The question
Who alive today do you admire most, and what draws you to them?Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
The Guardian's Q&A repeatedly uses this prompt, sometimes dropping 'living' while retaining the same comparative judgment.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Judith Clark, on whom I based my character in the prison trilogy. She has served over 35 years and turned herself around. She is an inspiration.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 December 2017 source ↗
Desmond Tutu. If there is a God, He must find his Cape Town archbishop a big relief from the humourlessness of pontificating prelates.
Alanis Morissette because, in my earlier career, she was a big influence on me and had a feistiness that you didn’t see much of in women in the industry. Also, she has been very vocal about mental health issues.
My mother. Any child of a single parent, if they are in a relationship when they become a parent, thinks, “How the hell did you do it alone?”
Hillary Clinton, because it’s not easy being bullied and humiliated publicly and carrying on.
An actor. When I was really young, I wanted to be a fishmonger’s wife.
Everything. I’ve one of those brains that doesn’t quieten down.
I would never have gone on a diet. I would go back with the knowledge that not being perfect is fine.
My mother, because I didn’t appreciate until after she’d gone that she was a vulnerable human being. I just expected her to know everything and be everything.
In some way your life is doubled. You’re you and the other person.
I spent £600 on Rudolf Nureyev’s ballet shoes after he died. He was the biggest idol in my life and influenced me hugely.
Olly Alexander, Sofie Gråbøl, Sadie Frost, John Malkovich, Meera Syal, Nicholas Hoult
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