Lena Dunham: 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.

Lena Dunham

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

My uncle, Edward Wood Dunham. He has Parkinson’s disease and faces every day with bravery, humor, and a gin-and-tonic.

Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, September 2014 source ↗

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Stuart Broad English former cricketer and commentator

Sienna Miller. For obvious reasons!

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 9 February 2013 source ↗

Paul Hollywood English baker and chef

My mum, for bringing up three lads.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 26 April 2014 source ↗

Charlie Munger Vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, 1978–2023

John Wooden, when he was the number one basketball coach in the world. He just said to the bottom five players, “You don't get to play. You're sparring partners.” The top seven did all the playing.

Recorded USC Gould School of Law commencement, 2007, Speakola, 2007 source ↗

Björn Ulvaeus Swedish musician

Bill Gates. Not only did he build Microsoft, he went on with his wife to create the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. They support the, in my view, single most important factor in making the world a better place – empowerment of women and girls.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 June 2020 source ↗

More from Lena Dunham

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Question What do you fear most? Identity & self

To lose the ability to do my work.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, September 2014 source ↗

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

Casual cruelty; the wearing of essential oils.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, September 2014 source ↗

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

Unmade bed surrounded by books, writing utensils, and the dog; a plate of demolished toast with butter on my chest; loved ones puttering not too close but not too far.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 10 September 2014 source ↗

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

An “elastic” sense of time (fancy way of saying I am late a lot).

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, September 2014 source ↗

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Vinnie Jones, John Simpson, Natalie Imbruglia, Ernest Borgnine, David Haye, Bruno Tonioli

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