Maggie Gyllenhaal
American actress and filmmaker
The day after I got married.
When were you happiest?
Question
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Failure & regret
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.
Any of the many times I have sat on my lawn with my wife, watching the boys play on a summer evening.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 26 August 2011 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 584 →
Ted Danson
American actor
I am a bit of a Pollyanna – I spend most of my day happy.
Paul McKenna
British hypnotist and TV personality
Pleasure is a glass of champagne, happiness is when you are living your values. I get up each morning and I’m excited by the day, and I have good health. This is the happiest that I’ve ever been.
Playing the Cowardly Lion in our fourth-grade production of The Wizard of Oz. Thank you, Mr. Riccobono.
More from Rob Lowe
View profile →That I wasn't able to stay on The West Wing longer.
More on time & hindsight
- What is the most important lesson life has taught you? 147 answers
- What advice would you give your twenty-year-old self, and what should they ignore? 89 answers
- What scares you about getting older? 68 answers
- What is the best advice you have ever received? 35 answers
- What is something you were told by a parent, teacher, or mentor that you still repeat to yourself? 26 answers
- If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere, what would it say and why? 25 answers
Also answered this
Rob Brydon, Eddie Izzard, Hilary Swank, Reece Shearsmith, Olivia de Havilland, Don Warrington
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All time & hindsight questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject