Daphne Guinness
British socialite
I wanted to be in the army or a spy in the intelligence service.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Question
Who most deserves an apology from you, and why?
Failure & regret
Question
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Failure & regret
Question
What would you like to be remembered for?
Death & what remains
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
This is a standing question in The Guardian's decades-long The Q&A and also recurs independently in career and life interviews.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
In my teens, an accountant. In my 20s, either a rock star or a novelist.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 October 2020 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 192 →
Salman Rushdie
Indian-British-American novelist
A writer, I’m sorry to say. Boring, I know, but true.
Belinda Carlisle
American singer
A travel agent, so I could see the world.
Zoe Ball
British TV and radio personality
I only ever wanted to be Barbra Streisand. I probably still do.
More from Ian Rankin
View profile →There wasn’t a lot of bullying at my school, but there was a fair amount of ragging – and I knew which side I wanted to be on. I’d say sorry to anyone who felt picked on.
I’d give myself some fashion sense.
Fondly and down the centuries. I think partly what drives writers to write is the yearning for immortality.
More on identity & self
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Adrian Edmondson, Andrew O'Hagan, Ann Patchett, Anne Enright, Armistead Maupin, Dawn O'Porter
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