My mom, for her unflappable ability to be sanguine (though she sometimes dips into Pollyanna territory).
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Question
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Daily life
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.
That's a hard one. All of the great writers whom I admire have died. I guess the most recent one would be Márquez.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 21 June 2014 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 410 →
Suzi Quatro
American-British rock musician
My sister Arlene, who is 75 and on marriage number seven. I admire her hopefulness.
Zoë Wanamaker
American-born British actress
The Dalai Lama because he has peace, and we all want that.
Julie Hesmondhalgh – she’s the kindest, brightest, most truthful woman. She’s so talented, works hard, cares about the right things, puts her energy in the right places. I adore her.
More from Sam Shepard
View profile →Before I was born.
Maybe Kate Moss.
More on values & belief
- What is the trait you most deplore in others? 202 answers
- What is something everyone in your world agrees about that you think is wrong? 82 answers
- What are you unwilling to optimise? 33 answers
- What have you come to understand about what it means to be human? 21 answers
- What do you need to believe in order to get through the day? 16 answers
- What important truth do very few people agree with you on? 15 answers
Also answered this
Ben Kingsley, Sam Neill, Billie Piper, Nicholas Hoult, Mark Gatiss, Dan Aykroyd
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All values & belief questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject