Nicole Kidman's type

[Economica]

What say you to Nicole Kidman as an ISFP?

On Letterman in 2001
Written interview about the marriage/divorce
On Leno in 2005

She can seem coldly aloof, but so could an ISFP close to me when she was younger. I'd say it's protective overcompensation rather than genuine distance.

Faced with Letterman's blunt questions in the midst of her divorce, she exudes vulnerability and self-effacing helplessness, putting herself down several times during the interview. This reminds me greatly of the ISFPs I know when they've been down. In the Leno interview, where she is happier, she's just a sweetheart.

 

[Totenkindly]

INFJ

I'd be shocked if she was S. She's far too ethereal for that.

ISFP women, I have found, are very "soft." (Even ISFP *men* are "soft.") Nicole comes off as frosty as a knife edge sometimes, she's not soft... but there's an etherealness that makes her appear delicate at times.

And I think her attraction to Cruise (who I saw as xSTP or something similar) was the love/hate relationship with the INFJ's inferior Se function coming out.

The short written interview is not very substantial. I didn't see anything that said "ISFP" and it still fit fine within the parameters of INFJ.

 

[Economica]

Have you seen the clips?

Edit: More substantive interviews:

Playboy 1992
Some interview 2005?
emanuellevy.com 2005?

 

[Usehername]

INFJ

I'd be shocked if she was S. She's far too ethereal for that.

ISFP women, I have found, are very "soft." (Even ISFP *men* are "soft.") Nicole comes off as frosty as a knife edge sometimes, she's not soft... but there's an etherealness that makes her appear delicate at times.

And I think her attraction to Cruise (who I saw as xSTP or something similar) was the love/hate relationship with the INFJ's inferior Se function coming out.

The short written interview is not very substantial. I didn't see anything that said "ISFP" and it still fit fine within the parameters of INFJ.

you really think she's "ethereal"?

I once watched her on Oprah; Oprah kept trying to get conversation going about relationships with other actors on some film she was doing, and 9/9 times that Oprah tried to bring up something, ex. "what is she interested in? what is he like?"
every single time she mentioned something shallow. hair, clothes, pretty, gorgeous... she did not say one deep thing the entire time.

now, maayyybeee it's that she's super private and hates to discuss anything that matters, but i would highly doubt infj.

 

[Economica]

now, maayyybeee it's that she's super private and hates to discuss anything that matters, but i would highly doubt infj.

I agree; she comes across as very concrete to me too. I think the "ice queen" aura is what makes her literally look N, but like I wrote in the OP, I've seen superficial cool used as an ISFP defense mechanism before. In the clips I link to in the OP, I'd say her primary Fi is pretty recognizable and also her concreteness --> ISFP. What say you, Jen?

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

She's listed as an INFJ on TypeLogic, for whatever that is worth.

This interview... PopEntertainment.com: Nicole Kidman interview is quintessential INFJ to my reading.

The Playboy interview is all very mindless and surface, so it doesn't say much, but that's to be expected.

you really think she's "ethereal"?

I think she's ethereal, but not sure how that defines an INFJ.

I once watched her on Oprah; Oprah kept trying to get conversation going about relationships with other actors on some film she was doing, and 9/9 times that Oprah tried to bring up something, ex. "what is she interested in? what is he like?"
every single time she mentioned something shallow. hair, clothes, pretty, gorgeous... she did not say one deep thing the entire time.

now, maayyybeee it's that she's super private and hates to discuss anything that matters, but i would highly doubt infj.

Oprah is famous for her ability to dig into a person's deepest feelings and exposing them. Have you seen other actors on her show? Jim Carey went completely crazy with antics to avoid questions. Oprah is very threatening to someone who does not desire to open up. Such an interview as you describe would tell me Kidman did not want to go there and knew full well that if anyone could coerce her, it would be Oprah. Also, to succeed in Hollywood you have to play into a great many mindless clique's and give people what sells.

 

[Totenkindly]

you really think she's "ethereal"?

Yes. Not only that, but she's of the MOST ethereal actors I've ever seen, honestly.

I once watched her on Oprah; Oprah kept trying to get conversation going about relationships with other actors on some film she was doing, and 9/9 times that Oprah tried to bring up something, ex. "what is she interested in? what is he like?" every single time she mentioned something shallow. hair, clothes, pretty, gorgeous... she did not say one deep thing the entire time.

That was Oprah. Why should she bare her soul to the international crowds, sitting in front of a live studio audience? Get her alone, in private, though, and I am very sure things would (and have) change(d).

I think her versatility is amazing. If she wasn't so good-looking (and thus having a "face" that sticks in one's mind), she'd be recognized as an extremely talented actress. She can slip into roles and become other people. Her role in "The Hours" (where she was virtually unrecognizable) really clarified this for anyone who had trouble perceiving it before.

now, maayyybeee it's that she's super private and hates to discuss anything that matters, but i would highly doubt infj.

To each, their own.

I agree; she comes across as very concrete to me too. I think the "ice queen" aura is what makes her literally look N, but like I wrote in the OP, I've seen superficial cool used as an ISFP defense mechanism before. In the clips I link to in the OP, I'd say her primary Fi is pretty recognizable and also her concreteness --> ISFP. What say you, Jen?

No.

I don't really care what function you'd say is primary, simply because she's a mature adult, so primary function means far less than it does when one is younger. She also doesn't behave like a typical ISFP female. She's much colder and icier [Note: I do not necessarily mean that in the BAD sense. But there's a difference between Ariel and Belle, to use trite examples -- one is hot and passionate, the other is cooler and more pristine.] And I've never seen this ISFP "superficial cool" that you describe. It doesn't match what I see in the range of ISFP women.

She was also married to Tom Cruise for a long time, and Tom has Se going for him. This would have developed her inferior Se. (In fact, I think this is why they were actually attracted to each other -- she was intrigued by his Se, he probably found her Fe intriguing or filling in his weak spots.) So at this point, you cannot use it as a claim that she is naturally sensory.

Do you have any commentary from her teenage / high school years? That would be more telling, I think.

 

[Jasz]

i'm with jennifer on this. i remember an interview with nicole and russell crowe and she was very ethereal, kept talking about destiny, the ideal partner and more of that NF stuff.

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

btw Jennifer, my impression so far is that she is an INFJ. Having encountered so many false assumptions about INFJ's, it gets wearying to the point of nausea sometimes. Kidman so far provides a clearer example than most.

She also doesn't seem coldly aloof, but 'normal' from my infj perspective.

 

[Totenkindly]

btw Jennifer, my impression so far is that she is an INFJ. Having encountered so many false assumptions about INFJ's, it gets wearying to the point of nausea sometimes. Kidman so far provides a clearer example than most.

It takes one to know one.

I found a slew of quotes of interest here.

She also doesn't seem coldly aloof, but 'normal' from my infj perspective.

yup, personally, I find her aloof in the "good" sense -- but I have no doubt some people consider her snooty.

 

[Economica]

All right, I'll do more research on her. Next week!

 

[Economica]

All right, I'm still thinking ISFP, and here's why.

I've seen an ISFP grow up lacking self-esteem (she was the only FP in an otherwise TJ family ). As a defense mechanism she developed a cold, withdrawn exterior reminiscent of Nicole Kidman's. Thus I do not buy that NK is too icy to be an ISFP, especially since she reveals an almost helpless vulnerability as soon as she starts talking (see the interviews I link to in the OP). She is by her own admission very much the people-pleaser.

(Incidentally, for a subtle hint at an explanation for why NK should have needed to overcompensate, check out her mother's reactions at the end of this clip (specifically the hand to the forehead at 3:43 and the critical glint at 4:04). I find the shots suggestive of a TJ mother in whose opinion NK was never quite good enough. In the Jay Leno interview I link to in the OP she confirms that her mother was very strict.)

i'm with jennifer on this. i remember an interview with nicole and russell crowe and she was very ethereal, kept talking about destiny, the ideal partner and more of that NF stuff.

How is that incompatible with primary Fi?

 

[The Ü™]

So is ISFP the only type that can possibly lack self-esteem?

I'm sure ENTJs have grown up lacking self-esteem!

And dominant Ni types, particularly INFJs, can also grow up lacking self-esteem.

 

[Economica]

So is ISFP the only type that can possibly lack self-esteem?

I'm sure ENTJs have grown up lacking self-esteem!

Uberfuhrer, the reason why I characterize posts like this one as trolling is because I credit you with the intelligence necessary to see that the argument

NK can be an ISFP despite her icy exterior if she lacked self-esteem growing up

is totally unrelated to the statement

ISFP is the only type that can have low self-esteem

... which, incidentally, isn't very much.

 

[The Ü™]

Uberfuhrer, the reason why I characterize posts like this one as trolling is because I credit you with the intelligence necessary to see that the argument

NK can be an ISFP despite her icy exterior if she lacked self-esteem growing up

is totally unrelated to the statement

ISFP is the only type that can have low self-esteem

... which, incidentally, isn't very much.

Sorry, I misread the post above me when I said that.

 

[Economica]

Sorry, I misread the post above me when I said that.

I'd be more inclined to believe you if you had made this reply right after reading my last post instead of two hours later.

 

[The Ü™]

I'd be more inclined to believe you if you had made this reply right after reading my last post instead of two hours later.

Maybe I stepped out for two hours before I got to read your response? Jeez, I feel like I've been getting the shaft lately...

 

[Economica]

Maybe I stepped out for two hours before I got to read your response? Jeez, I feel like I've been getting the shaft lately...

Right after I posted I viewed who was online and saw you click on the main page and then on the thread. You read it all right.

 

[The Ü™]

Right after I posted I viewed who was online and saw you click on the main page and then on the thread. You read it all right.

The thread is going to derail, and it won't be my fault, this time.

Okay, I read it, but there's an explanation...my mind was too preoccupied at the time to give an accurate response.

I can also vouch for INFP for Nicole Kidman. I really don't think she's an ISFP, an ISFP to me would less likely give off the "floaty" aura that the INFP would.

 

[ptgatsby]

After reading her life and story, I would have to define her as a IxFJ, so I would tend to agree with INFJ over ISFP, mostly for the reasons listed above. I also found that she had typical "ordering" reactions to events in her life... strangely impulsive when triggered. It reminds me too much of the J leaping around compared to the P passiveness.

(I don't use functional views, so that part isn't included in how I view her).