Values & belief

Which living person do you most admire, and why?

410 answers answered between 1985 and 2026 one of 25 in The Q&A

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.

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Public figures who have answered a question like this elsewhere. Quoted from the source shown, not written for FLAPSS.

Read by field Everyone Science and medicine 2 Arts and letters 340 Politics and public life 27 Business and finance 15 Technology 4 Sport 22
Read by age Any age Before thirty 19 In their thirties 60 In their forties 77 In their fifties 68 In their sixties 50 Seventy and beyond 61
Order Earliest first Most recent Surprise me
Ted Danson American actor
My wife, who has created our life and our happiness with me.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 17 April 2010 source ↗
Bryan Ferry British singer
Richard Hamilton – as my teacher at college, he greatly influenced my ways of seeing art and the world.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 October 2010 source ↗
Brenda Blethyn British actress
An old tutor at Guildford School of Acting – Ian Ricketts. He is a wonderfully inspiring man.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 April 2012 source ↗
Dolly Parton American singer-songwriter, actress and businesswoman
Any person trying to uplift mankind.
Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, November 2012 source ↗
Dan Aykroyd Canadian and American actor and musician
My wife, Donna – she is an explorer, adventuress and true contributor to the lives of everyone she meets.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 June 2013 source ↗
Bill Bryson American-British author
Angela Merkel; she seems wise, compassionate, curiously huggable.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 February 2016 source ↗
Sam Neill New Zealand actor
My brother, Michael. He is an academic and has devoted his life to scholarship; my life seems trivial by comparison. Bastard.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 4 June 2016 source ↗
Gayle King Broadcaster
Oprah Winfrey. She always does the right thing—even when no one is looking.
Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, July 2016 source ↗
Angus Deayton English actor, comedian, presenter and writer
Sir Alex Ferguson is the most impressive person I’ve met in terms of charisma and achievement.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 August 2016 source ↗

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