Wonderful world cups, fond farewells, flash floods, cyber attacks, senseless slaps, pumped up petrol prices, manky monkeypox, raunchy reveals, inflating interest rates, escaping lions and a new king. Yes, it’s our annual look back at the highs and lows of the last twelve months as we celebrate a year of outstanding achievements in the fields of womanhood, events, epic failing, sport, comedy, bastardry, coupledom, dummy spits, viral moments, manliness and much more…
WOMAN OF THE YEAR
MARGOT ROBBIE
Not only did she take out her third No.1 spot in the MAXIM AUSTRALIA HOT 100 title last November, Margot also remains one of the leading “it” girls of Tinseltown and the actress of choice for Hollywood’s auteurs. This year is shaping up to be a busy one for her, as she takes on the role of the original blonde bombshell in Greta Gerwig’s much-hyped Barbie as well as a supporting role in Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City. All hail our Queen Margot!
RUNNER-UP JACINDA ARDERN
In January, Jacinda Ardern resigned as Prime Minister of New Zealand after five years in the top job. Internationally lauded as a symbol of strong leftist leadership, Ardern’s legacy will undoubtedly include her empathy and effective action following the Christchurch Mosque shooting, as well as boosting New Zealand’s profile on the world stage. We love ya, JA.
RUNNER-UP THE QUEEN
The remarkable story of the world’s longest reigning female monarch drew to a close last year following the death of Her Majesty Elizabeth II at age 96. During her lifetime, the Queen helped oversee many of Britain’s former colonies as they claimed independence as sovereign nations. Above all, her unwavering sense of duty and personal popularity helped steer the increasingly outdated monarchy into the 21st century. Not bad for a woman who had to parent Prince Andrew.
MAN OF THE YEAR
NICK KYRGIOS
Despite missing the Australian Open in January due to injury, Nick had a spectacular 12 months on and off the court. It began with his first ever grand slam doubles title (with his “Special K” mate Thanasi Kokkinakis) at last year’s AO, followed by his first grand slam singles final at Wimbledon, and a new relationship with stunner Costeen Hatzi. His fan base continued to grow with the release of Netflix’s tennis docu-series Break Point. Most importantly, Kyrgios kept up his charity work, including a much-buzzed exhibition match with Novak Djokovic, with all proceeds donated to the Australian Tennis Foundation to support disadvantaged youths. What’s not to love about the bloke?
RUNNER-UP VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY
The Ukrainian president is the kind of fearless leader once thought to have died out with Churchill and FDR. As the brutal war in his homeland continues to dominate global politics, the former comedian and actor has risen to the occasion to go toe to toe with Russia’s army. With tens of thousands dead, Zelenskyy has remained firm, staring down Putin and rallying support from across the world. Peace!
RUNNER-UP NEDD BROCKMANN
Each year in the MAXIM Awards we love to salute your everyday Aussie who’s done something bloody amazing. This year, we present you Nedd Brockmann. Over the course of 46 days and 12 hours, this machine ran more than 4,000 km across the continent from Cottesloe Beach in WA to the sands of Bondi in Sydney NSW. Along the way he raised a whopping $1.85 million for charity. Go, you good thing!
EPIC FAIL OF THE YEAR
THE REAL LOVE BOAT
A Channel 10 show flopping is nothing new, but reality TV disaster The Real Love Boat plunged the network to a truly embarrassing new low. Following the Love Island format of drunk, sexy singles in the sun, TRLB dropped below 174,000 viewers within a day of premiering back in October. It truly is the biggest tragedy on the high seas since the Titanic.
RUNNER-UP SCOTT MORRISON PLAYING SOCCER
Scotty From Marketing’s doomed re-election campaign hit an unfortunate snag when the then-PM accidentally bulldozed a child to the ground during a game of soccer in Tasmania. Though the visit was supposed to spotlight a sports grant in the Tassie town of Devonport, Sco-Mo’s trademark clumsiness became an unwelcome metaphor for his antisocial style of leadership.
RUNNER-UP ESCAPING LIONS
Majestic, powerful and scary as shit – internet users were shocked when surreal CCTV footage caught a pack of five lions at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo escaping their enclosure. The breakout caused the evacuation of visitors to the zoo’s Roar and Snore experience, though the lions were quickly tranquilised with a few darts and returned to their enclosure.
PITCH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
DANIEL KING
Last July, Sydney urinator Daniel King made a literal splash at a pitch when he climbed up onto the Bill O’Reilly stand at the Sydney Cricket Ground mid-match and started pissing off the roof during a rugby Test between the Wallabies and England. He was later charged by NSW police and received a fine plus a two year ban from the venue. Pissed off or what, mate?
RUNNER-UP ANDREW REDMAYNE
Socceroos back-up goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne proved why he became the beloved Grey Wiggle after producing a decisive save in a penalty shootout victory over Peru that booked our ticket to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The 33-year-old’s unique style and epic save helped the Socceroos reach a fifth straight World Cup and Andy’s signature “Wiggles” moves instantly became a mark in Aussie sporting folklore.
RUNNER-UP LANCE FRANKLIN
Sydney Swans star Buddy Franklin hit a truly epic milestone in 2022 after kicking his 1000th AFL goal against the Geelong Cats at the SCG during round two. Thousands of fans rushed onto the pitch to congratulate Buddy who now sits at sixth on the all-time ranking of most AFL goals kicked after overtaking Gary Ablett Senior. Lance may yet move up even higher before retiring, with the 36-year-old legend signed on to play at least one more season!
TEAM OF THE YEAR
THE ARGENTINA NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM
La Albiceleste (the White and Sky Blue) brought home the World Cup for the first time since 1986, thanks to the superhuman efforts of the team and captain GOAT Lionel Messi. In a tense final with reigning champs France, Argentina won the match 4-2 on penalties and are now the third most successful team in World Cup history. Campione, campione olé olé olé!
RUNNER-UP AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S CRICKET TEAM
In April 2022 these talented women won their seventh ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup (in the 50-over format) during a showdown with England where the legendary Alyssa Healy became the second woman in cup history to score a 100 in a World Cup Final. The dynasty continued more recently, when in February this year our Aussie ladies won a sixth T20 World Cup title after defeating South Africa. What does this all mean? This team has won more World Cups than all other teams combined!
RUNNER-UP PENRITH PANTHERS
In 2022 the Panthers successfully defended their rugby league title, winning back-to-back NRL Premierships by defeating the Parramatta Eels in the Grand Final. The club also officially became the NRL’s greatest ever team after winning all four grades in one season: the SG Ball, Jersey Flegg, NSW Cup and the Premiership. The remarkable feat made Penrith the first team ever to take a clean sweep in over 113 years. Thanks, Ivan Cleary!
WAG OF THE YEAR
COSTEEN HATZI
The stunning partner of MAXIM MOTY winner Nick Kyrgios, Costeen Hatzi is the least WAG-iest of the WAG recipients in this category. And by that we mean, despite being gorgeous and dating a multimillionaire tennis player, she also does her own thing and seems like a cool chick we could have a beer with. Nick’s a lucky guy.
RUNNER-UP ANTONELA ROCCUZZO
The beautiful wife of Lionel Messi, Antonela is a familiar face to football fans around the world and boasts a whopping 32 million Instagram followers. Rouccuzzo first met Messi when they were growing up together in Argentina and the two finally tied the knot in 2017. As Messi enters the twilight of his epic career, Antonela joins the likes of Posh Spice in the all-time WAG hall of fame.
RUNNER-UP CANDICE WARNER
Candice Warner – the highly decorated former ironwoman and surf life saver – breaks every rule there is about being a WAG. In addition to her impressive sports background, the wife of cricketer David Warner is also one of Australia’s most popular local influencers, with almost half a million loyal followers and a MAXIM Australia cover appearance to boot.
RUNNER-UP YANA TARASENKO
A model, businesswoman and MAXIM Australia January 2023 cover star, Yana is also the wife of NHL champion Vladimir Tarasenko. Russian-born, Tarasenko is now based in St. Louis, Missouri (Vlad plays for the St. Louis Blues) and first met her man through mutual friends. She’s also the founder of her own beauty centre back in Russia. WAG-ilicious!
SLAP OF THE YEAR*
*MAXIM does not condone violence of any kind
KAI HANSEN & CROCODILE
Darwin man Kai Hansen has continued the time-honoured tradition of Aussies getting into altercations with crocodiles after a viral video showed the publican fending off a croc with a couple whacks of a frying pan. Proving that Top End blokes are just built different, Fred the terrifying croc quickly scurried back into the water after Hansen calmly and casually gave his snout a fair whack.
RUNNER-UP WILL SMITH & CHRIS ROCK
The usually sedate Oscars was given an unexpected boost in 2022 when Best Actor Winner Will Smith stormed the stage to slap host Chris Rock after the comedian dared to compare Will’s wife Jada to GI Jane (they’re both bald – get it?!). Rock, to his credit, remained composed and mostly brushed the slap off, while Smith was given a 10-year-ban from the Academy barring him from attending future Oscars. If anything, the Academy should be thanking Will for making the ass-numbing three-hour telecast instantly more watchable.
RUNNER-UP JADE YARBROUGH & MICHAEL CLARKE
It was the smack heard across the country after Jade Yarbrough was filmed assaulting her boyfriend Michael Clarke in a fiery public showdown in a Noosa Park, with none other than Today host Karl Stefanovic present. The epic meltdown between Jade and Michael was allegedly sparked by text messages between Clarke and his ex, foxy P.E Nation-founder Pip Edwards. The bystander who filmed the altercation allegedly pocketed a low five figures from a tabloid to sell the footage, which promptly went viral. Although we all cringed at the footage of the beloved cricketer shirtless, barefoot and yelling “c—t” in a public park – let’s just all be thankful Clarkey didn’t go full Dana White on Jade.
WANKER OF THE YEAR
ELON MUSK
This year, Musk lost the title of the world’s richest man to LVMH founder Bernard Arnault in a shocking fall from grace (ha!). It follows his disastrous purchase of Twitter, which cost Musk US$44 billion, which was followed by mass firings by Elon and a roll back of the platform’s fake news and abuse filters. He also pissed off his executives at Tesla by spending more time bullying people online than actually running his empire. Pull your head in, and give us some money, ya rich prick!
RUNNER-UP PIERS MORGAN
Piers Morgan’s personal vendetta against Meghan Markle lost the high profile TV personality a plum gig as host of Good Morning Britain and likely cost Morgan wahtever reputation he had/has. Now relegated to the smaller show, Piers Morgan Uncensored, on a fringe TV network called TalkTV, was it really worth it Piers?
RUNNER-UP VLADIMIR PUTIN
Vladimir Putin is possibly the worst case of small man syndrome since Napoleon. After escalating a brutal invasion of Ukraine which has left thousands of Russians and Ukrainians dead, Putin has rebuffed pleas from world leaders to withdraw and end the carnage. While he’s always been an unsavoury and deeply shady character, Putin’s war in Ukraine has earned him a place in the history books as a symbol of evil.
REVEAL OF THE YEAR
TOMMY LEE ON TWITTER
Anyone familiar with the O.G. celebrity sex tape featuring Pammy & Tommy knows that the Motley Crue drummer’s dick practically has an elbow. Just in case you forgot, Tommy shared a NSFW pic on Twitter to give new meaning to the term Big Dick Energy.
RUNNER-UP RIHANNA AT THE SUPER BOWL
In February, Rihanna made a triumphant return to the stage in her super-hyped superbowl performance. In a pretty boss move, RiRi broke from tradition and chose not to bring out any special guests and instead raced through an impressive medley of her awesome hits while performing on a platform suspended several hundred feet in the air. For her grand finale, Rihanna revealed her second pregnancy with partner A$AP Rocky. Whatta babe.
RUNNER-UP BEYONCE ALBUM COVER
The world’s biggest female popstar returned to music this year with Renaissance. But how does Beyonce top Beyonce? For the album cover, Bey revealed all atop a horse ala Lady Godiva. Your move Taylor Swift!
RUNNER-UP KIM KARDASHIAN INTERVIEW COVER
This year, Kim showed off her greatest ass-et in a 70s-pornstar-themed cover shoot for Interview magazine. Sporting bleached eyebrows, a blonde wig and wearing a jockstrap, we hardly recognised the media mogul. We have to hand it to her, nobody promotes themselves harder than KK who always seems to find new ways to show off her world-famous curves.
DUMMY SPIT OF THE YEAR
KING CHALES’S PEN
Newly-installed monarch King Charles got off to a slightly messy start when a leaky ink pen derailed efforts to sign a visitor’s book during a tour of Northern Ireland. A visibly frustrated HRH can be heard muttering, “I can’t stand this bloody thing!” before Queen Camilla quickly steps in. He had another felt tip issue when a bulky pen holder set cramped his style while signing documents. Apparently they couldn’t find a big enough table in the billion-dollar building he was at.
RUNNER-UP CRISTIANO RONALDO
It’s been a rough year for football wannabe GOAT Cristiano Ronaldo. After being benched consistently over a few matches by Manchester United, he stormed off the various pitches in post-game tantrums, before bitterly leaving the club after feeling betrayed by them and having no respect for new manager Erik ten Hag. The 37-year-old also found himself reduced to a place on the Portugal bench in the knockout stages of the World Cup, before the country was defeated by Morocco in the quarter-finals. He’s now joined the far less illustrious but spectacularly well-paying Al Nassr FC, in the Saudi Professional League. Cha-ching!
RUNNER-UP NICK KYRGIOS
Nick’s fairytale run to the Wimbledon final was followed by a slightly less illustrious appearance at the US Open in September. During his second round match against Benjamin Bonzi, Kyrigios was allegedly set off by the smell of weed in the crowd and a lack of support from his team and began swearing and spitting at his player’s box. The meltdown saw Nick fined $11,000 by the tournament for unsportsmanlike behaviour – the largest fine handed out in 2022. Never one to let a fine get him down, Kyrios went on to win the match and later made his first ever US Open quarter final.
HACK OF THE YEAR
OPTUS
The hack that started it all! The Optus data breach last September saw the release of millions of users’ personal information. It was also a freaky reminder of how lax cybersecurity was at one of the largest telcos. The hack has resulted in legal action from impacted customers and will likely see Optus fined up to a billion dollars.
RUNNER-UP MEDIBANK
Another infamous data hack in 2022 targeted health insurance provider Medibank. This saw customers’ personal ID and possible medical information released for sale on the dark web by Russian hackers. The full scale of user impact and reputational damage for the company remains to be seen, although three class action firms have recently banned together to formally sue Medibank on behalf of customers.
RUNNER-UP CRYPTOCURRENCY
Speaking of insane – last year crypto thieves got away with over $4.3 billion in cryptocurrency, a truly insane amount that shows the sheer growth of crypto from a nerdy pipe dream to an increasingly global alternative to traditional currency markets. The big fish in 2022 was Ronin Network, who lost $600 million when hackers used private keys to extract funds from the sidechain. How’s your Bitcoin goig, mate?
BEST VIRAL MOMENT OF THE YEAR
SANNA MARIN PARTYING
Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin caught some online flack this year when videos emerged of her cutting loose and dancing in a Helsinki apartment, alomg with photos of her friends making out topless while partying in her official residence. Instead of sinking Marin, the leaked videos only endeared her to Fins and won her new fans globally. We’re still waiting for our invite.
RUNNER-UP THE LIZ TRUSS LETTUCE
England’s ridiculously short-lived PM Liz Truss may very well go down in history for lasting less time in office than an iceberg lettuce. The lettuce shenanigans began when a Daily Star editor created a livestream of an iceberg lettuce to represent Liz’s epic failures after becoming PM. The livestream started to attract thousands of viewers, especially when it became increasingly likely Truss would resign following a disastrous mini budget that thrashed the British economy. In the end the lettuce won and Liz became the shortest serving PM in British history, lasting a mere 50 days.
RUNNER-UP GORILLA TIKTOK ENTRANCE
A TikTok of the world’s slickest gorilla giving a woman the fright of her life was one of the most popular animal videos of the year. In the short clip the swaggy gorilla can be seen entering his enclosure before quickly sliding across the floor, stopping just short of a stunned human visitor, before spinning round as if on a revolving platform for a booty shake. Fancy footwork there, mate!
FUNNIEST PERSON OF THE YEAR
KANYE WEST
The antics of Ye are partially a greek tragedy but mostly a reflection of our f—ked up society which makes entertainers the masters of the universe. West’s online tirades and anti-Semitic conspiracies torpedoed his lucrative Yeezy shoe line with Adidas, while his controversial White Lives Matter shirts alienated and appalled even his most die-hard fans. It would almost be funny if it wasn’t so reckless and dangerous. Thanks for the “laughs”, bud.
RUNNER-UP MURRAY BARTLETT
Aussie actor Murray Bartlett has been working in Hollywood for decades, but it was only in the past year that this silver fox went truly mainstream thanks to a role in a little-big show called The White Lotus. Bartlett’s hilarious performance opposite Goddess Jennifer Coolidge earned him an Emmy award and a legion of online fans. Hilarious stuff, man.
RUNNER-UP CELESTE BARBER
Australia’s leading funny woman has long out-lasted the critics who once pegged her viral social media videos as a flash in the pan. Proving her global power, last year Barber hit the road for an international comedy tour across Europe and even made Swedish people laugh. Next, CB is gearing up for the release of her new comedy series for Netflix called Wellmania.
EVENT OF THE YEAR
THE MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL
The disputed island nation of Taiwan made the ‘news of the day’ last September when footage emerged of a stripper performing a highly-charged routine for a group of wheelchair-bound senior citizens in a nursing home. Residents were treated to a full lap dance by strippers in lingerie to mark the popular mid-autumn festival. While the nursing home quickly came out and issued a formal apology, staff insisted the strippers were hired to lift residents’ spirits. Well played indeed.
RUNNER-UP FIFA WORLD CUP
The long-awaited FIFA World Cup returned in 2022 and was staged in the Middle East for the first time. How Qatar, a tiny country of two million people, with little to no sporting culture, managed to win the rights to the world’s second biggest sporting event is a mystery. And despite all the backlash of corruption, bribery and other dodgy dealings, the World Cup was great to watch and pretty much went off without a hitch. That is, if you don’t include the hundreds of dead migrant labourers who built the colossal stadiums.
RUNNER-UP THE QUEEN’S PLATINUM JUBILEE
Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her platinum jubilee to mark 70 years on the throne mere months before her passing. Across Britain and the Commonwealth official and unofficial celebrations took place, and a new tube line on the London Underground was officially opened to mark the occasion – affectionately dubbed the Lizzie line. We may never again witness a British Monarch reach a 70-year reign, but we’re pleased that it was a ruler as likeable and adorable as Her Majesty.
MOST ANNOYING COUPLE OF THE YEAR
CRISTIANO & PIERS
The extremely unlikely friendship between Piers Morgan and Cristiano Ronaldo was on full display this past year after Ronaldo chose to sit down for an exclusive interview with the disgraced British host on his shitty new TV venture. The two-hour long (seriously) interview covered everything from Cristiano complaining about Man United to Lionel Messi. The sit down earned Morgan’s new show its highest ratings ever, over 48 million views on YouTube and one public bromance that was extremely painful to all who unfortunately watched it.
RUNNER-UP HARRY & MEGHAN
However you feel about these two jokers leaving the royal family, even their most ardent fans can admit that 2022 was truly Sussex overload. From whiney Netflix documentaries to corny podcasts and Harry’s controversial memoir, the former royals have turned public sympathy into piles and piles of cash. We even heard all about Harry’s frost-bitten penis FFS. Please “spare” us the self-pity.
RUNNER-UP JOHNNY & AMBER
One of the biggest daytime TV events of the year was the televised defamation trial between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp, relating to her public allegations of abuse at the hands of the Pirates of the Caribbean star. Across weeks of testimony, viewers at home heard wild stories about Heard allegedly shitting in Depp’s bed and Johnny slicing off the tip of his own finger in a drunken rage. While some think the trial exonerated Depp and portrayed Heard as dishonest, the simple fact is that we’d all have been better off if these two would have just left their feud out of the televised courtroom.
TRAGEDY OF THE YEAR
GUN VIOLENCE
The inhumanity of gun violence was very close to home this past year following the slaying of two police officers and a neighbour in Wieambilla, Queensland in December. In the USA, a tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas killed almost two dozen students and two teachers, one of the countless mass shootings to occur in the United States in 2022. The senseless violence only reignites the decades-long debate on tighter gun control.
RUNNER-UP FLOODS
Freak weather events continued to batter our island continent over the last 12 months, including a wave of devastating floods that impacted large areas of the east coast. Flooding across areas of Brisbane and Sydney left 27 dead and one missing, and created an estimated $5 billion worth of property damage.
RUNNER-UP SOUTH KOREA CRUSH
In October, the world was shocked by a freak crowd crush in Seoul, South Korea which left 159 people dead and 196 others injured. Tragically, the victims were mostly young adults, including two Australians. It’s believed the crush started as a result of overcrowding during Halloween festivities which quickly turned deadly. Absolutely heartbreaking.
BASTARD OF THE YEAR
INTEREST RATES
Aussie homeowners truly felt the pinch this year following consecutive interest rate rises by the RBA. Smashing borrowing power and reducing discretionary income, the rate rises are designed to offset higher than normal inflation. And with four more hikes likely to impact mortgage holders by August, the hits are set to keep on coming. Yay to the cost of living!
RUNNER-UP MONKEYPOX
A freaky viral disease that successfully bumped COVID off the front pages, the mysterious monkeypox spread rapidly among the gay community midway through last year. Though not technically new, the mpox outbreak impacted an estimated 85,000 people and left more than 250 dead. The good news? There’s a readily available vaccine, of course!
RUNNER-UP PETROL PRICES
Prices have been going up everywhere this past year and this includes at the petrol pump. Rising fuel prices over the last 12 months come down to supply and demand issues following the pandemic, plus a pricing shock caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. So, next time you find yourself frustrated at the bowser you can thank f—king Putin.
MALE SPORTS STAR OF THE YEAR
LIONEL MESSI
What could be a better way to cap off one of the most glorious careers in football than bringing home a FIFA World Cup trophy to your homeland? As captain of the national team, Lional Messi brought glory to Argentina in Qatar and ended 2022 as the highest paid athlete in the world, adding another season with PSG for ’23. It really was the year of the La Pulga.
RUNNER-UP CAMERON SMITH
For golfer Cam Smith, the past 12 months have truly been a breakout year. Smith claimed an Open Championship victory over Rory McIlroy and ascended to the No. 1 ranking in the world in the process. Mere weeks later, he departed for the controversial LIV golf tour and pocketed $100 million in the process. Rounding it all out, Smith ended 2022 as PGA player of the year.
RUNNER-UP NOVAK DJOKOVIC
In January, Novak returned to Melbourne Park undefeated and unvaccinated to score his 22nd grand slam win. His latest AO success ties the Djoker with Rafa Nadal for the most grand slams in tennis history, although his off-court antics and mysterious injuries continued to court controversy. Despite calling himself injured, Novak played some of his best tennis ever, barely dropping a set throughout the two weeks and winning in three sets over Stefano Tsitipas in a pretty boring final. Now edging closer to being the most successful tennis player of all time, Novak has also returned to No.1 in the tennis rankings.
FEMALE SPORTS STAR OF THE YEAR
SAM KERR
She is arguably a modern day legend of women’s football, and is even immortalised on the global cover of the FIFA 23 video game. Sam currently juggles duties as a forward for Chelsea in the FA Women’s Super League and with the iconic Matildas. In April 2022, Kerr was awarded the FWA Women’s Footballer of the Year and also voted Chelsea Women’s Player of the Year amongst a swag of awards. Sam is also the first Aussie female footballer to earn $1 million in a single year. Bring on the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in our own backyard in July!
RUNNER-UP ASH BARTY
This past year, the Barty Party officially ended when Ash announced her shock retirement from tennis at age 26 and she went out with a bang. She left her sport just weeks after she won the Australian Open – her third and final grand slam win – successfully proving Aussie players can go all the way at Melbourne Park. Ash remains a highly popular and respected sportswoman with talents in tennis, cricket and even amateur golf. Stay tuned for what this superstar does this year!
RUNNER-UP MINJEE LEE
The reigning US Open champion in golf, Aussie golden girl Minjee Lee is inspiring a new generation of girls to pick up a club. Lee added further lustre to her stellar year with a $1 million USD bonus for being statistically and strategically the most attacking player on the LPGA Tour. The Minjee era has just begun!
FAREWELL OF THE YEAR
SHANE WARNE
Last year we bid farewell to one of Australia’s most beloved sporting heroes following the untimely death of Shane Warne at just 52. Warne’s star-studded State memorial service drew an estimated 55,000 mourners and included pre-recorded musical tributes from the likes of Ed Sheeran and Chris Martin. The MCG also promptly renamed its southern stand in SK’s honour. We miss you Warnie!
RUNNER-UP OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN
Goodbye to Sandra Dee… Dame Olivia Newton-John was another Aussie icon who left us in 2022 following a decades-long battle with cancer. The star of the iconic film Grease and Grammy-award winning performer will perhaps be best remembered for her legendary “Physical” music video as well as her tireless work building and fundraising for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Centre in Melbourne. Farewell, beautiful lady.
RUNNER-UP The Queen
However you feel about the monarchy, few can say they didn’t feel moved following the death of Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 96. For many in Britain and throughout the Commonwealth, the Queen was a symbol of continuity and reassurance in increasingly uncertain times. It remains to be seen how far-reaching her passing will be in possibly reigniting the debate on Australia becoming a republic. Too soon?
By REILLY SULLIVAN & SANTI PINTADO
For the full article grab the April 2023 issue of MAXIM Australia from newsagents and convenience locations. Subscribe here.
