Kiwi actor and former Lotto co-host Marise Wipani dies on birthday
Former Lotto co-host and actor Marise Wipani has died.
The former Miss New Zealand runner-up and actor on classic Kiwi film Came a Hot Friday died on her 61st birthday, according to a post on her Facebook page.
She died 'peacefully today … surrounded by family and friends', the message
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
20 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Kai Kara-France hopes to make history as the first Māori UFC flyweight champion
Kai Kara-France after his win against Tyson Nam in 2020. Photo: photosport When Kai Kara-France steps into the octagon, he brings the warrior spirit of all his ancestors with him. The Kiwi mixed martial artist is out to make history this month with a shot at becoming the first ever Māori UFC flyweight champion. Kara-France (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Ati Awa), said he feels bullet-proof carrying his culture into the cage. "I channel it when I step in there, and it gives me a lot of clarity and gives me clear intentions that I can do this. When I'm in there, there's no team to hide behind, but I'm not alone. I have all my tipuna behind me and it just allows me to kind of go inwards. I don't have to go looking for answers. It's always in me. "It's my identity, it's my anchor. Fighting is my mahi, it's what people know me as. But long before I was a fighter, that's the reason why I'm a fighter, is because of my ancestors, my, and that's the blueprint I go off because they would've been navigating and all these challenges that they've had to go through." Since entering the UFC in 2018, Kara-France has proudly showcased Māoridom to the world. "That's what makes our culture so beautiful. So what I'm doing now in the modern day, I bring culture with me and I want to let everyone know where I come from and I'm very proud of it, be unapologetically Māori, and what better way than to become the first flyweight Māori champion? And if I don't do it, who else will?" Kara-France said he was chasing mana for his sons. "That's what's fuelling me. When I'm in there, I'm that warrior version of myself. When I'm back home with my family, I'm that sensitive, compassionate, unconditional love that I give to my wife and my two boys. It's being able to navigate those different roles and responsibilities as a man to let a younger generation that you can do it all and there is a time and place for everything, but also just prioritising what is important, and that's culture, that's whānau. "I want to win this belt, defend a few times, and step away from the sport with a brain. Go up north, put my feet up, go fishing, hunting, and just live off the land and know that I've got no regrets, and show my boys that are looking up to me that their dad went out there and he chased his dreams." Kara-France wanted to inspire not only his sons, but all rangatahi. "When I first started, there wasn't a fight scene here. It was very underground. People used to see it as savage or thugs and it's cool to see that kind of support around us and know that the next generation is saying, 'I don't want to just be an All Black, I want to be a UFC fighter like Izzy or Kai or Dan.' It's cool that we're leaving that legacy behind." UFC 317 Kai Kara-France vs Alexandre Pantoja UFC Flyweight title 29 June New Zealand UFC flyweight Kai-Kara France. Photo: Facebook - Kai Kara France Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
19 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Kiwi actor and former Lotto co-host Marise Wipani dies on birthday
Former Lotto co-host and actor Marise Wipani has died. The former Miss New Zealand runner-up and actor on classic Kiwi film Came a Hot Friday died on her 61st birthday, according to a post on her Facebook page. She died 'peacefully today … surrounded by family and friends', the message
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Otago Daily Times
Take a chance auditioning
Production manager Susan Moore, left, Remarkable Theatre past president Melanie Grindell and director Ryan Brennan studying the script for Take a Chance on Me. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Auditions for Queenstown's Remarkable Theatre's 2025 play, set in the unpredictable world of dating, are on this weekend. Described as "a laugh-out-loud comedy", Take a Chance on Me, by noted veteran Kiwi playwright Roger Hall, will run over eight performances during September at the Arrowtown Athenaeum Hall. It follows six hopeful singles navigating the highs and lows of modern romance — primary school teacher Fleur, homemaker Lorraine, lawyer Eleanor, plumber Brian, pharmacist Tim and banker Dan who's just been made redundant. Also being cast are two main ensemble roles, male and female, who each play over a dozen characters. According to the audition pack most characters will be involved in scenes with elements of intimacy, but not nudity. This year's director's Ryan Brennan, who's had over a decade's experience in Hollywood as an assistant director for multi-camera sitcoms — he was in the adult ensemble of Showbiz Queenstown's musical School of Rock in 2022. Auditions, each around 15 minutes, take place at Te Atamira on Saturday between 10am and 6pm, with callbacks, if needed, on Sunday between 2 and 5pm. For further information or to book a time, visit
