I was a serious little girl growing up in Leeds and had supportive parents who were instrumental in my success.
The Guardian, The Guardian, 13 November 2021 source ↗
The question
What did you want to be when you were growing up?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.
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Others on this question
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Anne Enright
Novelist and short-story writer
When I was seven I wanted to be a nun. When I was eight, I wanted to be a boy so that I could be anything I wanted. Also, of course, I wanted to be Samantha in Bewitched.
Serena Williams
United States professional tennis player, 1995–2022
A veterinarian.
Jack Whitehall
English comedian, actor, presenter and writer
I was hellbent on being a Thunderbird. I was devastated when my parents finally told me it was a fictional organisation. Ruined my 18th.
Geoffrey Rush
Australian actor
I dreamt of being an astronomer, I had a series of How and Why Books on the planets and the stars.
More from Barbara Taylor Bradford
View profile →I told Sean Connery he’d have to lose his Glaswegian accent and take elocution lessons if he wanted to be an actor. When he became James Bond, I never got a chance to tell him how wrong I’d been.
Not having my parents around to share my success.
No man has ever tried to pinch my bottom or lay a hand on me, and they’ve always shown me great respect. There’s a lot of rapists and bad men out there but a lot of decent ones too.
I told Sean Connery he’d have to lose his Glaswegian accent and take elocution lessons if he wanted to be an actor. When he became James Bond, I never got a chance to tell him how wrong I’d been.
I told Sean Connery he’d have to lose his Glaswegian accent and take elocution lessons if he wanted to be an actor. When he became James Bond, I never got a chance to tell him how wrong I’d been.
I try not to be a burden to people, I’m too strong and independent for that.
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Gregg Wallace, Marie Kondo, Ann Patchett, Anne Enright, Bob Woodward, Kurt Vonnegut
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