Boy George
British musician
I am relieved to say that I find it hard to answer such a question, because if I could it would suggest that my life has become dreary and empty.
When were you happiest?
Question
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Values & belief
Question
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Identity & self
Question
What is your greatest fear?
Identity & self
Question
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Identity & self
Question
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
Asked in 52 of the 131 consecutive instalments of The Guardian's The Q&A harvested on 2026-08-29.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
In the mountains, climbing into beautiful places—anything that has to do with nature. I feel best in nature or near nature. And I was most happy, of course, when I was with my husband and we were in beautiful landscapes.
Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, March 2010 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 576 →
Stephen Merchant
English comedian and actor
Watching Bruce Springsteen at Glastonbury. During Because The Night I actually shouted, "This is the greatest moment of my life!"
Roger Taylor
English musician, songwriter, and record producer
When I first heard one of our records on the radio.
Katharine Hamnett
English fashion designer
Camping with my parents in the south of France. We went every year with the beautiful bell tent they made on a sewing machine. We even had a lavatory tent which was fabulous except, one day, it blew away with my father in it.
More from Luise Rainer
View profile →Mandela. Also, artists and painters. I admire people who are creative.
My inferiority complex.
To be abandoned.
First of all, to be in love. The second way of being very happy is to be able to get the best out of yourself, whatever it is.
To be dishonest. Sometimes people have to be dishonest in order not to hurt, but if someone is basically dishonest, that is a different matter.
More on time & hindsight
- What is the most important lesson life has taught you? 133 answers
- What advice would you give your twenty-year-old self, and what should they ignore? 73 answers
- What scares you about getting older? 59 answers
- What is the best advice you have ever received? 25 answers
- If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere, what would it say and why? 23 answers
- What is something you were told by a parent, teacher, or mentor that you still repeat to yourself? 22 answers
Also answered this · A–Z
Abi Morgan, Abigail Breslin, Adam Kay, Adeel Akhtar, Adrian Dunbar, Adrian Edmondson
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All time & hindsight questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject