The way I allow myself to talk to myself.
Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, January 2017 source ↗
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Question
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Values & belief
Question
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Identity & self
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Question
What do you value most in your friends?
Relationships
Question
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
Question
What is your greatest fear?
Identity & self
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
The Guardian's The Q&A has retained this Proust-derived prompt from at least 2007 through 2026, and ABC independently put it to the Obamas in 2011.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
When I’m feeling lazy and I sleep in too much.
Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, May 2024 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 242 →
James Norton
English actor
I have a habit of sabotaging the moment in pursuit of perfection.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 30 July 2022 source ↗
My pathological incapacity to say no.
Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, December 2019 source ↗
I’m embarrassed when I get people’s names wrong.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 10 January 2026 source ↗
More from Jean Smart
View profile →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.
Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, May 2024 source ↗
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.
Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 30 May 2024 source ↗
My wedding day, and when my children were first placed in my arms.
Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, May 2024 source ↗
Kindness and laughter. If someone makes me laugh, I’m halfway in love.
Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 30 May 2024 source ↗
Cruelty, and also general rudeness and unkindness. I’ve always told my children: Don’t ever find entertainment in someone else’s discomfort.
Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, May 2024 source ↗
Losing a loved one.
Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, May 2024 source ↗
More on identity & self
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Adam Kay, Adam Lambert, Adele Parks, Adrian Dunbar, Al Franken, Alex Hassell
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