Dame Jools Topp, one half of the beloved comedic singing duo the Topp Twins, has died after living with breast cancer for 22 years.

She was 68.

Dame Jools passed away peacefully at her home on Saturday, surrounded by her twin sister Dame Lynda, brother Bruce, close friends and her pets.

Dame Lynda said the family was devastated by the loss.

“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 said it was important to Dame Jools that her illness never be described as a battle or a fight.

She lived with it, and never allowed it to define her.

Manager and close friend of 34 years Arani Cuthbert said the country had lost one of its great cultural figures.

“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 this country, as well as overseas.”

The twins grew up on a dairy farm near Huntly and began performing together at age five.

They entertained audiences for more than 40 years.

Dame Jools was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006. In March 2022, the sisters revealed both were undergoing treatment for the disease.

The twins began performing together at age five, growing up on a dairy farm near Huntly. They initially cut their teeth as buskers and performers under the name Homemade Jam in the late 1970s, before finding their footing with a blend of country music, comedy and political commentary through the 1980s.

Their TV series Do Not Adjust Your Twinset ran from 1996 to 2000, and a follow-up cooking and travel show, Topp Country, earned the twins a Television Award for Best Entertainment Presenter, three decades after they first won the same category for their debut TV special.

The duo’s story was told in the 2009 documentary Untouchable Girls, one of the most successful locally made documentaries released in New Zealand cinemas.

Jools also published five children’s books, and the pair released a memoir, Untouchable Girls: The Topp Twins’ Story, in 2023, which won the Nielsen BookData award for the best-selling New Zealand title at the 2024 New Zealand Book Industry Awards. NZ Herald

The duo were inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame, and received Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2004, honorary master’s degrees from Wintec in 2010 and honorary doctorates from Waikato University in 2011, before being appointed Dames in 2018.

Outside of performing, Dame Jools was a skilled horsewoman who shared a lifestyle property at Helensville with her partner, keeping dogs, horses, cattle, chickens and cats.