Jacinda Ardern, the former New Zealand prime minister – for embodying a different, more compassionate politics.
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Question
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
Question
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Identity & self
Question
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Identity & self
Question
What do you value most in your friends?
Relationships
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Question
What is your greatest fear?
Identity & self
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
The Guardian's Q&A repeatedly uses this prompt, sometimes dropping 'living' while retaining the same comparative judgment.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Jane Goodall. I got the chance to meet her a few years ago, and it was the thrill of a lifetime. When I was little, I wanted to be her. I thought she had the coolest life in the world.
Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, May 2024 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 406 →I know too many really good people to choose just one person—and that is not indecision.
Chris Ware
American artist
For intellect: Art Spiegelman. For art: Robert Crumb. For poetry and vision: Gary Panter. For decency: Barack Obama. For genuine goodness: Charles Burns. For genius: Charlie Kaufman. For soulfulness and love: Lynda Barry. For words: Zadie Smith. For unique life's work and superhuman effort expended: Ira Glass, Dave Eggers.
Omid Djalili
British stand-up comedian and actor
The character of Frasier Crane – he's given me hours of laughter and an appreciation of the finer things in life.
More from Jean Smart
View profile →Cruelty, and also general rudeness and unkindness. I’ve always told my children: Don’t ever find entertainment in someone else’s discomfort.
My kids are in the house. I’ve been gardening in my vegetable garden. I have absolutely zero obligations or calls to return. Now I’m fixing dinner with music playing and having a glass of wine.
When I’m feeling lazy and I sleep in too much.
Kindness and laughter. If someone makes me laugh, I’m halfway in love.
My wedding day, and when my children were first placed in my arms.
Losing a loved one.
More on values & belief
- What is the trait you most deplore in others? 197 answers
- What is something everyone in your world agrees about that you think is wrong? 79 answers
- What are you unwilling to optimise? 30 answers
- What have you come to understand about what it means to be human? 14 answers
- What is the most overrated virtue? 10 answers
- What do you need to believe in order to get through the day? 9 answers
Also answered this
Christopher Eccleston, Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Grace Coddington, Martin Sheen, Ralph Ineson, Judy Murray
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All values & belief questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject