Mary Tyler Moore: Which trait in yourself do you like least?

The question

Which trait in yourself do you like least?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

The Guardian's The Q&A has retained this Proust-derived prompt from at least 2007 through 2026, and ABC independently put it to the Obamas in 2011.

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

Mary Tyler Moore

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

Well, first of all I’d like to change the word “deplore” to “dislike.” I guess that I’m almost a hermit; I don’t enjoy going out that much, and so I tend to take my happiness from the joys of my home and my husband.

Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, May 2012 source ↗

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Gina Lollobrigida

Sometimes I follow my instincts more than my reason.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, July 2013 source ↗

Hugh Skinner

Catastrophising.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 30 May 2026 source ↗

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen English interior designer and television personality

I am crucified by my modesty: it’s terrible.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 October 2022 source ↗

Gayle King Broadcaster

I’m disorganized.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, July 2016 source ↗

More from Mary Tyler Moore

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Question What do you fear most? Identity & self

That I’ll never work again.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, May 2012 source ↗

Question Which quality in your friends matters most to you? Relationships

Their responsibility to the friendship.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 1 May 2012 source ↗

Question What does happiness look like for you when life is going well? Identity & self

Getting to the point in life where I can accept that the truth is there is no perfect happiness.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 1 May 2012 source ↗

Question What period or moment in your life brought you the most joy? Time & hindsight

I think when we were doing The Mary Tyler Moore Show. That was the first time that I was able to, on a regular basis, be funny.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, May 2012 source ↗

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