INFP (introverted intuitive feeling perceiving) is one of the sixteen personality types defined by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test. INFPs are relatively uncommon, making up about 4% of the population.
INFPs are idealists. They see the world, and those around them, not as they are but as they could be. INFPs have strong principles, which they do not let go of easily. These principles drive them to help others better themselves, but as an introverted personality they rarely do so through direct confrontation. INFPs are more comfortable expressing themselves through art, writing, or other media, and can be surprisingly effective and creative communicators.
INFPs who do not find a way to express themselves can end up shy and withdrawn, unable to relate their inner principles to the real world. But for most INFPs, their principles are a source of strength and comfort against whatever the world might throw at them.
Here are some famous people who fit the INFP characteristics.
AUTHORS
William Shakespeare src
George Orwell src
J.R.R. Tolkien src
Writing is a frequent outlet for INFPs, and many of our greatest authors had this personality type.
- William Shakespeare, English playwright. source
- Edgar Allen Poe, U.S. author and poet. source
- Publius Virgilius Maro (Virgil), Roman poet. source
- Bill Watterson, U.S. cartoonist. source
- George Orwell, English author. source
- William Blake, English poet and engraver. source
- C. S. Lewis, English author. source
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery, French author and pilot. source
- Virginia Woolf, English author. source
- Hans Christian Andersen, Danish author. source
- A. A. Milne, English author. source
- John Milton, English poet. source
- Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher and poet. source
- J. R. R. Tolkien, English author. source
- Amy Tan, U.S. author. source
ARTISTS
Vincent Van Gogh src
Andy Warhol src
Other INFPs turn to art as a means to express their view of the world.
RELIGIOUS & INSPIRATIONAL FIGURES
Hellen Keller src
Albert Schweitzer src
Fred Rogers src
INFPs are naturally giving and charitable, and sometimes become living examples for others.
- Mary, mother of Jesus. source
- Luke, disciple of Jesus. source
- John, disciple of Jesus. source
- Fred Rogers, U.S. minister and children’s television host. source
- Helen Keller, U.S. political activist and author. source
- Albert Schweitzer, French-German physician and theologian. source
MUSICIANS
John Mayer src
Chris Martin src
Bob Marley src
INFP musicians are thoughtful and known for the depth of emotion in their work.
- Joni Mitchell, Canadian singer and artist. source
- Carlos Santana, Mexican-American guitarist. source
- Tori Amos, U.S. singer. source
- Bob Marley, Jamaican singer. source
- Thom Yorke, English singer. source
- Fiona Apple, U.S. singer. source
- John Mayer, U.S. singer. source
- Sarah MacLachlan, Canadian singer. source
- Lenny Kravitz, U.S. singer. source
- Ronnie James Dio, U.S. singer. source
- James Taylor, U.S. singer. source
- Chris Martin, British singer. source
- Robert Smith, English singer and guitarist. source
ATHLETES
Derek Jeter src
Julius Irving src
Roberto Clemente src
INFP athletes are often known just as much for the example they set off the field as their performance on it.
- Derek Jeter, U.S. first baseman. source
- Dirk Nowitzki, German power forward. source
- Roberto Clemente, Puerto Rican right fielder. source
- Mariano Rivera, Panamanian pitcher. source
- Julius Erving, U.S. small forward. source
ACTORS & ENTERTAINERS
Tom Hiddleston src
Chloe Sevigny src
Emily Blunt src
INFP performers take a serious approach to their craft, and dive deeply into each performance.
- Hugh Laurie, English actor. source
- Marlon Brando, U.S. actor. source
- Johnny Depp, U.S. actor. source
- Tom Hiddleston, English actor. source
- Nicolas Cage, U.S. actor. source
- Jude Law, English actor. source
- Mia Farrow, U.S. actress and activist. source
- Emily Blunt, English actress. source
- Richard Gere, U.S. actor. source
- Louis C.K., U.S. comedian. source
- Chloe Sevigny, U.S. actress and designer. source
- Tim Burton, U.S. director. source
- Lisa Kudrow, U.S. actress. source
- David Lynch, U.S. director. source
- Gary Oldman, English actor. source
- Teller, U.S. magician. source
- Andrew Garfield, British-American actor. source
- Fred Savage, U.S. actor. source
- Jennifer Jason Leigh, U.S. actress. source
FICTIONAL CHARACTERS
Matthew Crawley src
Daenerys Targaryen src
Frodo Baggins src
Finally, here are some fictional people who fit the INFP type!
- Cosette from Les Miserables. source
- Gohan from Dragonball Z. source
- Charlie Brown from Peanuts. source
- Bella Swan from the Twilight series. source
- Tyreese from The Walking Dead. source
- Carl Fredricksen from Up. source
- Luke Skywalker from Star Wars. source
- Scout Finch, narrator of To Kill a Mockingbird. source
- Daria Morgendorffer from Daria. source
- Kermit the Frog from The Muppets. source
- Frodo Baggins from The Lord of the Rings. source
- Jane Eyre from the book of the same name. source
- Mags from The Hunger Games. source
- Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet from Romeo and Juliet. source
- Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter. source
- Marshall from How I Met Your Mother. source
- Matthew Crawley from Downton Abbey. source
- Sweeney Todd from the play of the same name. source
- Idris from Doctor Who. source
- Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones. source
List of Famous People With ISFJ Personality
List of Famous People With ISFP Personality
List of Famous People With ESTP Personality
List of Famous People With ESFP Personality
Fry from futurama sure he is an INFP
Daenerys Targaryen is I NFJ
INFJs and INTJs have claimed her and now INFPs. What can one do? People identify on different facets of fictional characters, but I think she is too ambitious to be an INFP and I would go along with her being more INFJ than INFP.
Similar to my other reply, I’m not sure about this character because I haven’t watched GOT to a great extent, but great ambition for a cause they believe in is a major characteristic and driving force of INFPs. I think an INFP’s will to get something that we find needs to be done is what makes us come out of our shells and act more bold on a regular basis.
I agree she probably is an INFP. She puts others first, she cares deeply about other people and social issues such as slavery. She is misunderstood by basically everyone. A not so great trait of INFP’s are that they can allow the needs of others to outweigh their own which is exactly what happened to her with her brother. I think she certainly could be INFP
She has deep-seated values (introverted feeling), a sharp wit (extroverted intuition), relies on her past experiences and sensory pleasures for comfort (introverted sensing) and had difficulty planning logically/takes a gun to a knife fight (inferior extroverted thinking).
She may seem like an ENFJ or even INFJ in the show, but I assure you, she’s as INFP as it gets in the books. She’s horribly hard on her self and insecure as well, and doesn’t fit in well with others.
She’s actually not the greatest character ever for much of the books. But she’s an INFP in progress without a doubt.
Agreed. I have typed her as INFJ, because she is a planner and structured, unwavering in her resolve, which is very much like a “J” type. Keep in mind we all have a dominant personality, but we also have layers of other personalities. I am an INFP/INTP.
In the show i definitely think she’s an ENFJ, depending how you look at shadow functions I think her individuality being repressed by VIserys growing up while also being straight up abused and having a sense of powerlessness in her upbringing, led her to bring out her INFP shadow. (opposite functions)
There’s now a new blog post on the shadow functions at https://www.personalityclub.com/blog/complete-intro-to-mbti-shadow-functions/
Fred Savage is an ISFJ. And… I actually believe that Helen Keller is a lot more outgoing than people give her credit, so after having read about her and read her letters and read about her love of meeting people and joining movements and helping others that I think she is more of an extrovert and I think she is an ENFP which is why she was so enthusiastic to learn and communicate even with her set backs.
As an INFP, I have to say the introversion classification may fit her better because INFP’s feel great emotion and compassion towards and from others and tend to lean towards jobs that greatly affect others. Though I’m still young, I do know that I’ve always wanted a job involved in helping developing countries in terms of education and health. I also love interacting with my classmates, friends, teachers, and family. I feel great gratification from communication with others, but even so, I am drawn back in many situations because I’m just a bit more reserved. Introverts feel a lot of the emotions when interacting with others and are great at writing it down, but just don’t show it as much externally at that moment, but I think that is a quality that makes introverts great too!
Don’t confuse being outgoing with extraversion- there are quiet / more reserved extraverts and also more outgoing introverts- the core principle is really this: introverts recharge in solitude, extraverts recharge via social interaction. I don’t know much about Helen Keller or Fred Savage, but just saying: don’t confuse annnny of the stuff that sometimes / often surrounds extraverts / introverts with being one or the other– it’s all and only defined, technically, by what recharges you.
Exactly, It’s a scale not an exact classification. Introvert doesn’t automatically mean shy, quiet and antisocial, it is THE most common misconception. INFP’s in particular can be very bold and outspoken about things they feel passionately about and fields and topics they are well versed in. We are also walking contradictions.
It’s because we use extroversion in other ways differently; the common personality types provide the grist of culture. 50 years ago according to Type writer Kiersey Bates ‘Please Understand Me.’..INFPs were ranked as the rarest 1 percent of (USA?) population alongside INTP, INFJ and INTJ. What has changed in the culture that INFP populations seem to have increased since the advent of internet culture has taken it up and there are so many new Gen x and Y interpretations on the web., I wonder ….INFP inferior thinking will grab on to the Introverted feeler inside and start shouting to the world……”LISTEN TO ME …..IVE GOT SOMETHING TO SAY AND ITS IMPORTANT FOR THE PEOPLE TO HEAR IT”…Laugh it out loud is added if the inferior function is ok by the time we reach 70 HAHA…..( so few INFPs in Australia by the way I think maybe .ooooo1 percent!!!) Maybe we are such good actors we are all hidden away for such a time to come when we will arise…..having been silenced far too long…..
Aha, that’s what is most confusing about INFPs.
We really like helping people when we can, but in the end we just feel really out of place in a crowd. We like people themselves, and even meeting them! But we are as Extraverted as an IN can get…especially since there is a limit to personal contacts and conversations, and we become overwhelmed by that. But yes, to some degree you are right, but ALL INFPs are desperate to connect with others, without even wanting to spend a lot of time with more than one person. It confuses us, and we experience withdrawal from others if we are pushed to our limits. So, be careful, because everyone tends to think INFPs are E but although we like individual people, we hate the fact that we are too scared to be more social, because we love people so much and it leads to desperate conversations, with any random people who happen to be there. But a long time and we will get scared, and become hermits. It depends on the situation because we only want to follow our values, and help others, but it doesn’t mean we LIKE being social. Lemme know if u read all that, and if it actually made sense cuz it’s long and very spur-of-the-moment.
Bye!
Spot on!
Dude that’s so wrong
Nice list, but what about Kurt Cobain??? and Morrissey???
Right! And Ray Lamontagne and Damien Rice!
Also, no way John Mayer is an INFP…
He lost me at John Mayer.
I would add Ponyboy Curtis from The Outsiders
Yesss ponyboy..as soon as I read that it rang so true. I’ve always related to him so much.
Stay Gold.
I was thinking about this the whole time I read the outsiders I thought I was the only one
I thought exactly the same
*snaps* Marshall Eriksen! I knew it lol
Yes this is me, when I go to work ,,I always remember
Fox Mulder is an INFP.
Guy Caulkett is INFP
“Capitalism” pronoun of the first person singular “I”
“Socialism” the objective case of the pronoun “ we”
Guy Caulkett
26th August 1981
I loved everything about your article especially Charlie Brown and Kermit the frog :)
Jessie Paege is one of these!
hi :)
Joni Mitchell and many more no way. But to my amazement a lot of people not mistyped on here. Bravo. A celebrity typing article that is not complete trash. :-). Respectfully I just feel it’s a hard thing to do. I’m shocked by now to find a source for this with a good idea about it. Thank you :-). And thumbs up :-)
Ok INFP CREATIVE BUT I MAY BE LOONEY TO OTHERS
Andrew Garfield is NOT a U.S Actor. He’s from the U.K
Kim Nam Joon (stage name- RM), Min Yoongi (Suga) and Jeon Jungkook of BTS (world’s biggest boyband) have INFP personalities.
Namjoon retook the test and he’s a Campaigner “ENFP”
Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun are both INFP I believe!! Not too many people know who they are, they’re the 2 guys that form the band Twenty One Pilots. I’ve always related to them and I’m definitely an INFP. Tyler is very cryptic and uses metaphors as his way of speech, practically. He feels everything so deeply and is able to form that into creating imaginary worlds to help him explain what he’s feeling. Their latest album is called Trench, based off of one such world that he created to be a safe place for all the people who relate to his music throughout the years. Just thought this was interesting!
What about JK Rowling? She’s an INFP.
i read recently, somewhere on line that this mbti business is like astrology for nerds. true it didnt say really smart nerds.. i first heard of this two years ago, i test infj pretty consistently, but sometimes infp… well, my opinion is astrology is more reasonable. centuries and centuries thousands of teachers nothing more reliable than the natal chart the moment of birth., to predict ones temperament talents inclinations outlook on the world. carl jung was a genius, true. but he did not develop mbti , nor would he use it now. in general jungian therapists don’t . there’s really very little value to it, the women who came up with it, had very little education, comparatively, and i doubt very much you would see them for therapeutic purposes. i say, get your astrological chart done. just your natal chart. not predictions for politics , the stock market, just your natal, chart , and if you fall in love , that of your beloved . leave this meyer briggs stuff where it belongs. in the dustbin. the absurdities are endless. none of it is measurable the heavens are, and maybe eternal. good night now.
Hello Daniel and others~
Can anyone help me type James Blunt please? I am leaning towards INFP but he said he enjoyed boarding school, (but it was traumatic spending all that time away from his family), studied aeronautics, economics and sociology and graduated with honors with a sociology degree.
I’ve watched interviews and early videos of him and he seems so INFP. He’s also intelligent and very witty!!
Thanks for the help~Amy
I don’t know James Blunt’s type but it is possible to be INFP and enjoy boarding school. I did. The key was to find daily ways to achieve solitude especially after highly social events such as lunch and dinner. I played piano in one of the empty recital rooms. Guitar would work too.
Thank you Drew. I never got a notification for your reply so sorry it’s taken so long to answer.
I appreciate you talking about boarding school and how an INFP could enjoy it. I’m glad to know you survived it well.
Speaking of solitude, there was a reporter who went on tour with James and said that he could sit by James for three or four hours just in complete silence and James was comfortable with that.
My favorite INFPs are Tom Hiddleston, Shakespeare, and Robert Patterson. Maybe because those are the only ones I really know are INFPs.
What about Anne of green gables, I might be wrong but I heard she was INFP
I was ENTJ as young medical professional. (Individuals whose favorite word is stupid). In a perverse way, I was proud of my expertise, leadership, and even elitism. Over time, I have evolved to INFP. My old self really dislikes that F. Somewhere I read that moving toward the midline of M-B is a sign of a evolving, maturing personality. M-B was intended to help organizations improve teamwork by increasing understanding of how people think, etc. I take it all with a grain of salt. Astrology, natal charts—even bigger grain of salt.