Patti LaBelle: What does happiness look like for you when life is going well?

The question

What does happiness look like for you when life is going well?

Originally asked

Vanity Fair, to its interview subject, The Proust Questionnaire

Verbatim recurring item in Vanity Fair's Proust Questionnaire; two publisher-hosted respondent pages establish institutional recurrence.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Patti LaBelle

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

Being healthy. Sometimes we don’t know that we’re not healthy because we’re not going to the doctor—like me, when I first discovered I had diabetes years ago.

The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 11 December 2020 source ↗

Others on this question

View all 158 →

Whoopi Goldberg

A perfect day is when I can sit outside and listen to an audiobook and watch my family walking around.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 30 September 2015 source ↗

Bernadette Peters

A peaceful, joyous time in the world…or in my head.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 9 April 2025 source ↗

Dustin Hoffman

When the coffee kicks in early in the morning and I’m on the couch with my dogs, reading the paper.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 1 February 2009 source ↗

Vera Wang

Is there such a thing? I guess, for me, it’s really about life’s special moments, large and small.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 9 October 2020 source ↗

More from Patti LaBelle

View profile →

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

Being too open and generous to those who don’t deserve it.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 11 December 2020 source ↗

Question What do you fear most? Identity & self

COVID-19 and how it’s affecting everyone. Also, I’m afraid of not knowing when I’ll be able to perform in front of people again and enjoy an audience.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, December 2020 source ↗

Question What period or moment in your life brought you the most joy? Time & hindsight

Having fun with my sisters back in the day. I miss playing cards and fighting over crabs with them every weekend.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, December 2020 source ↗

Question Which quality in your friends matters most to you? Relationships

Honesty. Tell me the truth, even if it hurts.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 11 December 2020 source ↗

Also answered this

Karl Ove Knausgård, Julie Taymor, Alfred Molina, Whoopi Goldberg, Carly Simon, Elton John

Search the directory for somebody in particular.

Explore further

All identity & self questions
The The Proust Questionnaire questionnaire — 5 questions from the same format
Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject

Report this answer

Others on this question

More from Patti LaBelle

More on identity & self

Also answered this

Explore further