Jessica Hynes: When were you happiest?

The question

When were you happiest?

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.

Jessica Hynes

British actress and writer

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

Last week, lying under a hat on Folkestone beach.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 13 August 2016 source ↗

Others on this question

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Sophia Loren

In the hospital when my children were born.

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

Hugh Dennis British comedian and actor

I am probably happiest now, but I have been happy at every stage of my life.

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

Ian Wright English footballer and pundit

1990 FA Cup final, playing for Crystal Palace.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 13 July 2019 source ↗

Sonia Sotomayor Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 2009–present

And I didn’t know at that moment what my impact was. I actually fell asleep that night crying. But the next morning, my mother woke us up, and she said she doesn’t remember this dress, but it was a black with white polka dot dress. And her hair was finally properly combed. She had for the first time in a year some makeup on, and I knew my mom was back. And that may have been one of the happiest moments of my life.

Recorded Washington, D.C., Academy of Achievement, 6 December 2016 source ↗