performance as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s stunning remake of West Side Story. The 31-year-old struggled to contain her emotion as she reflected on the chance to bring to life such an iconic character in cinema. “I…

There are many people who I have spoken to recently who have had a change of heart over their direction in life due to the pandemic. But for Simon Bridges, who stepped down from politics last week, and his wife Natalie, their about-turn came after a summer reflecting on the fragility of life. Their son Harry had a major injury from a playground incident in December and from there, they began to re-evaluate what was most important to them – and, as many will be able to relate to, family came up trumps. They were able to spend some time chatting with me about their terrifying ordeal and also about how optimistic they are for the future. The full story is on page 6, and I wish them all the…

‘He had the second-to-highest grade liver injury. It was almost destroyed’ When Simon Bridges announced his retirement from politics last week, there was one thing he didn’t share with the nation – the heart-stopping drama involving his eight-year-old son Harry that changed the course of his life forever. The former Leader of the Opposition looked decidedly relaxed as he told reporters he was leaving politics to spend more time with his family, saying he’d spent many hours discussing the decision with his wife Natalie. But behind his self-assured demeanour, the recent trauma of almost losing his precious son was almost too difficult to bear. It was on December 2 last year that Simon, 45, and Natalie, 39, were told their then seven-year-old son Harry had been hit by a swing in the school playground. “He…

After more than a year spent away from her husband and children, Princess Charlene of Monaco has returned home. The Zimbabwe-born, South Africa-raised royal – who married Prince Albert of Monaco in 2011 – reunited with her family earlier this month, and the palace has announced she will continue her “convalescence with her husband and her children by her side”. Former Olympic swimmer Charlene, 44, caused concern when she fell ill during a visit to South Africa in January 2021, and spent 10 months there receiving treatment for what was described as an ear, nose and throat infection. The princess returned to Monaco last November, but almost immediately booked into an exclusive Swiss facility for what her husband described as “emotional and physical exhaustion”. The palace says Charlene –mum to seven-year-old twins Princess Gabriella…

‘It’s all about me, me, me, rather than going out of his way for his grandmother’ Any shred of goodwill senior members of the royal family still have towards Prince Harry are fast disappearing following the news he won’t be attending his grandfather’s memorial service in the UK, but will travel to the Netherlands for the Invictus Games a couple of weeks later. Harry’s decision not to attend the service in memory of Prince Philip on March 29 is seen as a serious snub to the royal family, with one palace courtier saying, “The Queen will be devastated and other members of the family are bound to be furious. If the duke was ever hoping to patch things with his family, this will definitely set things back.” Attending the Invictus Games – a…

‘When people try to tell you to stay in your lane, don’t listen’ When Reese Witherspoon sold a majority share of her multimillion-dollar production company Hello Sunshine last year, it hardly registered among movie buffs around the world. Behind the scenes she might be one of the most interesting powerbrokers Hollywood has ever seen, but to her fans Reese will always be the toy-dog-toting, high-heeled, pink-lipsticked heroine Elle Woods, who runs circles around her law-school colleagues in Legally Blonde. It might be 21 years since the comedy was released, but stereotype-defying Elle continues to be one of the most powerful characters Reese has played for one good reason. “Like her, I don’t like to be underestimated,” says the actress, 45. Once, like Elle, Reese was written off as just another disposable actress with an…