Laverne Cox: Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?

The question

Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?

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.

Laverne Cox

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

Thinking that I am less-than. That thinking is cunning, baffling, and insidious, and I must guard against it every hour of every day.

Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, June 2018 source ↗

Others on this question

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Erin O'Connor English model

I'm too diplomatic. I tend to edit my mind before I speak - it can be incredibly draining.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 1 March 2008 source ↗

Seth Rogen

My ability to stress myself out.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, July 2017 source ↗

Johannes Radebe

My default will always be to go for the worst-case scenario and that is something that I am unlearning.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 28 March 2026 source ↗

Henry R. Kravis Financier; co-founder of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

I have always been impatient.

Recorded KKR, 2024 source ↗

More from Laverne Cox

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Question What is your idea of perfect happiness? Identity & self

Cuddling in bed on a Sunday morning with the man I love. Also, applause and standing ovations.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 11 June 2018 source ↗

Question What is the trait you most deplore in others? Values & belief

Mean-spiritedness and the inability to set and respect boundaries.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, June 2018 source ↗

Question Which living person do you most admire, and why? Values & belief

Leontyne Price gives me life. She broke racial barriers with inimitable poise, grace, and excellence, as well as unbelievable focus and vision.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, June 2018 source ↗

Question If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Identity & self

Thinking that I am not enough or not beautiful the way I am. That thinking is super-dangerous.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 11 June 2018 source ↗

Question When were you happiest? Time & hindsight

At the SAG awards in 2016. I remember going into that night saying to myself, “I might not be here again; let me be fully in the moment.” The cast of Orange Is the New Black won the acting-ensemble award for the second year in a row, and I was there with a man I truly loved. That night was everything I had always dreamed about.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, June 2018 source ↗

Question What is your greatest fear? Identity & self

Being homeless.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, June 2018 source ↗

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