[teddy564339]

So recently I was looking at this site, and I noticed some really interesting ISFP names:

Famous ISFPs - CelebrityTypes.com


I've always gotten the impression that ISFPs are the "shyest" type...the type who most wants to stay in the background, be in their own little world, and do their own, artistic thing without needing to be noticed.


But what I found interesting about the list is that it has a good number of really dynamic and energetic performers....ones who command a stage and captivate audiences. Some of these are:

Justin Timberlake

Brad Pitt

Michael Jackson

Prince

David Beckham

David Bowie

Eminem

Paul McCartney

Rihanna

Beyonce

Christina Aguilera

Britney Spears

Marilyn Monroe

Bob Dylan

John Travolta


Now, I have no idea if these people are typed correctly. But when I picture them performing, it is exactly the opposite of what I picture when I think of a "stereotypical ISFP".

I understand that these are celebrities who may have some different motivations than the average person. However, they're also artists, which is what I always picture ISFPs as being known for.


And when I read the quotes, a lot of them describe how the person kind of gets into their own world when performing...it's like they step out of their normal lives. I'm sure all performers do this to some degree, but I find it fascinating that an ISFP could kind of use performing as an opposite of their usual lives...to use the idea of performing in front of a huge crowd as an escape.



Like I said, I'm sure performers of all types do this to some degree, and I don't know if this site has accurately typed these people. So that's why I'm asking you ISFPs....do you think there's any truth to this notion or not?

 

[Kito]

I actually love performing, but I wouldn't be able to do it every day. I remember in school plays as a kid, I'd hate having to play any character that didn't reflect me, so that wouldn't work out too well.

That aside, those are some pretty big names! You really don't picture big celebrities as IxFx types do you? I just read that site, and this quote by Paul McCartney (who also has the same birthday as me) I can very much relate to:

"I don't ever try to make a serious social comment. ... It's just a song."

​

 

[Inguz]

"Still waters run deep", the intense performances is a glimpse in to the inner world of an ISFP.

 

[Le9acyMuse]

I think there could be a discrepancy with how MBTI sees sensation and intuition. I've caught on to how Jungian and MBTI seem to type people. At first I thought it was relevant, but I've been peering at another theory, as well as looking at myself. Jungian/MBTI says I'm an ISFP, and based on the criteria they go by I would agree. But I use an awful lot of intuition. I thought the Enneagram's type 4 may attribute to that, but why should the Enneagram, a theory primarily unrelated to Jungian and MBTI, solve this issue? I've been finding that intuition can present itself in more ways than one dominantly or secondarily.

I'm just theorizing. Anywho, it may be safe to say all those celebrities aren't typed correctly if they were typed by Jungian Cognitive Functions and/or MBTI. I looked over a few of them in interviews. A few I would pick out as not being ISFP are Michael Jackson, Prince, David Bowie, and Eminem.

 

[Stephen]

Don't forget Leonard Cohen!

 

[Culex]

Yeah, I actually noticed that despite my shyness, I love to perform.

 

[Splash Shin]

I love performing! LOVE it. When i'm feeling comfortable and excited about it, i really end up taking the stage and surprise people

and if they didn't like it.. well .. i wasn't trying to impress!

 

[teddy564339]

I'm just theorizing. Anywho, it may be safe to say all those celebrities aren't typed correctly if they were typed by Jungian Cognitive Functions and/or MBTI. I looked over a few of them in interviews. A few I would pick out as not being ISFP are Michael Jackson, Prince, David Bowie, and Eminem.

I've heard people discuss Eminem's type before, and many have said INFP. It does seem to me like he's an Fi dom (though I admittedly don't know Fi extremely well), but when I saw him listed here, I thought about it again and it didn't seem too far fetched that he could be a sensor rather than an intuitive.


I don't know the details of ISFPs, nor do I know the details of each one of these celebrities lives. However, it didn't seem unreasonable to me that the ones you mentioned were ISFPs. Do you know what types you thought they were instead, or what in particular made you say they're not ISFPs? I'm just curious, especially because I think celebrity MBTI types are pretty fascinating.

 

[Benja]

I think ISFPs can perform quite well. My performances have mostly been through skateboarding and other physical activities, many times I've had whole skateparks full of people watching me perform tricks. When I'm performing, I'm in my own little world and people just disappear. I think we perform differently than other types though, if I can't shut the people out and lose myself, I can't perform very well at all.

 

[Le9acyMuse]

@teddy564339 I can see why they're seen as ISFPs. I would type them the same way if I were looking at it the way Jungian and MBTI does. I identify most with the ISFP title on this site, but I've been intuiting stuff a lot lately. More than I think tertiary intuition usually would. And it's not like the "average" intuition Jung and MBTI classifies. I believe I can intuit what they look for to determine it. To Jung, I think Ns and Ss sound and word a certain way. But truthfully, I think they sound, word and look a certain way, too (bodily cues). It's even made me question the Enneagram. Some of it, not the whole of it, which I think could hold some ground.

I restate that I also would type those celebrities I chose as ISFPs if I were using Jung's classification method. While looking at another theory, I've been using myself to build an argument about patterns I see. What I see is separate from Jungian and MBTI. I see their method, but it sorta tells half the story of what I've had time to try seeing.

Eminem - ~ INFJ
Michael Jackson - ~ INFP
Prince - ~ INFP
David Bowie - ~ INFP

Quite a few of the other celebs, like Brad Pitt, Paul McCartney and David Beckham do seem to be ~ ISFP. I use "~," or "roughly," because Jungian and MBTI would not really see them this way, but I'm using their terms.

 

[Leeoflittlefaith]

Performing has always come fairly naturally to me. Rehearsing what you're going to do, and tailoring it for the viewing of many people is a prospect that's often more comfortable to me than speaking one-on-one or with a small group of people. I've done some acting, and I've done well on class presentations because I'm good at projecting and speaking interestingly. If I'm ever nervous about these things it's not really because it could be embarrassing but because I could let myself down.

Drama, for example, is just like painting or poetry. You do it by yourself and then show it to other people. It's a platform being offered for individual expression. You're acting, you're painting, you're writing- no-one can really interrupt you until you're done. The fourth wall is this great protective barrier that protects the actor from criticism, and when an ISFP knows they're not about to be criticized for what they do best, they can really let go and perform.

 

[Lisa Rangga]

I LOVE performing. When I was little, I always want to perform in front of the whole school or public. I got upset if I didn't get the parts.

 

[infpheart]

Introverted feeling is a powerful function I'd venture to say maybe the most powerful IMO but....without Te both isfp and infp lack 'outward' presence and many a times we lack social grace cos we spend more time in our own Fi bubble, but that doesn't reflect how it is in the inside,Fi allows us to know ourself extremely well and know what we want to do- so we are very single-minded in what we want to do, u find with myself an infp i believe in anything is possible(Ne) and don't feel fazed at all but... Tell me to go in front on stage and speak-intense trepidation I can't I'm not Se I'm Ne with isfps I think they lack confidence that they can for example be president if they wanted I don't! But anything related to physical or present moment activity their heart leads them through the fear jus look at Michael Jackson he wasn't dancing his heart was doing the dance his body just followed.

 

[RunForCover07]

Britney Spears is actually fairly introverted and shy, and she talks about this many times in her interviews throughout her career. She says that she becomes a different person when she’s on stage and performing, it's the only way she really feels like one with her fans, but she’s just an “everyday person who likes spending alone time with her family.” If you watch many of her interviews, she’s always playing with her hands, and making awkward/shy facial expressions.

I’m sure when she was younger and starting out, the producers pushed her to be more outgoing and extroverted. Her crazy spell most likely didn't help neither.

I'm obsessed with that woman, and have been since the 90s. Just thought I would toss that in there.

 

[Sultanim]

You don't know how much I love acting, and much more if it's improvising, spontaneous and right at the moment without any planning. I think the fact that APPLAUSE is my favorite song right now has a lot to say about that!

 

[ferroequinologist]

Britney Spears is actually fairly introverted and shy, and she talks about this many times in her interviews throughout her career. She says that she becomes a different person when she’s on stage and performing, it's the only way she really feels like one with her fans, but she’s just an “everyday person who likes spending alone time with her family.” If you watch many of her interviews, she’s always playing with her hands, and making awkward/shy facial expressions.

I’m sure when she was younger and starting out, the producers pushed her to be more outgoing and extroverted. Her crazy spell most likely didn't help neither.

I was going to comment on this ages ago, but forgot... I personally believe that her "episodes" were the result of her being an introvert ISFP being forced into being something she's not. They are proof of her introversion, and more specifically, her ISFP-ness. ;-)

I've always felt sorry for her, when people were criticizing and ridiculing her. I may not like her music, and she may seem immature, etc. but I have always thought she didn't deserve the negativity she got.

 

[stilldaydreaming]

Ah, so Britney Spears has that awkward shy gesture. I'm not following her so i dunno how she behave. But that shy awkward gesture, i think i can relate to that. Even though sometimes i can be expressive, but many times I do that awkward shy gesture XD. I like performing actually. Recently me and my ESTP friend getting hyped together when we were doing karaoke with other co-workers in our division. I also used to join a high school drama club. Despite my nervousness to act, i think i get hyped with acting. I kinda quite like it. Since elementary school actually. I also used to be a conductor in our elementary school choir. I think i actually like that too! And I also used to love performing traditional dance until I was in elementary school .

 

[Dora]

Ancient thread, but I like it.

Yep, I'm a performer! I will never ask for it, because of self-doubt, and whether I have value to offer, and obviously, I cannot plan ahead and prepare, therefore I stress a lot! However, whenever I am thrown on stage, I love it! I love being made to do it, because I don't feel entitled, but I crave the attention and applause, and improvising is my forte. I don't know how I do it, but under pressure or with performance stress, I can come up with the bizzarest, most entertaining things, and people enjoy it, and it warms my heart.

 

[Dagmar]

I studied ballet for 12 years (with a couple years / semesters off) growing up, so I was on stage many times, sometimes solo or duo, most times with a group of 5-10 other gals. I'm most comfortable dancing when no one else is around, as my limbs get very jittery and shaky when I perform in front of people. The nervousness has never gone away. I do enjoy making people laugh and entertaining, but I usually will not attempt it unless it's a group of people I know very well. Also, smaller groups are better than bigger groups for me I think... (shrug). I like to sing / play guitar also but I doubt my skill and worry others won't think it sounds good. I tend to brush it off a little even when people tell me I have a beautiful voice or whatever. I am not much of a performer currently.

 

[perpetuallyreticent]

I've actually been wanting to learn to play guitar for the past few years, because the idea of playing a song in a small bar or something actually sounds awesome to me. If I could gather up enough courage, that is.

But yes, the "Still waters run deep" quote/phrase describes ISFPs well. I doubt all of the people in that list are accurately typed, but I'm sure some are.