Photo: Berkley Vopnfjord
Who was your childhood hero?
Harry Houdini, and my Auntie Sukanya and Uncle Ravi.
Describe the place you most like to spend time.
Lying by a pool on a hot summer’s day, pretending I live in the movie La Piscine (sadly sans 1960s Alain Delon). This is mostly because I’m an obnoxious film nerd.
What was the last thing you read?
A book about Old Hollywood icon and inventor Hedy Lamarr.
What or who makes you laugh out loud?
Charlie Chaplin, Danny Kaye, and my friends Joe and Monica.
What is the most important lesson you ever learned?
Knowing what yourself, your time, and your ideas are worth, and not being afraid to ask for what you deserve.
What is your idea of the perfect day?
Lots of sun by a pool, ice cream, reading a book and cackling obnoxiously, somewhere in between all that getting some creative work done, and then in the evening getting a massage before watching a movie in a theatre.
What was your nickname at school?
Ann-Banan or “The Flashlight Girl” (unfortunately).
What is your most prized possession?
My original 1940s studio publicity photographs of Basil Rathbone playing Sherlock Holmes.
What would be the title of your biography?
Adventures into a Rapid (& occasionally Vapid) Mind
If a genie granted you one wish, what would it be?
To be able to fly! Or to reincarnate Gary Cooper for me.
What item have you owned for the longest time?
My homemade portable Bug Hotel. $2 a night, apparently.
Whom do you most admire (living or dead) and why?
I’m the worst person to ask this question to. I’m obsessed with too many dead people - and a few living ones.
What would you like your epitaph to say?
“Why don’t you fly up and see me sometime?”
What is your pet peeve?
People not putting away their plastic security bins once they take their bags out in airport security. SERIOUSLY, guys!
If you could invent something, what would it be?
People getting a brief electrical shock if they don’t put their plastic bins away after taking their bags out in airport security.
In which era would you most like to have lived, and why?
As a woman I really appreciate living in this current era, but I’d love to explore the 1920s, 1930s, 1960s, and 1970s, so I could befriend all the now dead movie stars I love.
What are you afraid of?
Not accomplishing everything I’ve ever dreamed of. Also, spiders invading my personal space.
Name the skill or talents you would most like to have.
Competitive ballroom dancing.
If you could only ever listen to three pieces of music, what would they be?
“Love Me Tender” – Elvis Presley
“Stayin’ Alive” – The Bee Gees
Lucia di Lammermoor (the opera) by Donizetti
Which famous person (living or dead) do you think (or have you been told) you most resemble?
Rashida Jones - when I had bangs.
What is the secret to a good life?
I’d say don’t waste your time holding grudges or being with people you’re not crazy about, be kind to others because you never know what they might be going through, and I find it often helps to look at life as either a tragic comedy or a comedic tragedy.
What is the most important thing left on your bucket list?
Have dinner with Ann-Margret and get to tour her wardrobe.
Do you have a personal motto?
Never Give Up. Be your own biggest cheerleader in life. Shoot for the moon and even if you miss, you land upon the stars!
What are your UBC highlights?
I took a class on gothic French horror literature that I really liked.
