Recently, as people began to understand what I am trying to do in my painting.
When were you happiest?
Question
What song would you like played at your funeral?
Death & what remains
Question
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Identity & self
Question
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Daily life
Question
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Failure & regret
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
Asked in 52 of the 131 consecutive instalments of The Guardian's The Q&A harvested on 2026-08-29.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Watching my two baby dogs play. They are rat terriers, rescue dogs.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 July 2017 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 577 →
Ray Winstone
English actor
When my three kids were born.
David Baddiel
Comedian and writer
I’ve never been entirely happy, although for about 45 seconds after David Platt scored the winning goal against Belgium in the World Cup in 1990, I kind of blacked out with joy.
Kwame Kwei-Armah
Actor and playwright
When my mother was alive. She passed away 14 years ago.
More from Shirley MacLaine
View profile →The Nutcracker Suite pas de deux.
At three, I knew I was too tall to be a ballerina, so that wasn’t going to happen.
To know whether democracy really will work in the future.
The reviews of my latest film.
More on time & hindsight
- What is the most important lesson life has taught you? 137 answers
- What advice would you give your twenty-year-old self, and what should they ignore? 77 answers
- What scares you about getting older? 61 answers
- What is the best advice you have ever received? 28 answers
- If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere, what would it say and why? 23 answers
- What is something you were told by a parent, teacher, or mentor that you still repeat to yourself? 22 answers
Also answered this
Toyah Willcox, Ted Danson, David Schwimmer, Sofia Coppola, Doris Day, Adrian Dunbar
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All time & hindsight questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject