Oti Mabuse: As a child, what career or life did you imagine for yourself?

The question

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.

Oti Mabuse

South African dancer

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

A paediatrician, then I was like, I can’t dissect frogs! Then I fell in love with making things and understanding how things work.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 July 2019 source ↗

Others on this question

Lucy Worsley English historian

A spy, a witch and a nun.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 13 May 2017 source ↗

Anna Friel English actress

A barrister or a pop star.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 10 August 2019 source ↗

Rachel Whiteread English artist

First something medical, then, without any doubt, an artist.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 December 2017 source ↗

A soldier and adventure guy.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 24 January 2026 source ↗

When I realised that I was meant to be a dancer, aged 19.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 July 2019 source ↗

I couldn’t ask for anything else. I am super, super happy.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 July 2019 source ↗

Too much energy.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 July 2019 source ↗

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