{"id":445209,"date":"2026-05-26T01:22:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T01:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/445209\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T01:22:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T01:22:14","slug":"paved-the-way-kiwi-comedian-on-dame-jools-topps-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/445209\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Paved the way’: Kiwi comedian on Dame Jools Topp’s legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Justine Smith has reflected on the legacy of Dame Jools Topp, saying the beloved Kiwi entertainer “paved the way” for generations of New Zealand comedians. <\/p>\n

Dame Jools, one half comedic singing duo The Topp Twins, died of breast cancer <\/a>on Saturday. She was 68. <\/p>\n

Dame Jools and her twin sister Dame Lynda performed together for more than four decades, becoming cultural icons of New Zealand comedy, music and activism. <\/p>\n

The sisters revealed in 2022 they were both undergoing treatment for breast cancer, with Dame Jools first diagnosed in 2006.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Breakfast this morning, Smith said the Topp Twins had been a constant presence in her upbringing as an aspiring comedian. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy whole family just loved these brassy lesbians yodelling on the television,\u201d she said. “They were just icons. No one reached New Zealand like them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey did an unbelievable amount for us, and we owe them a debt of gratitude.” <\/p>\n

She said Dame Jool’s influence would continue through the extensive body of work she created with her sister.<\/p>\n

\u201c68 just feels like a rip off. It feels really young,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Jools can never really be gone from us, because we have so much from her. She\u2019s always at our fingertips.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dame Jools and her sister Lynda entertained Kiwis for some four decades. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

Tributes had poured in<\/a> from across New Zealand since the news of Dame Jools’ death. <\/p>\n

Yesterday, Dame Lynda shared an emotional farewell,<\/a> relaying her sister\u2019s final message of thanks to New Zealand for supporting them over more than 40 years.<\/p>\n

“We couldn\u2019t have done it without you. You made us who we are, you made us the Topp Twins,” Dame Lynda said. <\/p>\n

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon described her as a \u201cNew Zealand icon\u201d who brought laughter and music into homes for decades. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Her manager and close friend of 34 years, Arani Cuthbert, described her passing as a major loss for the country\u2019s arts community, calling her a \u201cmighty t\u014dtara of the NZ arts world\u201d.<\/p>\n

Smith said the Topp Twins and their set of characters \u2013 including Camp Mother and Camp Leader, the Bowling Ladies and the cross-dressing Ken and Ken \u2013 would forever be remembered. <\/p>\n

\u201cNew Zealand comedy would not be where it is without them, especially for w\u0101hine,” Smith said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a sad day for comedy, but there\u2019s a joy in it as well \u2014 she\u2019s not here anymore but look at what she gave us.” <\/p>\n

The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including doped athletes flop at controversial games, and the UK breaks heat records. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Justine Smith has reflected on the legacy of Dame Jools Topp, saying the beloved Kiwi entertainer “paved the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":445210,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[2567,430,156,111,139,69,417],"class_list":["post-445209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-arts-and-culture","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-television"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/445210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}