Which living person do you most admire, and why?

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.

Recorded Olivia de Havilland said elsewhere, not written here
Nelson Mandela.

Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, March 2005 source ↗

Others on this question

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Stephen Graham English actor
My wife, Hannah. She’s amazing and keeps me in check. I met her 24 years ago at drama school.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 21 April 2018 source ↗
Bill Bryson American-British author
Angela Merkel; she seems wise, compassionate, curiously huggable.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 February 2016 source ↗
Gloria Steinem Writer and feminist organiser
Dr Denis Mukwege, because he is to sexualised violence against females what Mandela was to apartheid.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 4 March 2017 source ↗
Serena Williams United States professional tennis player, 1995–2022
My mom and dad. They always encouraged me to keep spiritual things first.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 30 January 2021 source ↗

More from Olivia de Havilland

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Question Which writers or artists most influenced your work? Taste & recommendation
Thrust into my profession without any training whatsoever, I had to just flounder and just find my way. It was an agonizing experience. It’s like jumping off a diving board in the Olympic contest without knowing how to swim or dive, and I just had to find my way. So one day, I said to Jimmy Cagney, “Jimmy, what is acting?” and he said, “I don’t know.” He said, “All I can tell you is whatever you say, mean it,” and I thought that marvelous counsel.
Recorded Academy of Achievement interview, Washington, D.C., 5 October 2006 source ↗

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