Spy: And the winners are … Spy’s best of 2020

As we prepare to bid farewell to 2020, Spy editor Ricardo Simich presents his annual awards for the stars who made their mark this year, mostly for the right reasons.

The All Blacks, Their Babies, and the Superstar Wives Together

The year served more than a few curve balls for All Blacks Beauden Barrett and TJ Perenara. Delays in rugby matches and keeping fit under lock and key were just the beginning.

They both had babies with their wives Hannah and Greer, who gave birth in October and August respectively.

The Barretts welcomed daughter Billie Rose, the Perenara’s welcomed daughter Amaia.

Every precious moment of those first few months was enjoyed by the new dads, between the Bledisloe Cup games, before departing for the Australian Rugby Championship campaign.

At times, it was unclear if the BAs would get out of Oz and quarantine themselves for Christmas. Both Barrett and Perenara were due to be in Japan after completing their commitments with the black jersey in the Ditch. Hannah and Greer were in charge of preparing their moves to Japan, as well as taking care of their newborns and organizing a doggie daycare for their puppies.

The Perenaras are now based in Osaka, where TJ is playing for the NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes, and the Barretts are based in Tokyo, where Beauden is playing for Suntory Sungoliath.

The reality stars who found a charm in third place

Sometimes losing first place has a silver lining. That was the case for engineer Quinn Ryan, when he appeared on the first season of The Bachelorette NZ this year. The second bachelorette party in the series, reality TV veteran Lily McManus, had Ryan in her last three, but she chose romance with clothing designer Richie Boyens.

But a few months later, Ryan found love with another rejected contender from the franchise.

Claudia Hoskins, who was one of Zac Franich’s last three at The Bachelor in 2017, got in touch with Ryan on Instagram and the romance quickly followed. Jewelry, parachute jumping, jetboating, and camping followed before the parents’ meeting.

Hoskins has just packed her life and work into fashion in Auckland and has moved to Hawke’s Bay to be with her man.

Movie stars

Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Tim Roth and John Cho are just a few of the long list of international talents who filmed in New Zealand this year.

As soon as Sherlock Holmes star Cumberbatch and Spiderman star Dunst moved to Auckland for the second part of filming for Jane Campion’s Netflix movie The Power of the Dog closed.

They both preferred to leave the city. Cumberbatch chose the luxurious Summerlee Retreat in Hawke’s Bay, from where he joined Taika Waititi and Oscar winner Meryl Streep in the second of a 10-episode virtual charity reading of James and The Giant Peach.

It was a family affair for Dunst, who was with her fiancé Jesse Plemons, also the star of the film, and the couple’s 2-year-old son, Ennis. Dunst told the LA Times that they wanted to be out of Auckland, so they rented a house for their son to have a lawn to run on, and also a place, he said, to teach his son to go potty.

Legendary British actor and Oscar nominee Roth is filming PUNCH, a local feature film in Auckland, did MIQ in the city center, and licked the beaches in the west of the city while filming.

The Hateful Eight star told the New Musical Express that he was looking forward to making an independent film on Godzone, which he called the safest place in the world right now.

Cho is back in Auckland to restart filming for the Netflix series Cowboy Bebop, a live version of the Japanese cult animated sci-fi series. At the beginning of the year, filming was stopped when Cho broke her knee on set. His return to Auckland from Hollywood has provided him with a Star Trek reunion with Kiwi actor Karl Urban. In November, the couple went fishing in the Hauraki Gulf on Urban’s boat.

The stars that flow

The Kiwi stars shone in three hit series broadcast around the world this year: Virgin River and Riverdale on Netflix, and The Boys on Amazon Prime.

Karl Urban and Antony Starr have enjoyed the international fandom of The Boys. The vigilante vs. corrupt superhero show has become a number one hit on every TV show chart, even former US President Barack Obama is a fanatic. Entertainment Weekly reported that his show helped Obama through the process of writing his book A Promised Land.

Starr, who has been based in the US this year, was a bit surprised that the former POTUS appreciated the show, which contains some foul language and some rather raunchy stories.

Urban has been based in New Zealand this year and last week he enjoyed the action of the America’s Cup from his boat. A third season of the hit show will begin filming in Canada early next year, so Urban, who plays vigilante Billy Butcher, won’t be able to see Cup action in March.

On Netflix, Martin Henderson’s romantic soap opera Virgin River was picked up for a third season. Henderson spent much of this year in Mexico, where he revealed a new lady in his life, Aisha Méndez, who received approval on social media from her former on-screen stars, Ellen Pompeo and Jennifer Garner.

Also Netflix star KJ Apa, who has been filming the fifth season of his hit show Riverdale, in Canada, also revealed a new girl in his life this year, French model Clara Berry.

Costume stars

The Best Costume Players award goes to former All Black Ali Williams and his partner, billionaire sister Anna Mowbray.

They dressed up as Barbie and Ken at the annual Toy Mansion party last year, and this year they did best in Flash Gordon-inspired outfits for the Out of This World party theme.

The couple wore red outfits to match Mowbray’s red dress with a huge train and flares measuring more than 2 meters. Williams Ming the Merciless’s white face and red eye makeup were a far cry from her days wearing black.

The party revealed a new go-to designer on label BW 36,175 who designed suits for Williams, Mowbray, his brother Nick and his partner Jaimee Lupton, as well as his partner Rich Lister Harry Hart.

Weeks after the annual party, Mowbray and his brothers threw a 70th birthday party for their father at Nick’s property in Coatesville. This time the theme was from the 70s and Mowbray killed it again in a silver 70s mesh jumpsuit with a matching headband over a permed red wig.

Mowbray and Williams this year bought the waterfront home in Westmere from Chronicles of Narnia director Andrew Adamson, for an estimated more than $ 20 million.

The new mother of the nation?

Hilary Barry’s introduction of Formal Friday’s Seven Sharp in the early days of the first lockdown became an inspiration to many struggling with the aftermath of the pandemic.

As a tribute to students who miss balls, Barry looked amazing when she wore her one-shoulder red dress from 1987, complete with rubber boots and a feeder in her backyard.

Barry wore a tuxedo to this year’s Aotearoa Film and Television Awards, where he won the People’s Choice Award and has also used fashion to challenge people. She has taken down misogynistic trolls for body shaming and age discrimination. Barry is sure to bring more cheek in the New Year when he returns to his radio roots at The 3pm Pick Up on The Hits in February, while Laura McGoldrick takes maternity leave.

The heroes of music

It has been a great year for Six60. The multiplatinum band sold more than 130,000 tickets for their Saturday tour and sold out Western Springs for the second time in February. During Lockdown, frontman Matiu Walters improvised live and acoustically from the comfort of his own living room, broadcasting on the Six60 Instagram account.

In October, Walters performed the national anthem before the All Blacks / Wallabies clash at Eden Park. He then gave the Aucklanders their biggest reason to date for being behind a concert at Eden Park, saying the band would love to perform there and add the venue to their summer concert schedule.

“Madly, there’s never been a gig here. We thought, why don’t we hit the brakes and see if we can make this work?” Walters told the Herald.

At last month’s Aotearoa Music Awards, the band scored a hat-trick, winning Te Toa Hoko Teitei (Best-selling Artist) for the third year in a row and was a huge hit with the crowd during their live performance.

Walters, Eli Paewai, Chris Mac, Ji Fraser and Marlon Gerbes released their documentary Till the Lights Go Out in theaters across the country. At the Auckland premiere at the Civic, Walters posed with his new fiancée, producer Caren Freeman.

The best party

It was ours, of course! Days into Lockdown editor Ricardo Simich and Herald entertainment chief Sinead Corcoran needed to get out of their bunkers and have fun. The result was Spy’s virtual party, Bubbles in the Bubble, in which TV stars, comedians and radio personalities joined them on one of the strangest yet most enjoyable nights of the year.

Members of the public were also able to attend the event, and more than 150,000 fans watched from home as celebrities mingled and mingled.

Bravely attended live from their living rooms and lounges, All Black Beauden Barrett and his wife Hannah Laity, Laura McGoldrick and Blackcap Martin Guptill, celebrity chef Josh Emett and his wife Helen Cranage, actors Sara Wiseman and Craig Hall, Antonia Prebble. and Claire Chitham and a dozen or so familiar faces.

Talks, toasts and the occasional party game occurred during the two hours of live virtual party, sometimes disastrous. When the world seemed to go to hell in a basket, all the guests just wanted to share a little fun.

We hope we won’t face another blockade, but Spy is always ready to party. All the best for the holiday season!