Helen Mirren: What period or moment in your life brought you the most joy?

The question

What period or moment in your life brought you the most joy?

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.

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

I remember thinking, when I was in my early 30s, that this is the best age to be, and I still believe your 30s are a wonderful time. But I think I am pretty happy now.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 December 2008 source ↗

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David Guetta French DJ

When I had my first kid and when I had my first big success with I Gotta Feeling.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 16 December 2017 source ↗

Ann Patchett American author

Before email was invented.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 29 April 2017 source ↗

Meghan Trainor American singer-songwriter

Whenever I’m with my kids.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 June 2024 source ↗

Abi Morgan Welsh playwright and screenwriter

Eating Marmite on toast just after the birth of my daughter in 2004.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 10 October 2015 source ↗

More from Helen Mirren

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Question Which trait in yourself do you like least? Identity & self

Laziness and procrastination.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, September 2010 source ↗

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

Their ability to open a bottle of wine.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 1 September 2010 source ↗

Question Who alive today do you admire most, and what draws you to them? Values & belief

Sister Alice Marie Quinn, who runs St. Vincent Meals on Wheels in Los Angeles.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, September 2010 source ↗

Question What does happiness look like for you when life is going well? Identity & self

To sit by a clear river on a warm day in early July with the smell of cut grass in the air.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 1 September 2010 source ↗

Question What trait do you most dislike in other people? Values & belief

Serially telling endless boring jokes and sexism and racism and homophobia (they often go together).

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, September 2010 source ↗

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