Meryl Streep's type

[Economica]

What say you to Meryl Streep as either an INFJ or an INTP?

The following is a post I just made at INTPc:

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On Letterman (6 minutes)
With Devil Wears Prada costars (8 minutes)

Her type has been discussed elsewhere...

From the Famous living INTP women thread:

Originally Posted by Fortunato

All right, I watched the David Letterman interview.

• She threw the terms "objective" vs "subjective" into the conversation unexpectedly -- totally caught me by surprise, it was clear she actively thinks in those terms inwardly, it was part of her "personal language." I usually do not hear the words used outside of this board so freely.
  
• Had some very sharp humor... a little forced in spots and stilted, as if she had rehearsed the joke mentally ahead of time, but usually dry and funny when she was impromptu. Even straight-faced a few jokes convincingly.
  
• Used hands a lot to complement her comments, to give physical space to what she was describing, as if imagining the scene unfolding or visualizing the object in front of her. Non-visualizing hand movements otherwise involved regularly only hand twirls (a lot of them).
  
• Laughed at the appropriate times, and seemed to want to be in an open, "laughing" mode. I felt her body language was that of an open introvert... i.e., she was a little nervous, but was trying to communicate her willingness to be open and have fun.
  
• Lookswise, she was pretty, but nothing really "daring" per se... or no odd combinations or bold statements. Seemed to be simple and straightforward, while feminine.

To be honest, I have never met a female INTP in RL... so I have no body language repository to draw upon. The males are either stiff (unsure of how to hold their body), or else relaxed and easy-going. I did recognize a lot of Meryl's body movements in myself, when I'm wanting to be open and easy-going... especially that whole "leaning over thing" where she about collapsed when she was laughing in the chair. I do exactly the same thing... almost like I'm trying too hard to convey that I found something funny, or maybe that I haven't yet learned to express emotion physically in a nuanced way (it's usually either all or nothing).

She's not INTJ... too free and relaxed for that. Nor did she feel as "soft" as INFP.

That leaves me with INFJ vs INTP -- there is a stiffness to her, yet also a fluidity. Since I felt like she was exuding "P" behavior/attitude, any stiffness would have to come from T.

So I think it's plausible she is INTP -- but she is balanced in her functions. Her Ti is not *larger* than her Ne (they're close to equal), and I think she's developed some of her F functions as well, to round herself out as an actress.

Originally Posted by Economica

Thank you for your insightful analysis. I appreciate your arguments and of course am in complete agreement. Perhaps I can clinch the TP/FJ thing with this quote:

(On her role in The Manchurian Candidate) "I loved being someone so certain. Because certainty is just so attractive in people. To me, it's a completely bogus position - for me. Because, you know, I'm listening to every side. But it's so nice not to have to listen to all the different sides. To be so clear and on your track and sure. It's a fabulous thing. Unfortunately, it leads to fanaticism."

From the Edward Norton thread:

Originally Posted by meanlittlechimp

Meryl Streep, I'll have to find out more, but I haven't seen anything to indicate her being an INTP except being listed on a few sites as one. I've read a few things on her since this thread, and am not convinced yet. She seems to have a need for recognition that I don't think INTPs have (based on her interviews). Do the people here who think she's an INTP have any arguments for this, besides, she's smart?

... Quoting myself above, I realize I may have read way too much into the Manchurian Candidate quote. I'm used to thinking of INXJs as opinionated to a fault () but I probably shouldn't write off the INFJ typing on uncertainty/openness alone.

Actually, as I write this, I'm starting to lean toward the INFJ typing for Meryl Streep as well. ('As well' because I've begun to think the same about Edward Norton.)

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[proteanmix]

Quotes time!

"Every time I think it's a silly way to spend my life, I see a performance by another actor and think, 'I couldn't live if I didn't have this in my life.' I really think that. Or a piece of music. We need art. We really need art. Maybe we need to feel we count, like our existence matters. Acting can do that; it can make you feel more alive and proud to be a human being. Even seeing the worst of humanity."---Streep on why people need to act to USA Weekend, December 1, 2002.

"I don't go anywhere. You have to go to openings and be on E! entertainment, and I've never enjoyed doing that. I don't even go to openings of my friends' movies, even though it's supportive and lovely to do. It poses a problem marketing a movie, because they want you out and about. So it's always a tug, it's always a battle with the guilt making machine."---Streep in The Boston Globe, December 22, 1996.

"I know that when I start a new job, that this is the thing that precedes me," Streep says with a sigh. "That I'm rigorous in doing my homework and hideously overprepared, and ..." She shrugs. "And that's fine. Better to come off as smarter and more disciplined than I actually am." She waits a beat and then adds with a delighted laugh, "Not that I'm interested in debunking the myth!"---Streep on the myth that she is difficult, to Time magazine, June 19, 2006.

"My biggest problem in my entire life is time management. But it really defines the big, important things.

I've made career judgments on the basis of making [my family] happy. Like not taking location things, and if it is on location, writing it in the contract that, I'm going to be home at a certain time and work so many days. And then I'm out of there!

"She's past the analyzing of the character. Her training and her experience have taken her to a point where she can be effortless with a lot of things other people have to work really hard at."---Robert Redford quoted in Entertainment Weekly, October 7, 1994.

"When you watch her work in something like "Adaptation," where it's so kind-of idealistic - it's slippery sort of stuff - she just brings you along. You feel as if you're experiencing it with her: When she starts laughing like, 'This is nuts; this is crazy,' you start thinking, 'This really is crazy!' She's very funny, very bright and really bossy, which is another quality I like about her. I think that comes from being four people's mother."---Julianne Moore Hollywood Reporter June 6, 2004

"When you're being watched unnaturally you feel it, if you're a sensitive person. Who knows what this delicate thing is that actors are making? So if that's diva behavior, sorry. I don't have handlers. I do have a longtime makeup man and hairdresser who performs the scourge role in my on-set life and keeps people away."---Streep on asking reporters to leave the set while she is working to Entertainment Weekly, October 7, 1994.

[developer]

I would spontaneously (pure gut feeling) consider her INFJ. That was my first thought whe reading the title of your post, without opening it. So, I agree on your first option

[scantilyclad]

eh i still think INTP

[toonia]

Originally Posted by Fortunato

* She threw the terms "objective" vs "subjective" into the conversation unexpectedly -- totally caught me by surprise, it was clear she actively thinks in those terms inwardly, it was part of her "personal language." I usually do not hear the words used outside of this board so freely.

* Used hands a lot to complement her comments, to give physical space to what she was describing, as if imagining the scene unfolding or visualizing the object in front of her. Non-visualizing hand movements otherwise involved regularly only hand twirls (a lot of them).

* Lookswise, she was pretty, but nothing really "daring" per se... or no odd combinations or bold statements. Seemed to be simple and straightforward, while feminine.

I relate immediately to the bolded qualities. I do those things 'all the time'.

I agree that INTP and INFJ seem plausible. I actually lean towards INFJ primarily because of the emotionally charged quality of her work on a day to day basis. It would take a great deal of emotional tolerance to do her work. INFJs can have tremendous emotional tolerance, and sometimes INTPs have rather low tolerance. INFJs can come off as rather cool, distant, and detached. They are the least 'touchy feely' of the Feelers.

The subjective/objective dichotomy is very real to the INFJ. Their introverted functions are Ni-Ti, while their extroverted are Fe-Se. Because of this their minds are at war between those two systems of thought. It is the forefront of their mental processing - at least it is for mine.

[Jennifer]

Originally Posted by toonia

I agree that INTP and INFJ seem plausible. I actually lean towards INFJ primarily because of the emotionally charged quality of her work on a day to day basis. It would take a great deal of emotional tolerance to do her work. INFJs can have tremendous emotional tolerance, and sometimes INTPs have rather low tolerance. INFJs can come off as rather cool, distant, and detached. They are the least 'touchy feely' of the Feelers.

But what of the INTP ability to objectify emotions? Female INTPs are quite capable of dealing with emotions, because of that ability.

And Streep does not come off as "cool, distant, and detached," such as Nicole Kidman or Naomi Watts or Jonatha Brooke or other female artistic INFJs.

There is a cool clean detachment to INFJ women simply because they organize their presentation, even when they are in casual mode. (Even you show this, in your posting style and in the pictures of you I have seen.)

But Streep is much more relaxed and free-form, even a bit uncomfortable when having to present herself a certain way or meet some sort of social expectation, and seemed to like to react to what was happening and feel her way through things rather than presenting/crafting her own image.

[INTJMom]

I think it's tough because she's older, too.
I've loved her ever since Kramer vs Kramer.

She definitely seems Introverted, with all the comments about staying home and keeping people away.

One of her gifts is being able to do so many different accents, with excellence.

The way she studies her character so deeply - ahead of time - J behavior?
"I'm going to be home at a certain time and work so many days. And then I'm out of there!" seems very J also.

What's this about though?
""That I'm rigorous in doing my homework and hideously overprepared, and ..." She shrugs. "And that's fine. Better to come off as smarter and more disciplined than I actually am."" Would that be more NF or NT or would either be about the same?
I'm thinking NTs usually know they're smart. They don't need to appear smarter than they already are.

[INTJMom]

she kissed Letterman's hand back - socially awkward
I feel like a horse - N
I am objective - T
I think - T

AFI award:
Wow she's funny -
tongue-tied - I
she's so demonstrative
brutally honest - T

she didn't have fun
bad mood
felt the pain of the character
taskmaster, controlling
negative outlook

dressed J rather than P - YouTube - Meryl Streep on Ellen.
"I don't look back"

She's INTJ.
YouTube - Meryl Streep - Questionnaire yeah - INTJ

[Economica]

INTJMom, thanks for chiming in, however, do you actually know any INTJ women IRL (apart from yourself) whom you recognize in Meryl Streep? How about any INFJ or INTP women for comparison?

My mother is 60 and INTJ and I do not recognize any of her in Meryl Streep. As quoted in the OP: "She's not INTJ... too free and relaxed for that." Of course, that puts a negative spin on it. I guess a different way of saying it is that she doesn't seem as intent on world domination as the rest of us.

[Jennifer]

Sometimes it helps to compare people / overlay their pattern profile overtop someone who is an obvious example of a type.

For example, Jodie Foster is an INTJ type; and Streep does not "match up" with her. There are similarities, but overall I couldn't class them as the same type. (Therefore, Streep is something different than INTJ.)