'68 good years’: Dame Lynda Topp's emotional farewell to twin sister Jools

Today, Aotearoa came together to honour one of our most beloved entertainers, as friends, whānau, fans and fellow artists gathered to celebrate the life of Dame Jools Topp.

The legendary musician, comedian and activist passed away on May 23 at the age of 68, following a 22-year journey with breast cancer.

During an emotional celebration of life at Auckland's Viaduct Events Centre, Dame Jools' twin sister, Dame Lynda Topp, reflected on their final year together and caring for her sister in her final days.

In the livestream shared via RNZ, Dame Lynda could be seen fighting back tears, saying to those in attendance: "This has been one of the hardest things I've ever had to do - to say goodbye to my beautiful twin."

Holding up a small notebook that had belonged to Jools, she revealed she had planned to write her speech inside it.

"It's empty," she said. "It's empty because today we don't need to write things down, we just need to talk from the heart."

"We had 68 good years together. And when you say goodbye to your sister, you think, 'What do I say?'"

Dame Lynda chose to share memories of their final year together.

"I was entrusted as her caregiver for the last year. That meant I got to administer all her drugs, to care for her, to bathe her, to make her laugh, to share all the sad times with her."

She spoke of the "amazing moments" and difficult ones they experienced side by side, before opening up about Jools' final day.

According to Dame Lynda, Jools spent her last week surrounded by "total absolute love".

"When it came time for her to pass away, there were four of us with her - four women who she adored and loved," she said.

We will never ever forget that moment when we held her, and she passed away in our arms.

Dame Lynda described being there with her sister in those final moments as a "true honour" she would cherish forever.

But in true Topp Twins fashion, even the heaviest moment came with a bit of humour.

She joked the first task was to confirm her sister had actually passed away.

"That's always a good thing to do, the first thing to do," she said with a little laugh.

She then revealed one of Jools' final instructions - that those gathered around at the time would each pull a card and place it on her after she died.

The words included creativity, gratitude, trust, willingness, peace, light, love, honesty, truth, purpose, balance, openness, compassion and kindness.

Dame Lynda then turned her attention to the politicians in the room.

"Perhaps from today on, we take all of those words and run our country with them," she said.

"Because I can tell you right now that we can bring together more people than any political party with those words, and we've shown we can do it within three weeks, right here today."

Since her passing, Lynda has continued to honour Jools, who was known for her activism.

At the Aotearoa Music Awards 2026, she shared a heartfelt tribute to Jools while also calling for more support for the arts in New Zealand.

"We need support for artists in this country. We need a government that says the arts are more important than a defence budget," she said.

She added that many up and coming musicians are spending more time applying for funding than actually creating music.

"I see young artists struggling, not because they've got a gig on Friday night, but because they're trying to fill out some crazy arts funding submission just to get a few lousy dollars from the government. It's not fair."

We are not defined by a government. We are not defined by politicians. We are defined by people, our culture and our art.

Dame Jools' legacy will live on, not just for her entertainment alongside Lynda as the Topp Twins, but for the impact that she's had on Aotearoa with her activism and kindness and ability to connect people.