PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE JANE FONDA MAY 2009

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Being totally present and at peace in the moment—and knowing that my children and grandchildren are all right.

What is your greatest fear?
That we won’t act fast enough to save the planet.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
The tendency to withdraw into myself.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Cynicism.

What is your greatest extravagance?
Buying large trees to place around my ranch house. (I am too old for saplings.)

What is your current state of mind?
Acceptance.

On what occasion do you lie?
When the truth will serve no purpose and only hurt.

What do you dislike most about your appearance?
My naked self in an overhead light.

Which living person do you most despise?
Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Kissinger—just about equally—for their cynicism and disdain for life.

What do you most value in your friends?
Honesty.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?
My children and grandchildren.

When and where were you happiest?
Hiking to the top of a 14,000-foot mountain.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
My inability to have a long-term intimate relationship.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Never settling for what is, but striving for “What if … ?”

Where would you like to live?
Right where I am.

What is your most treasured possession?
My ranch and its ever changing wildness.

What is your favorite occupation?
Mountain climbing.

What is your most marked characteristic?
Being down to earth.

Who are your favorite writers?
Proust, Shakespeare.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Abraham Lincoln.

What is it that you most dislike?
A lack of compassion.

What is your greatest regret?
Regrets are a waste of time except as things to learn from.

Which talent would you most like to have?
To be able to sing.

How would you like to die?
In my home, in bed, surrounded by my family. I can see it all quite clearly, and I am not afraid of it.

What is your motto?
“It’s better to be interested than interesting.”