Famous ESFPs

ESFP

Bill Clinton

U.S. President (D), married to Hillary Clinton

Clinton: "I always tried to keep things moving in the right direction, to give more people a chance to live their dreams, to lift people's spirits, and to bring them together."

Clinton: "I have a good heart. And I mean well."

Clinton: "I am at root not intellectual [and] not conceptual."

Clinton: "The soul: I know what it is - it's where I feel things, it's what moves me, it's what makes me a man."

ESFP

Ronald Reagan

U.S. President (R)

Reagan: "Whatever else history may say about me ... I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears; to your confidence rather than your doubts."

Reagan: "We are the country of tomorrow. ... America remains on a voyage of discovery, a land that has never become, but is always in the act of becoming."

Bill Clinton: "He personified ... indomitable optimism ... [and fought] for freedom for people everywhere."

Adam Knowlton: "[He] won over a nation beset by fear and loathing by [standing] for freedom ... self-reliance, earthly happiness, the dreams of the imagination and the desires of the heart."

ESFP

Michelangelo

Sculptor and painter

Michelangelo: "Be of good cheer and be diligent. ... Make the most of every opportunity."

Michelangelo: "Be bold and speak clearly. Let this suffice."

Tamara Smithers: "Contemporary sources reveal his ... sense of humor ... fiery personality, and ... rash conduct."

The Guardian: "Leonardo [was] soft, shadowy, ambiguous; Michelangelo sublimely decisive. [But they] had one thing in common: Neither liked to finish anything."

A.C. Fiorato: "For Michelangelo, art [was] a matter of practical achievement rather than intellectual speculation."

ESFP

Peter the Great

Tsar of Russia

Peter: "I have conquered an empire but I have not been able to conquer myself."

Peter: "Delay is like death."

Voltaire: "Peter had a goodness of heart [and] an excess of passion."

Robert K. Massie: "His ... liveliness and readiness to be pleased [always] made a favorable impression."

Queen Sophia Charlotte [upon meeting Peter in 1697:] "He has a natural, unconstrained air which pleased me."

Countess Sophia of the Palatinate [upon meeting Peter in 1697:] "He was very gregarious, very talkative. ... He has a very good heart, and remarkably noble sentiments."

ESFP

Richard Branson

Founder of Virgin Group

Branson: "I always had an urge to live life to its full."

Branson: "[I have] a rebellious streak. I have always thought rules were there to be broken."

Branson: "I worry about all the people who have been classified as stupid by [IQ] tests. Little do they know that often these tests have been dreamt up by academics who are absolutely useless at dealing with the practicalities of the outside world."

Branson: "I admire Bill Clinton enormously."

Branson: "I'm proud to say that I [support] Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution."

ESFP

Larry Ellison

Founder of Oracle

Ellison: "If you can help others, you will feel great. The more you can help ... the better you will feel about yourself [and] the more joy you will experience."

[Asked if extreme sports don't make him feel fear:]
Ellison: "I certainly feel a little stress, if I just bought a jet fighter and I'm flying it for the very first time, and doing aerobatics very low to the ground. I wouldn't call it fear, but it's a little bit of a rush."

Ellison: "I hope they can amend the constitution to let Bill Clinton run again. I'm very fond of Bill Clinton personally. ... He's gifted, bright, charming and charismatic."

ESFP

Howard Schultz

CEO of Starbucks

Schultz: "The word I would use to describe my relationship to this company isn't a word that is used in business a lot: It's love."

Schultz: "It is my nature to speak from the heart, usually unedited."

Schultz: "[Being in business] is about telling a story, providing excitement, and elevating the emotions."

Schultz: "[I want Starbucks to be a place where] you are swept away by attention to detail. ... [We're a company] that's about multiple sensory experiences, and it's about romance."

ESFP

Mark Cuban

Businessman and investor

Cuban: "[I want to] help you to reach your goals and have more fun in your life."

Cuban: "[To succeed in business you have] to put yourself in a position where if luck strikes, you can see the opportunity and take advantage of it."

Cuban: "I'm not organized. I have to have ... people around me who dot my i's and cross my t's. ... I'm a ready-fire-aim guy. I need to have people around me who aren't."

Cuban: "[When I was young] I had so many [different] jobs my parents wondered if I would ever be stable."

Daniel Jimenez: "[Cuban is] an ambitious self-made business tycoon who also loves to have fun."

ESFP

Tony Robbins

Self-help advocate and author, featured on Oprah

Robbins: "Live with passion!"

Robbins: "The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body. The more efficient your body, the better you feel and the more you will use your talent to produce outstanding results."

Robbins: "I was touched so deeply by the emotions in that room that I got choked up. ... As I looked out on my audience and saw 5,000 smiling, cheering, loving faces, in that moment I realized that I am living my dream!"

Bill Clinton: "Tony Robbins has a great gift. ... Since I am supposed to be more buttoned-down ... I can't lead you in cheers and jumping up and down the way Tony did. But in spirit, I'm there, I love it!"

ESFP

Wayne Dyer

Self-help advocate and author, featured on Oprah and Ellen

Dyer: "Feeling good ... always boils down to energy."

Dyer: "Every thought you have affects everything in your body."

Dyer: "I [am] a high-energy person who loves what I am doing."

Dyer: "When people ask, 'How do you get to be a great speaker?' I say, 'Be authentic and be enthusiastic.'"

Dyer: "I hope that you'll feel joyously in love ... and that you'll add your light and color to [the world]. ... I can think of no greater vision for you, for our planet, or for our universe."

[Speaking to Tony Robbins:]
Dyer: "I know your material as well as you know mine ... and I know we have a lot of similarities there."

ESFP

Deepak Chopra

Alternative medicine advocate and author

Chopra: "The only belief you need to have is in your infinite potential."

Chopra: "We should be socializing six hours every day ... which means purposeless activity, playful activity."

Chopra: "Love can only blossom with a return to innocence."

Chopra: "[My first book] was written in one long burst of excitement. ... My brain was fired by a revelation, my spirits soared as high as the clouds. ... I had the key! I was going to reveal a secret beyond price."

Celine Dion: "[Deepak Chopra's books are] about being positive and not judging people. I like that."

ESFP

Paulo Coelho

Author of 'The Alchemist' and self-help advocate

Coelho: "In today's society ... there is a tremendous amount of energy spent on trying to make people conform to established behavior. ... This uniformity ... stifles people's spontaneity."

Coelho: "[We should avoid] working from nine to five at something that does not give us the least pleasure [and] retiring only to discover that we have no more energy to enjoy life."

Coelho: "All we need is to be ... open to people and willing to share our souls."

Coelho: "If you want to capture ideas, you are lost. You are going to be detached from emotions and forget to live your life. You will be an observer and not a human being living his or her life."

Coelho: "Deep within, [people] long to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again."

ESFP

Desmond Tutu

Anti-apartheid activist

Tutu: "Our diversity is beautiful - it would be so terribly boring if we were all the same! ... Let's love each other. ... Let's dare to be beautiful in our own truth - and still belong."

Tutu: "The sky is the limit, and we are meant to reach for the stars."

Tutu: "We [should] not judge or label others too hurriedly - because as the philosopher Soeren Kierkegaard said, 'When you label me, you negate me.'"

Bill Gates: "Along with Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu is one of the greatest heroes of the struggle against apartheid and for social justice in Africa."

ESFP

Horatio Nelson

'Lord Nelson' - U.K. naval officer

Nelson: "If it be a sin to covet glory I am the most offending soul alive."

Nelson [to a girlfriend:] "It is [the female] sex that make us go forth and seem to tell us, 'None but the brave deserve the fair!' and, if we fall, we still live in the hearts of those females."

Alexander Scott: "[He was] the greatest and most simple of men - one of the nicest and most innocent." [Upon meeting Nelson ca. 1804.]

Jules Maurel: "[Nelson is a] genius, no doubt, but also ... fantastic, violent, and extravagant in all his passions."

Thomas Pettigrew: "[He had a] love of glory and ... honors [but was] contemptful of money. The sincerity and ardor of his character and the simplicity and energy of his sayings give him more the appearance of an ancient hero than a modern one."

ESFP

Quentin Tarantino

Filmmaker

Tarantino: "To me, violence is a purely aesthetic thing. It has nothing political, there is no morality involved."

[Asked to define 'Tarantino-esque':]
Tarantino: "I don't know if it's for me to say exactly what Tarantino-esque is ... because I just do it."

Tarantino: "I write movies about mavericks, about people who break rules, and I don't like movies about people who are [punished] for being mavericks."

David Carradine: "Tarantino is more fun than you can imagine to work with. ... He has an awful lot of fun and he transmits that to you."

ESFP

Steven Spielberg

Filmmaker

[On studio films versus independent films:]
Spielberg: "It was the establishment that attracted me ... because they had the best toys: Big cameras, big lights, big movie stars [and] tremendous sets."

[On making 'Schindler's List':]
Spielberg: "I could have chosen a much darker Holocaust story where nobody survives the furnaces, but I wanted some kind of redemption."

Scott Ross: "[Spielberg has] unbelievable exuberance and [is] incredibly collaborative."

ESFP

Mel Gibson

Actor and filmmaker

Gibson: "You can drown in a mire of worry ... but it doesn't pay, because tomorrow always takes care of itself."

ESFP

Beyonce

Singer, married to Jay-Z

Beyonce: "[I am] bold, unafraid to love, and flaunt [my] sexuality and strength."

Beyonce: "[I am] sexy and energized and fun."

Beyonce: "It's great to ... have the freedom to express my emotions through fashion."

Tom Ford: "She radiates positive energy. ... You feel it when you are around her. ... You feel it when she looks you in the eyes and smiles."

Gwyneth Paltrow: "She is clear and honest and true to herself. ... She is so full of love and she knows who she is."

ESFP

Denzel Washington

Actor

Washington: "You have to grab moments when they happen. I like to improvise."

Washington: "I've found that nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks."

Washington: "Becoming an artist you can lose touch with what real people want. I'm intrigued by appealing to a mass number of people."

Washington: "Some things should be left alone. Not everything needs to be categorized, analyzed, and understood."

Washington: "Look in the mirror and say ... 'There is opportunity; you can make it. Whatever it is that you choose ... you can do it.'"

ESFP

Will Smith

Actor and rapper

Smith: "I have a great time with my life and I want to share it. I love living. I think that's infectious. It's something that you can't fake."

Smith: "If you're not making someone else's life better, then you're wasting your time. Your life will become better by making others' lives better."

Smith: "One of my favorite books is 'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho and I just believe that ... I can create whatever I want to create."

Eva Mendes: "He's so full of light. We all want to be next to him and root for him. People want to be around [him]. He's a light force."

The Observer: "[He has an] ability to charm his way out of any given situation. ... [He truly is] The Fresh Prince."

ESFP

Jamie Oliver

TV cook

Oliver: "[What I do is] far more natural, and less strategic than [people] seem to think."

[On crafting things himself:]
Oliver: "I'm [good] with my hands, and I always loved the slightly romantic idea of starting with bits of wood and being able to create something to sit on, to eat from, to store your clothes in."

Oliver: "[Schools] are not doing enough for those [children who] need a more physical, tactile approach, involving people skills, team-building [and] building things."

The Observer: "[It is enjoyable] when Oliver swears. His swearing is gleeful, malice-free, charming. It is an insight into his excitable ... brain."

ESFP

Robbie Williams

Singer-songwriter

Williams: "When you're 13, 14, 15 ... then the possibility of being exactly who you want to be is at its strongest."

Williams: "[When you're young] your expectation of sex and of drinking and of ... being in a loving relationship ... is just so beautiful and perfect."

Williams: "I suppose there's still a big child in me that likes the magic of it all."

The Observer: "[He is] uncommonly warm when he wants to be [and] carries his emotions [on] the surface."

The Observer: "He is always alert and yet somehow constantly bored."

ESFP

Katy Perry

Singer-songwriter, dated John Mayer

Perry: "I'm a jokester prankster - I'm an open book. And my boobs are real!"

Perry: "I know I have sex appeal in my deck of cards."

Perry: "I never want to be boring, so therefore I aspire to always be interesting, experimental and entertaining."

Perry: "People overthink things."

ESFP

Nicki Minaj

Rapper

Minaj: "I was always like a comedian to my friends and family."

Minaj: "My music is a way for me to have fun. Sometimes I'll say things and I'll laugh. But it's all love."

Vibe Magazine: "Nicki has never had a hard time getting attention. ... [Even at her performing arts school] Nicki was hard to miss. She was loud and friendly."

ESFP

Pink

Singer-songwriter

Pink: "When I was little, I was like, 'I'm going to grow up [and] hitch-hike across the country and get discovered [while] singing on the boardwalk in Venice Beach.'"

Pink: "I'm a very honest person. Sometimes I put my foot in my mouth, but ... everybody will always know where [I'm] coming from."

ESFP

Carly Rae Jepsen

Singer-songwriter

Jepsen: "I'm ... free-spirited. Maybe a little too free-spirited."

Jepsen: "I like when the song starts to take over and you feel like you have to dance more than write."

Jepsen: "I always write what feels really true and honest and me."

Allure Magazine: "Jepsen is a candy-coated pinball bouncing off the walls at a ballistic pace."

ESFP

Marina Diamandis

(Marina and the Diamonds)

Diamandis: "It's just my nature [that] I'm really overly dramatic."

Diamandis: "I'm a bigmouth and I like to say ridiculous things."

Diamandis: "I like using fashion for humor. ... [Without] fashion ... I feel like everything is really 2D, and I can't ever imagine style and image not being a part of what I do."

Diamandis: "Britney Spears is a big influence [on me]. Huge."

ESFP

Leonardo DiCaprio

Actor

DiCaprio: "I was always the kid in school who tried to get attention. ... I'd do little unexpected performances."

DiCaprio: "School, I never truly got the knack of. I could never focus on things I didn't want to learn."

DiCaprio: "I want to be a jerk like the rest of my friends ... but I just can't."

ESFP

Justin Bieber

Singer, dated Selena Gomez

Bieber: "I want my world to be fun. No parents, no rules, no nothing."

Bieber: "I'm not afraid to show my emotions. If you love someone, you should tell them. If you think a girl is beautiful, you should say that."

ESFP

Harry Styles

(One Direction) - dated Taylor Swift

Styles: "I get such a thrill when I'm in front of people singing."

Styles: "I think if you like someone, then ... you shouldn't play games. You should ask them out."

Styles: "I am quite flirty. Maybe I'm too flirty."

Styles: "I don't mind getting a black eye or a broken arm for a girl as long as she's there to kiss it after."

ESFP

Evan Rachel Wood

Actress, was married to Jamie Bell, dated Marilyn Manson

Wood: "I love [when] everything I do is fresh and in the moment."

Wood: "I never study [my lines] because then I overthink them. ... The less I read them the better."

Wood: "I always feel like one of the guys and very unintimidated."

Wood: "You don't have to take yourself so seriously all the time."

Wood: "I'm a big karaoke fan and I also love Justin Bieber unashamedly."

ESFP

Macklemore

Rapper

Macklemore: "[I'm] about being fresh, being creative, being original."

Macklemore: "I just love fashion, I've always loved it. ... I don't want to dress like every other rapper, I want to ... be true to who I am."

AXS Magazine: "[He has shown] a rare bit of pure cheerful indulgence for the hip-hop world. ... [With him] the fun [is] infectious."

AXS Magazine: "On stage [he brings] boisterous energy [that flows] so freely. ... Macklemore [bounces his] way through each concert, drawing audiences in through ... sheer boyish charm and energy."

ESFP

Tyler the Creator

Rapper

Tyler: "I just do things that I think are cool and it works out."

Tyler: "[Great people] are themselves no matter what."

Tyler: "I want everyone to win. ... I don't like telling people what they can or cannot do, because I think everybody can do whatever they want, if they really believe it."

Tyler: "I've just always been really energetic. ... I don't have a process. I just react."

Tyler: "Sometimes I think people are in their head too much and never take a step back and just look."

ESFP

Julian Casablancas

(The Strokes)

Casablancas: "I just like making cool things and helping others make inspiring things, and it's not just about money or anything."

Casablancas: "I've always had the energy to do more than one thing. ... I'd always be thinking of five video ideas at once and twenty t-shirt ideas."

Casablancas: "What I really [want] to do [is to] make positive things."

Casablancas: "You have to have passion and joy."

Casablancas: "I like improvising [and] making stuff up on the spot."

ESFP

Ringo Starr

(The Beatles)

Starr: "If I do do something, I want it to be positive."

[Interviewer: "Why did you give up drugs?"]
Starr: "Because you're miserable in the end - you're not creating, you're not doing anything positive."

John Lennon: "He's every ... bit as warm, unassuming, funny and kind as he seems - he was quite simply the heart of the Beatles."

ESFP

Cameron Diaz

Actress, dated Justin Timberlake

Diaz: "I love the feeling that you get when you can really laugh with a man and be natural."

Diaz: "For me, flirting means making fun of myself [and being] very unpretentious."

Kate Winslet: "Cameron is always smiling and laughing. Life, to her, is about having fun."

ESFP

Lindsay Lohan

Actress

Lohan: "Never say never. The things that you don't plan are the best. I'm a very spontaneous person."

Lohan: "Being comedic and happy and lighthearted is who I am as a person."

Lohan: "I just love fashion. I think it just expresses who you are so much."

Roger Ebert: "She has ... sunny charm ... and a sense of mischief."

Mark Waters: "[She has] this amazing turbulence and energy."

ESFP

Dana White

Owner of the UFC along with Lorenzo Fertitta

White: "I love being in contact with the fans. ... [The greatest thing is] feeling out ... what everybody's doing and what's going on and just talking to people."

White: "I say whatever I want to say. I don't filter."

White: "The way I handle things [is] everything is on a case-by-case basis and [I'll] deal with stuff as it comes."

ESFP

Danielle de Niese

Soprano

De Niese: "I absolutely adore being on stage."

De Niese: "Dance is integral for me ... because [it] helps me embody a character and helps me feel comfortable."

[Interviewer: "How does it feel that people aren't just talking about your singing, but also about what a sex bomb you are?"]
De Niese: "Hel-lo-o! [I'm playing] Cleopatra! I'd be worried if people were saying that I was rigid."

ESFP

Oscar Isaac

Actor

Isaac: "I was always ... very confident. ... When I was first getting out of school I always thought, 'If they just give me that one shot ... I know I can show 'em.'"

Isaac: "You can't try to be authentic. You either are or you aren't."

Isaac: "[I'm not one to] take things overly seriously. ... I'm not a very dogmatic person."

Isaac: "Sometimes [it's] better not to know how you do what you do. [You become too] self-aware, and that's no good. ... If [the subconscious] becomes too conscious, it defeats the purpose."

The Guardian: "[In person he] is a cheerful, vigorous presence. ... His energy and good humor are ... commendable."

The Guardian: "He is easy, peachy company. ... Unselfconsciously, campily tactile [and] eager to connect."

ESFP

Mads Mikkelsen

Actor

Mikkelsen: "I was always a very energetic person; I am still a very energetic person."

Mikkelsen: "I'm a very physical person ... it's a big part of me to throw myself into all the stunts."

Mikkelsen: "I try to eliminate words as much as possible. There is a tendency to underestimate the power of what we can do without words. Sometimes you can make [things] more powerful and precise without dialogue."

The Telegraph: "He is refreshingly unaffected."

Esquire Magazine: "Mikkelsen [plays] villains on [screen]. ... But in real life [he] is upbeat and enthusiastic about life."

ESFP

Hugh Hefner

Founder of Playboy Magazine

Hefner: "[We at Playboy] prefer to approach sex ... with a smile and a song in our heart. ... I guess we don't really believe that sex is nearly as serious as some people would like us to."

Hefner: "Playboy is dedicated to the enjoyment of 'the good life' that is every American's heritage, if he's willing to display a little of the initiative and dering-do that made the country great in the first place."

Hefner: "[Too many people] settle for job security, conformity, togetherness, anonymity and slow death."

ESFP

Andy Samberg

Comedian, married to Joanna Newsom, dated Kirsten Dunst

Samberg: "I've always found it worthwhile to make something completely stupid just to prove that you can. People in general are too stressed out, even though most things are pretty ridiculous."

Samberg: "[As a kid] I was a little bit rambunctious."

Samberg: "So much of stand-up is convincing people - without anything but your energy and your body language - that you're confident and comfortable."

Peter Smith: "He's a shaggy-haired sincere-ist, and impossible not to like. ... [He] comes off as completely unaffected, humble and most of all grateful, eager to throw props in every direction."

ESFP

Dave Chappelle

Comedian

Chappelle: "[Even at 40] I skateboard ... play video games, buy motorcycles ... ride bikes. ... I'm a real action-packed 40-year-old dad."

Chappelle: "It doesn't all have to be so serious with me. I can revert back to my adolescence in an instant."

Chappelle: "I've got this real immature streak where I write a lot of scatological humor."

Chappelle: "The world can't tell you who you are. You [have to] figure out who you are, and be that for better or for worse."

GQ Magazine: "[He has the] grin that an especially troublemaking 8-year-old you can't help but love anyway would make."

ESFP

Elle Fanning

Actress, sister of Dakota Fanning

Fanning: "If people say 'no' to you and it's something you really want to do, keep going and you'll succeed."

Fanning: "Everyone is different in their own way, so, people shouldn't try to make them feel bad because of that."

Fanning: "Crazy colors, sparkles. I'm all for it. I love experimenting."

Dakota Fanning: "My sister is totally a free spirit, wild and fun and funny. Me, I'm more organized and proper."

Vogue Magazine: "Elle possesses a natural luminosity that goes straight to your heart."