Cuba Gooding Jr: Who alive today do you admire most, and what draws you to them?

The question

Who alive today do you admire most, and what draws you to them?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

The Guardian's Q&A repeatedly uses this prompt, sometimes dropping 'living' while retaining the same comparative judgment.

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

Cuba Gooding Jr

American actor

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

President Obama: he was the first to accomplish something so great in our country as an African American.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 June 2012 source ↗

Mentioned in this answer

Person Barack Obama

Others on this question

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Sarah Brown British Anglican priest

Aung San Suu Kyi – for her courage, self-sacrifice and showing that you don't need to be fierce to be strong.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 12 March 2011 source ↗

Bear Grylls

I love and admire Julia Roberts, one of our Running Wild guests, for the way she has a few close friends, is loyal to her family, doesn’t believe in all the fame stuff and can laugh at herself.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 24 January 2026 source ↗

Sharon Stone

I’m astounded by the young activists, ecologists, poets, movement leaders, peaceful marchers, change makers everywhere. It’s like watching a garden bloom.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, May 2021 source ↗

Donatella Versace