Millie, Holmes' adopted daughter, and her half-brother brother Reuben, who has returned to South America for a year travelling, are guarded about their extended family.
They remain close to their mother, Hinemoa Elder, and stepmother, Lady Deborah Holmes, but don't expect them to dish any secrets. Family means fidelity.
Millie explains: "I got some words tattooed on my ribs by Vaga Faalavaau at Western Tattoo in New Lynn last Wednesday. It's a quote and it says, 'Blood makes you related, loyalty makes you family'. You know, those words mean a lot to me. They really resounded."
Touch, pause, engaged: All Blacks set to wed
As Richard Kahui prepares to marry his longtime girlfriend Amy Rhodes in Hamilton next month before departing to Japan at the end of the Super Rugby season, fellow All Black Victor Vito is celebrating his engagement to fiancee Amber Dallas.
The couple took to Twitter on the weekend to thank friends, family and fans for their best wishes.
The 25-year-old flanker, who reportedly Googled Hollywood star Katherine Heigl's diamond ring before picking a sparkler for his beloved, went shopping, too, for Michael Jordan's biography this week.
Let's hope he's less inspired by the basketball legend's expensive divorce.
Clement back for Rio 2
Although he and Bret McKenzie pulled the plug on the HBO series Flight of the Conchords after only two seasons, Jemaine Clement has re-established himself in family films.
He has signed on to reprise his role as the villainous cockatoo Nigel in Twentieth Century Fox's animated franchise Rio 2, alongside Oscar winners Anne Hathaway and Jamie Foxx, and fellow Grammy alumni will.i.am, Bruno Mars and Janelle Monae.
The sequel, now in production at Blue Sky Studios, will be released in April next year, in time for the Fifa World Cup which will be hosted by Rio and incorporated into the film's narrative.
Clement, 39, and his Conchords partner McKenzie, 36, have moved on from the niche world of cable television comedy and have infiltrated the blockbuster movie franchise business.
Clement's rogue role in Men in Black III contributed towards the film becoming the highest-grossing title in the Sony franchise. Rio, no slouch in the international box office charts either, grossed US$484 million ($586 million) worldwide for Fox on a US$90 million budget, according to boxoffice.com.
McKenzie supervised the music and contributed songs to Disney's award-winning Muppets movie franchise, winning an Oscar for best original song. He has penned five original songs for the sequel.
Making the transition from small screen pay TV to big screen blockbusters is no easy feat, but creative versatility and commercial pulling-power is proving a lucrative formula for the Kiwis.
Hotere paintings at auction
Half-a-million-dollars worth of Ralph Hotere paintings will go on the block next week at Webb's, but the auction house says the five paintings probably won't exceed the reserves expected. The celebrated artist, who passed away last month aged 81, stopped producing a decade ago and "the market for his work has been reasonably static", said managing director Sophie Coupland.
Hotere's iconic image is sprawled across a plastered wall in urban Kingsland by street artist Askew One, and Auckland stalwart Hamish Keith is supporting two similar artworks in honour of Pat Hanly and Margaret Mahy. Financial contributions can be made at Kiwi crowdfunding website PledgeMe.
Incidentally, another local crowdfunding venture will be launched tomorrow and it's billing itself as "the only genuine philanthropic crowdfunding platform dedicated to arts projects in New Zealand". Boosted, run by the Arts Foundation and chaired by Derek Handley of global mobile marketing company Hyperfactory, is looking to attract arts organisations or artists seeking donations.
Crowdfunding is a popular tool to raise cash to get a project off the crowd, and artists often trade rewards (signed posters, DVDs, etc) for donations. Film-maker Taika Waititi famously used Kickstarter to help pay for the distribution of his movie Boy in the US, but copped criticism from some donors who said rewards were slow in coming.
Kiwis in TV pilots
Television pilot season in Hollywood is under way and it's not only good news for Karl Urban and Sam Neill, who have two projects in development (Human and The Ordained), as reported by The Diary.
Martin Henderson has been picked by Jerry Bruckheimer for television drama The Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives about a California murder. Cliff Curtis has scored a role on the Brian Grazer-produced crime drama Gang Related, and Kiwi director Martin Campbell will get behind the camera in the TV movie Killer Women about a female Texas Ranger. He will be the project's executive producer with Modern Family star Sofia Vergara.
Bespoke fashion luxury
Last week, Britain's Guardian declared bespoke clothes are taking over as the real fashion luxury and leading the tailoring trend is 29-year-old New Zealander Emilia Wickstead. She's been recruited by department store giant Selfridges for its new made-to-measure department. But only the well-heeled need shop: custom-made dresses cost between £450 ($824) and £2000. If you don't fancy forking out, get creative like celebrity Amber Peebles and whip out the Bernina.
