I've never had anyone I've consciously seen as a hero or specifically wanted to be like, partly because I was sheltered and rather oblivious growing up, and partly because emulation is not something that drives me as a person. It's certainly proven to be an unusual state of being for someone in my field because I feel like the only one who isn't name-dropping professional fantasy artists left and right or indeed knew the names of anyone relevant until only a few years ago. There are several now that I admire and even envy but no one quite has the voice I seek to have.
If you're talking about just admiration and deep respect, for me that goes to my mother more than anyone. The older I get and the more I get to know her adult-to-adult, the more I see that most of the best things about myself came from her <3