Real Life

Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin in December 1974. Now, 50 years later, The Weekly revisits stories of those who lived through Cyclone Tracy.

From true crime to comedy, we've got you covered...

All babies are miracles, but when Aria Bacon came bouncing into this world, she brought something incredibly precious with her, a life-saving cure for her gravely-ill big brother Tommy’s leukaemia.

When nurse Grace Larson moved to rural Australia, she realised she was a long way from medical help. Now she brings first aid training to those who would otherwise not have access to these skills.

When Cheryl Pearce entered the Australian military in 1985, she and other women were seen as “diluting” the Army.

Through drought, flood and heartbreak, Jenny Jenner's sunflowers bloom with hope, sunshine and joy.

Three generations of the Wolf-Tasker family celebrate the joy, the grief, the labour and love behind 40 trailblazing years at Lake House in Daylesford.

"Suddenly the whole world felt dangerous and unpredictable. My life narrowed around me."

In December 2023, Australia’s first uterus transplant recipient, Kirsty Bryant, gave birth to Henry, a happy, healthy baby boy. And the uterus that had made this little miracle possible had been donated by her mother, Michelle.

We look back on Maggie's covers at The Australian Women's Weekly...

Growing up with a disability in a world where she couldn’t see anyone else like her was lonely for Hannah.

"I’m hoping I’ll go the nice way."

Her murder remains a cold case…

A new Netflix series has thrusted Belle back into the spotlight...

We speak with five unpaid carers, who share stories of caring for the ones they love as part of The Weekly's Cost of Caring campaign.

Eileen blazed a trail for women, creativity and contemporary dance

An alliance of Texan geneticists, an Aussie biologist and celebrity investors claims it can bring back mammoths, dodos and Tasmanian Tigers within the decade. But will the world be better for it?

A previously unaffordable medication has been added to the PBS, and the miracle drug gives young sufferers a new lease on life.

“My ectopic pregnancy ruptured moments before I went live on air ... ”

The Weekly sat down with the trailblazing soprano and composer.

Intrepid adventurer, author, filmmaker and one-time Getaway star Sorrel Wilby has reinvented herself on remote and beautiful Norfolk Island.

The rugged Snowy Mountains have become an ideological and bloody battleground.

She was the muse of surrealist artist Man Ray, and took some of the most iconic images of the war. Yet despite a prodigious talent, her legacy and achievements were almost lost to history.

It's the heart breaking Hollywood tale that’s captivated audiences for close to a century. Now, discover the tragic real-life romance said to have inspired the hit movie.

“I was put on this world with a mission, so I just have to carry on.”

Anna's former friend Rachel DeLoache Williams spoke to The Weekly - this is her story.

Palliative Care Victoria’s free DARD resources makes caring collaboratively as your family member’s substitute decision-maker a lot easier.

4.037 tonnes - the amount of cocaine consumed by Australians in the year to August 2023.

In the late 1960s, Americans descended on Alice Springs, erecting a mysterious facility named Pine Gap, and even today its locked gates and white domes are shrouded in a cloak of silence. A new podcast seeks to uncover the truth.

Yasmine and Jason share the story of their little girl's loss to help others on Red Nose Day

Cozie the black labrador has given SJ more than just independence and companionship, he has given her a new lease on life.

As a film depicting their romance prepares for release, they share their incredible love story.

An unexpected meeting at the Melbourne Games sparked a dream for Rosemary Mula – although it would take decades to make it a reality.

As it turns out, you are not alone...

Three days driving the Subaru Symmetrical AWD model range to Falls Creek Alpine Resort and a wheely happy ending for journalist Clare Catt.

The beautiful coastal haven of Wreck Bay has been polluted by ‘forever chemicals’. The government insists they’re not dangerous to humans, but a suspected cancer cluster has the local community worried.

Like a good book, every life is filled with meaning. And sharing our stories can bring us joy, help us heal and draw us closer to those we love.

Forty years later, Lynda sued the Catholic Church for both mother and son’s heartbreak.

In 1993 Elaine George made history as Australia’s first Indigenous cover star. Thirty years later she’s back in front of the camera with her daughter, Taylor, to showcase First Nations designers and artists.

Indigenous women are being murdered at frightening rates, their deaths often left uninvestigated and widely unreported. Here The Weekly meets families who are battling grief and desperate for solutions.

On Boxing Day 2004, Lizz Hills was enjoying a scuba dive in Thailand alongside her father, Dan Martin. Then, the sea started boiling...

Co-education could be an answer to toxic behaviour in private boys’ schools, but can the switch happen without girls paying a price?

To the British press, Jennifer Robinson is ‘the A-list’s go-to lawyer’, who has fronted high profile cases including Amber Heard and Julian Assange. Those close to her know her for as the girl from Berry who is now fighting for justice in the highest courts in the world. Genevieve Gannon meets the renowned Australian human rights lawyer.

After healing from the trauma of adoption, this woman felt empowered to help others.

The ultimate betrayal.

They are changing women's lives for the better.

Together the best friends have been through diagnosis, treatment, surgeries and motherhood.

Debby Fraumano has cared for her son, Michael, for 26 years. It’s a labour 
of love, but it has been costly, too. And Debby is not alone in facing a financially fraught future. With 2.65 million carers – seven out of 10 of those women – unable to work full-time, it’s time to rectify the superannuation imbalance.

Somehow she found the will to go on living.

Anne-Marie Curry has tracked down thousands of furry friends who have been lost, stolen and sometimes held for ransom.

She found her true colours in flowers, fashion and the community...

No longer held back by a Puberty Blues-era surf culture, these women in their 50s, 60s and beyond are among the most eager grommets in the water.

When Tiffany rescued a desperately thin and neglected horse from a lonely paddock, she had no idea he would change her life.

The Weekly meet four remarkable women who prove it’s never too late to follow your dreams.

These five tough and dedicated professionals are battling the female doctor shortage in regional and remote Australia.

Fourteen months before Suzie Ratcliffe was born, her sister, Joanne, was abducted by a stranger at Adelaide Oval.

“It’s not just for young people, love, you know?”

How a pioneering Australian medical treatment gave Katrina a chance at motherhood.

In regional and remote Australia, getting an education isn’t as easy as A, B, C. The Weekly goes bush to meet the women battling to close the outback education gap.

Through a raft of terrifying health issues, Carly-Jay Metcalfe has remained upbeat, cheerful and bursting with humour. Here she explains why hope and faith are the only path forward.

When Tracy Hall fell for Max Tavita, she didn't realise she was the latest in a long line of women whose life savings he’d stolen.

Since 1999, Johnson & Johnson has been fighting lawsuits in the US that allege its baby powder causes cancer.

Can an old romance really be rekindled? The Weekly meets the Aussie couples who found love together the second time around.

60 years after Adrienne from Brooklyn professed her love for Paul McCartney - she's finally been found.

Author Kathy Lette gives a heartfelt thank you to her magnificent mum, Val – a baker of fairy cakes with the patience of a saint.

Jamie Oliver has returned to the set of MasterChef to help the show, which exists to spread happiness, steer a path through grief. 
The celebrity chef is also at a turning point. He opens up about failure, love, second chances, and his endless reservoir of joie de vivre.

After more than thirty years in the business, Jo Malone is still the undisputed perfume prodigy.

With the country's birth rate in free fall, can anything put parenthood back on our agenda?

When Jacqui Lambie strolled into Parliament in July 2014, dressed by St Vincent de Paul and prone to saying exactly what was on her mind, she was a curiosity – and sometimes a laughing stock. But 10 years later, this one-time soldier and mother of two is still standing.

When a family lunch led to multiple deaths, it brought to light the potential toxicity of a popular ingredient.

Welcome to the most secretive club on Earth, where world leaders, movie stars and business tycoons kick up their heels behind locked gates in the bucolic Californian countryside.

Sam Bloom had always wanted to share her love of Africa with her three boys and last Christmas, 10 years after the accident that left her in a wheelchair, that dream finally came true.

It all began when journalist Amelia Oberhardt saw a mystery photo at her mother's wake. Read the true story behind her New York Festival Radio Award nominated podcast.

For more than 200 years, the Sydney Royal Easter Show – the largest Royal show in Australia – has brought country women to the city as farmers, fierce competitors and friends. The Weekly meets some of the women who have their hopes pinned on this year’s show.

Having faced her own near-death experience, lived with chronic pain through cerebral palsy, and watched her rocker father, Jimmy, confront his mortality more than once, Elly-May Barnes is no longer hiding her light. At 34, she’s releasing her first album and shining bright.

The couple have been together since 2007…

Until a group of regional sewers and a history professor brought her back to life...

Fifty years ago, a group of students, academics, seniors and housewives broke into a Sydney house, creating Australia’s first women’s refuge. Named Elsie, it changed attitudes to family violence forever.

How the clues to Australia’s most mysterious missing persons case were untangled by a devoted daughter and a team of amateur sleuths.

Over 50 years ago, a generation of young women and girls went to Vietnam to entertain the troops. Many of them still carry the scars.

Read The Weekly’s exclusive interview with the couple…

Bright stars in a rugged land…

“As a little girl I was so frightened”

She tells The Weekly, in her own words, about that terrifying moment and about finding a new sense of purpose helping others.

The billionaire is in the middle of a legal battle with her family, and others, who want a slice of her fortune. Here's what you need to know.

"I’ve mellowed a lot and I’m much less judgmental..."

She lived on a Greek Island with her 85-year-old mother...

Ameliah Scott has devoted herself to bringing veterinarian services to the vast outback NSW plains she calls home.

"Love gave me wings..."

For 45 years, Girlie Goody has run her property solo, braving drought, broken bones and doubting bank managers to become a Queensland legend.

We surveyed more than 5000 women and found we're having less sex than we were in 1980, but we're just as satisfied with our sex lives.

The Weekly's Voice of Australian Women survey brings to light some shocking statistics around domestic violence.

"Australia is very much a vibrant, multicultural place; this needs to be reflected all over."

“This story starts weird but just gets weirder…”

When Mark Green lost the love of his life, the devastation was crushing. But the unexpected kindness power of hold music brought joy back into his life.

"Torn with the guilt of leaving," she says she must dig deep to find hope.

Unexpected friendships have been made across the Gaza border in an effort to find green shoots of peace in the battlefield.

Natalie Ive was diagnosed with dementia at 48. Here's her story.

After his mum and brother fell ill, Kenny Davis stepped up to look after them. Now the family is closer than ever.

They are among several World Vision ambassadors for their International Day of the Girl campaign.