Dame Jools Topp, one half of comedic singing duo The Topp Twins, has died of breast cancer aged 68.
Dame Jools passed away peacefully at her home on Saturday with her twin sister Dame Lynda, brother Bruce, close friends and "all her fur-babies" by her side.
Her sister Dame Lynda said it was with "deep sorrow and unimaginable grief" that the family announced Jools' death.
"She lived bravely with breast cancer for 22 years. Now she is finally free to ride on Pegasus, her winged horse, and round up sheep again with our dad Peter and all her precious dogs."
The family noted that Dame Jools lived bravely with breast cancer for 22 years, adding it was very important to her that her illness not be described as a "battle" or a "fight". She lived with it and never allowed it to define her in a limited way.
Her manager and close friend of 34 years, Arani Cuthbert, described her death as the loss of a major figure in the country's cultural landscape.
"A mighty totara of the NZ arts world has fallen today," Cuthbert said.
"What an immense privilege it's been to be the Topp Twins manager and close friend for 34 years and witness the love and joy that Jools and Lynda have spread into every corner of Aotearoa, as well as overseas."
Cuthbert said it was unimaginable that beloved comedy characters like Camp Leader, Ken Smythe, Raelene and Prue would no longer appear on stages and screens.
"Jools' unique brand of comedy, her signature spontaneity and beautiful songs connected with people from all walks of life," Cuthbert said.
Dame Jools and twin sister Dame Lynda – five minutes her junior – entertained Kiwis together for more than 40 years. They revealed they were both being treated for breast cancer in March 2022. Dame Jools was first diagnosed in 2006.
The twins grew up on a dairy farm near Huntly, and made their foray into performing aged five at a cousin's 21st birthday.
"It was a hard night for a youngster because we were asleep in the back of the DeSoto, which was a great big American tank that dad owned," Jools told Seven Sharp's Hilary Barry in 2023. "And we got woken up because mum said she wasn't going to let the girls miss out on their chance to sing at the 21st."
"We weren't like stage kids or anything. We didn't learn to dance, we didn't learn to sing. We were just at home and mostly working on the farm, lugging hay or riding horses. Music sort of became a bit of a dream," she added.
In the following years, the twins began busking, drawing progressively larger crowds.
They were arrested in 1989 for obstructing a footpath on Queen Street while busking. Their night in custody was spent singing the blues.
The comedy and country and western style music struck a chord with the public in New Zealand and beyond.
Live in New York in 2011, they described themselves as "the only comedic yodelling lesbians in the world".
In three seasons of The Topp Twins - Do Not Adjust Your Twin-Set (renamed The Topp Twins after two seasons) the duo brought to life a beloved set of characters, including Camp Mother, the Bowling Ladies and the cross-dressing Ken and Ken.
The Topp Twins were made Dames Companion to the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2018, saying at the time that meant Camp Mother, Camp Leader, the Kens and all their characters were knighted now too.
Dame Jools said the honour was an acknowledgement of all they had fought for.
"The Queen must have said 'yes.' She had to tick the box. She must have said "oh yeah ...give those lesbian twins a bloody medal," she said.
While big sister in private life, Dame Jools often took the sidekick role in the twins' music and skits.
In 2022, Dame Jools told Sunday her role was to "make sure the music's right. And Lynda ... she's looking at the crowd. Making sure the crowd's with us".
Dame Jools' performances and characters tended to be softer and more relaxed, bouncing of Lynda's more boisterous alter egos, according to NZ On Screen.
The twins weren't afraid to get political either, performing at a range of protests in the 1980s including the nuclear-free marches and the Homosexual Law Reform Bill.
"You can talk until you're blue in the face — until people just shut off and don't listen anymore. But a song... everyone can take that song and sing it with us," Dame Jools told Barry.
"All the things we ever fought about was something that was personal to us."
In the documentary The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls, director Leanne Pooley sought to answer the question "How did two highly politicised gay women push their way into the hearts of mainstream New Zealanders, becoming not just entertainers but icons?"
The film won multiple accolades including People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival and set a local box office record at $1.85 million gross.
After being originally diagnosed 20 years ago, Dame Jools underwent a double mastectomy. The cancer later came back.
The sisters shared their journey in various shows, and did a fundraiser event for Breast Cancer Awareness.
The song Radiation Burns chronicled the realities of their cancer treatment journeys.
But Dame Lynda told Hilary Barry in 2023 that they wanted to be defined by the life they'd lived, not by the disease.
Dame Jools said she was grateful.
"I just really wake up every morning and say I've had a beautiful life – I have no regrets. We just say every day above ground is a good day."
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