Mary McCartney
English photographer and cookbook author
A nurse, because my grandmother was a midwife. I was named after her but never got to meet her.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Question
Aside from a property, what is the most expensive thing you have bought?
Money & investment
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How would you describe yourself in three words?
Identity & self
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What does love feel like?
Relationships
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Who most deserves an apology from you, and why?
Failure & regret
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What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?
Failure & regret
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How close have you come to death?
Death & what remains
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.
A comedian, and I may have achieved that.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 7 December 2024 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 195 →
Ian Rankin
Scottish crime writer
In my teens, an accountant. In my 20s, either a rock star or a novelist.
Tracy-Ann Oberman
Actor and writer
An actress. My family thought it was ridiculous, it was like saying you wanted to be an astronaut.
Floella Benjamin
British actress, presenter, and peer
A teacher. Teachers can change lives.
More from Adam Clayton
View profile →In 1992 I was in New York, and somebody showed me a work by Louise Bourgeois. I never realised that sculpture could move me, and I was so affected by this piece that I bought it. It was a lot of money.
Kind, insubstantial and dedicated.
It feels like somebody giving you the keys to unlocking who you really are.
To all my ex-girlfriends because I never turned into the person I thought I was. And to Naomi Campbell, for not being ready to deal with my addictions.
A headmaster said I was a complete washout and I would never be any good for anything.
When I was drinking, there were many times when I was out for the night and didn’t come back for a week.
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Ian Rankin, Desmond Tutu, Shirley Ballas, Malcolm Gladwell, Victoria Pendleton, Busta Rhymes
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