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.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Recorded Tracy-Ann Oberman said elsewhere, not written here
An actress. My family thought it was ridiculous, it was like saying you wanted to be an astronaut.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 28 August 2021 source ↗

Others on this question

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Andrew O'Hagan Scottish author
Most days, I wanted to be Albrecht in the classical ballet Giselle, dancing until I dropped dead.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 25 July 2026 source ↗
Oti Mabuse South African dancer
A paediatrician, then I was like, I can’t dissect frogs! Then I fell in love with making things and understanding how things work.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 July 2019 source ↗
Mary McCartney English photographer and cookbook author
A nurse, because my grandmother was a midwife. I was named after her but never got to meet her.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 26 February 2022 source ↗

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