Joyce Carol Oates
Novelist, short story writer and essayist
On two dates: 23 January 1961 and 13 March 2009 (my two weddings).
When were you happiest?
Question
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Identity & self
Question
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Identity & self
Question
What do you value most in your friends?
Relationships
Question
What is your greatest fear?
Identity & self
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
Asked in 52 of the 131 consecutive instalments of The Guardian's The Q&A harvested on 2026-08-29.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Watching my sons ski down a mountain for the first time.
Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, February 2024 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 577 →
Yo-Yo Ma
Cellist
When our children were born.
Angela Griffin
British actress and television presenter
During the first week or two of lockdown. We didn’t know what was coming and it didn’t feel dangerous at that point; there was just a real sense of family and hunkering down.
Nicola Walker
British actress
As I get older, I get happier.
More from Jodie Foster
View profile →Watching a great movie in the afternoon and then taking a long nap.
I would just be content with every moment as it is instead of gnashing my teeth trying to change things all the time.
Deep and complex thoughts delivered with a wicked sense of humor.
Naming my greatest fear, because then I’ll have to admit it, won’t I?
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