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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.

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Others on this question

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Björn Ulvaeus Swedish musician
Bill Gates. Not only did he build Microsoft, he went on with his wife to create the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. They support the, in my view, single most important factor in making the world a better place – empowerment of women and girls.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 June 2020 source ↗
Anne Enright Novelist and short-story writer
Catherine Corless, who spent her own money to secure birth certificates for the unrecorded dead children of the Tuam mother and baby home.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 7 September 2024 source ↗
Barack Obama 44th President of the United States, 2009–2017; United States Senator from Illinois 2005–2008
People ask me sometimes, who inspires you, Mr. President? Those quiet heroes all across this country -- some of your parents and grandparents who are sitting here -- no fanfare, no articles written about them, they just persevere. They just do their jobs. They meet their responsibilities. They don't quit. I'm only here because of them. They may not have set out to change the world, but in small, important ways, they did. They certainly changed mine.
Recorded Barnard College, New York City, The White House (Obama administration archive), 14 May 2012 source ↗
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen English interior designer and television personality
The missus. She is the glamour mamma mia at the top of our feudal pyramid. We all live together, so she’s a full-time grandmother and rules the roost. How she steered us through lockdown was extraordinary.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 October 2022 source ↗

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