Olivia de Havilland
Film actress; twice winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress
Nelson Mandela.
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Question
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
Question
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Identity & self
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Question
What is your greatest fear?
Identity & self
Question
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Identity & self
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.
Mandela. Also, artists and painters. I admire people who are creative.
Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, March 2010 source ↗
Others on this question
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Emma Bunton
British singer
My mother: she’s an inspiration. She went back to college in her 40s, started karate and became a black belt.
Sandy Powell
British costume designer
My friend [art director] Simon Costin who, in 35 years, I’ve never once seen in a bad mood.
Cat Deeley
English television presenter
Michelle Obama. Her girls were massive fans of So You Think You Can Dance and we were invited to the White House for the Easter egg hunt. She was even more brilliant than you imagine, and we bonded over a love of Beyoncé.
More from Luise Rainer
View profile →To be dishonest. Sometimes people have to be dishonest in order not to hurt, but if someone is basically dishonest, that is a different matter.
My inferiority complex.
In the mountains, climbing into beautiful places—anything that has to do with nature. I feel best in nature or near nature. And I was most happy, of course, when I was with my husband and we were in beautiful landscapes.
To be abandoned.
First of all, to be in love. The second way of being very happy is to be able to get the best out of yourself, whatever it is.
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