BC
A travel agent, so I could see the world.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 4 March 2023 source ↗
The question
As a child, what career or life did you imagine for yourself?Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
This is a standing question in The Guardian's decades-long The Q&A and also recurs independently in career and life interviews.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Others on this question
View all 197 →
Emeli Sandé
British singer
I always wanted to be a singer, but I also wanted to be a doctor. I almost got there: I did four years and got my neuroscience BSc.
A hairdresser through the week and a star on the weekends.
Robert Bathurst
English theatre and television actor
Wimbledon champion. I won the title frequently when playing against a pebbledash wall at home in Ireland.
Martin Freeman
English actor
I wanted to be a footballer and then a squash player – I was in with a chance because I was very good. But I fell out of love with that by 14 or 15 and joined a youth theatre.
More from Belinda Carlisle
View profile →To stay in the moment and live each day to the maximum. You never know when it’s going to be taken away.
“You sing like a goat.” When I did my French album [Voila], this French woman – a supposed friend – said to my face: “It’s fantastic but, how come you sound like a chèvre?” It was like someone had hit me in the stomach.
I wouldn’t take back the drugs, but there are a few boyfriends that I’d edit out of my life.
I’ve been doing pilates for 25 years and I swear by it. I decided to kit out a room with pilates equipment – and I think it’s the most expensive thing I’ve invested in.
Pamela Anderson, because I love her strength and honesty and vulnerability at the same time.
As a singer who did everything her way, no compromise.
More on identity & self
- What do you fear most? 256 answers
- Which trait in yourself do you like least? 239 answers
- What most recently moved you to tears? 192 answers
- What does happiness look like for you when life is going well? 158 answers
- How would you sum yourself up in three words? 114 answers
- What fills you with the most pride? 103 answers
Also answered this
James Blunt, Suzanne Vega, Joss Stone, Emeli Sandé, Ronnie Wood, Viv Albertine
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All identity & self questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject