Jools Topp

In March 2022 Jools and Lynda revealed that they had both been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021.

Jools Topp was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2006 at the age of 48. Originally examined by a physician in January 2006, nothing was done as it was not detected by a mammogram. Topp was diagnosed seven months later when the breast cancer showed up with an ultrasound exam. She recovered well after receiving a mastectomy in October 2006 and several months of chemotherapy.

Jools Topp along with her sister Lynda has had a long career in entertainment in New Zealand. They sing country and folk music with harmonies often to raise people's social consciousness. As entertainers, Lynda Topp leads the comedy and "works the audience", and mostly Jools plays the guitar and leads the song making. Lynda particularly focused on yodelling. The Topp Twins' popularity arose from a regular stint busking in Auckland when they were in their early 20s. They got taken to court for causing obstruction on Queen Street because their crowd was too big. They won the case and benefited from the publicity. Soon after that they travelled and performed to university crowds around New Zealand. They are well known for their costumed comedic characters such as Ken & Ken, and Camp Leader and Camp Mother. They have been a lot on television in character including in 2000 hosting a quiz show called Mr and Mrs, in which couples answered questions about how well they knew each other, and a 2014 to 2016 a cooking show called Topp Country.

After leaving school in 1976, Jools and Lynda Topp joined the New Zealand Territorial Force and were posted at the Burnham Military Camp near Christchurch for six weeks. When they were 17, they performed at the Victorian Coffee Lounge (Montreal Street, Christchurch Central City). This brought them into contact with radical lesbian feminists. They both started identifying as lesbian from the late 1970s. Much of their life has been in the public eye and their mother was interviewed by Radio New Zealand about the closure of the New Zealand Woman's Weekly magazine in 2020 talking about how much her daughters had been featured in these magazines.

The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously known as New Zealand Music Awards (NZMA)) are an annual awards night celebrating excellence in New Zealand music and have been presented annually since 1965.

Dame Julie Bethridge Topp DNZM (born 14 May 1958), known as Jools Topp, is one half of the Topp Twins, a music comedy duo from New Zealand; the other member is her twin sister Lynda Topp. Jools Topp has been singing and entertaining with her sister for decades, touring live music and comedy performances as well as performing in TV and film. The sisters were both appointed Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Jools Topp and her twin sister Lynda were born on 14 May in 1958 in Huntly, to Jean and Peter, and grew up on a dairy farm in Waikato. Topp also has an older brother called Bruce. Topp attended Ruawaro Combined School during the 1960s and early 1970s. The twins have been singing together since they were five years old and their brother gave them a guitar when they were 11.