Shonda Rhimes: Who alive today do you admire most, and what draws you to them?

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.

Shonda Rhimes

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

Obama. He is a man of integrity and nobody seems to have integrity these days.

Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, October 2017 source ↗

Mentioned in this answer

Person Obama not yet on FLAPSS

Others on this question

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Andrew Marr British journalist

Probably David Hockney, for achieving a perfect balance of life and work; for making great pictures; being charitable; and remaining bloody-minded.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 14 September 2012 source ↗

Brooke Shields

Gloria Steinem.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, February 2025 source ↗

PP Arnold

Oprah Winfrey, as Maya Angelou and Tina Turner are no longer with us. These women are Afro-American queens who, despite growing up in the racist south experiencing physical, emotional and sexual abuse, rose to the top of their professions and are an inspiration to women everywhere.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 7 October 2023 source ↗

Paul Theroux American travel writer and novelist