Craving the kind of success I pretend to despise.
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Question
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Daily life
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Question
Aside from a property, what is the most expensive thing you have bought?
Money & investment
Question
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Identity & self
Question
What most recently made you cry?
Identity & self
Question
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Failure & regret
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
The Guardian's The Q&A has retained this Proust-derived prompt from at least 2007 through 2026, and ABC independently put it to the Obamas in 2011.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
I interrupt too much.
Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, April 2008 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 252 →The rare moment I don’t believe in myself enough.
Insecurity around money. I have this profound insecurity about not having enough to provide for my family.
Any type of indecision.
More from Julie Andrews
View profile →A cure for arthritis.
In London. When Blake [Edwards, her husband since 1969] made me laugh so much I wept. Blake says I slept with a smile.
I saw a very expensive painting by a wonderful American painter called Charles Burchfield. I really loved it – it hit me in the solar plexus – and I thought if I did three extra concerts on tour, I might be able to afford it. And I did.
A botanist or a florist.
Working on my memoir because some memories were painful to revisit.
Losing my singing voice. I had to have an operation and unfortunately it was not successful. I’ve not been able to sing since.
More on identity & self
Also answered this
John Malkovich, Andy Serkis, Michael Flatley, Ed Harris, Maureen O'Hara, Rose Ayling-Ellis
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- All identity & self questions
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