Overview
- Dame Jools Topp died at home on Saturday with her twin sister Lynda, brother Bruce, close friends and her pets at her side, the family announced.
- Her family said she had lived bravely with breast cancer since a first diagnosis in 2006 and a recurrence in 2021, and that a celebration honouring her life will be announced shortly.
- The Topp Twins were awarded the 2026 Country Music Honours days before Jools’s death and were already members of the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame and Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
- Colleagues, politicians and peers paid tribute to Jools as a unique entertainer and force for change, with manager Arani Cuthbert calling the twins irreplaceable and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon calling her a New Zealand icon.
- Jools and her sister Lynda built a decades-long career from busking to international stages by blending country music, unscripted character comedy and political activism, and they played a notable public role as openly lesbian performers in New Zealand.