16 Super Successful Introverts

08/13/2013 08:50 am ET | Updated Aug 15, 2015

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Laura SchockerExecutive Editor, Healthy Living

Abraham Lincoln and Emma Watson have something in

common. So do Eleanor Roosevelt and Christina Aguilera.
They, like an estimated one third to one half of the
population, are introverts.
While extroverts tend to gain their energy in social
situations, introverts typically recharge through
solitude and feel drained from too much stimulation. It
might be easy to assume that those who gravitate
toward the spotlight of fame are extroverts, but the truth
is that many of our most prominent faces, past and
present, have actually identified as introverts.

Introverts are hardly a bunch of shy wallflowers they

are proven leaders who can make great public speakers.
Dont believe us? Check out the list of 16 prominent
introverts below. Keep in mind, too, that the famous
faces listed below comprise just a drop in the bucket
the list of famous introverts also often includes Michael
Jordan, Gwyneth Paltrow, Harrison Ford, Charles
Darwin and David Letterman, among many others.

J.K. Rowling

The Harry Potter creator, who was recently revealed as

the author of The Cuckoos Calling under the pseudonym
Robert Galbraith, is frequently cited as an introvert.
People who identify as introverts often report feeling
most creative when theyre alone with their own
thoughts, rather than in groups. Indeed, Rowling recalls
on her website that she first had the idea for Harry Potter
in 1990 when she was traveling alone on a delayed train
from Manchester to London.
I had been writing almost continuously since the age of
six but I had never been so excited about an idea before.
To my immense frustration, I didnt have a pen that
worked, and I was too shy to ask anybody if I could
borrow one, she writes. I did not have a functioning
pen with me, but I do think that this was probably a good
thing. I simply sat and thought, for four (delayed train)
hours, while all the details bubbled up in my brain, and
this scrawny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who didnt

know he was a wizard became more and more real to

me.
Bill Gates

Writer and introvert expert Susan Cain describes the

Microsoft co-founder and chairman as an introvert. We
can stretch our personalities, but only up to a point, she
wrote in her book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts In A
World That Cant Stop Talking, the Chicago Tribune
reported. Bill Gates is never going to be Bill Clinton, no
matter how he polishes his social skills, and Bill Clinton
can never be Bill Gates, no matter how much time he
spends alone with a computer. Hes also an example of
someone whos introverted without being shy,
Cain noted in a Psychology Today blog: Bill Gates is
quiet and bookish, but apparently unfazed by others
opinions of him: hes an introvert, but not shy.
And perhaps Cains work has struck a nerve with the
business magnate: He chose her TED talk as one of his
13 favorites.

Abraham Lincoln

In the nations earlier years it was easier for introverts

to earn respect, Cain said in a Q&A with Amazon.com.
America once embodied what the cultural historian
Warren Susman called a Culture of Character, which
valued inner strength, integrity, and the good deeds you
performed when no one was looking. You could cut an
impressive figure by being quiet, reserved, and dignified.
Abraham Lincoln was revered as a man who did not
offend by superiority, as Emerson put it.

Christina Aguilera

The pop star and reality TV mentor might seem like the
picture of an extrovert on stage, but in real life she
identifies as the opposite. If it werent for her bleachblonde hair, I wouldnt have recognized her, Gaby
Wood wrote for Marie Claire about her interview for the
magazine, published in early 2010. Because, besides
being petite, she is, it seems, shy. She tells me that she
has always been intense and introverted and that, as a
result, shes felt like an outsider her entire life.

Eleanor Roosevelt

As the longest-serving First Lady in history, Eleanor

Roosevelt is known for her very public persona,
entertaining, holding press conferences, giving lectures
and evenserving as American spokesman in the United
Nations after her husbands death but she was
also thought to be an introvert. Her official online White
House biodescribes her as a shy, awkward child, starved
for recognition and love, [who] grew into a woman with
great sensitivity to the underprivileged of all creeds,
races, and nations ... her graciousness, and her sincerity
of purpose endeared her personally to many from
heads of state to servicemen she visited abroad during
World War II.
Shes often quoted as saying: Friendship with oneself is
all important, because without it one cannot be friends
with anyone else in the world.

Courteney Cox

The former Friend cited personality differences as one of

the reasons for her split with David Arquette. Im a
homebody. I like to have people over, but Im a little
socially not I dont love it, she told Howard Stern in a
2011 radio interview, People reported. David he
doesnt drink anymore, hes completely sober but he
likes to go out and dance. He really is a very gregarious
guy. Hes very outgoing. Im much more of an introvert.

Albert Einstein

The world-renowned physicist who developed the theory

of relativity was oftenthought to be an introvert. Like
many introverts, he did his best thinking alone: The
monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the
creative mind, hes widely quoted as saying.

Emma Watson

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower star has said she credits

her introverted personality for her reputation as a nonparty girl.
Its interesting, because people say things to me like,
Its really cool that you dont go out and get drunk all
the time and go to clubs, and Im just like, I mean, I
appreciate that, but Im kind of an introverted kind of
person just by nature, its not like a conscious choice that
Im making necessarily. Its genuinely who I am, she told
Rookie earlier this year. Have you seen Quiet by Susan
Cain? ... It discusses how [extroverts] in our society are
bigged up so much, and if youre anything other than an
[extrovert] youre made to think theres something wrong
with you. Thats like the story of my life. Coming to
realize that about myself was very empowering, because
I had felt like Oh my god, there must be something
wrong with me, because I dont want to go out and do
what all my friends want to do.

Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhis work is proof positive that you dont have to

be an extrovert to be an effective leader. He once said,
In a gentle way, you can shake the world.

Laura Bush

The former First Lady and wife to President George W.

Bush is a self-described introvert. George and I are
complete opposites, she said at the 2005 White House
Correspondents dinner. Im quiet, hes talkative. Im
introverted, hes extroverted. I can pronounce nuclear...
And Mrs. Bush is a prime example that introversion
doesnt necessarily mean the same thing as shy. As a
2000 USA today article noted: Her successful Houston
appearance in mid-June resonated with political
significance. In her confident delivery, reliance on humor,
forceful demeanor on the dais, and relaxed response to
press questions, Laura Bush, 53, conclusively turned
upside down a once-standard media description that
portrayed her as shy, remote, and somewhat reclusive in
matters political ... For an admitted introvert, Laura Bush
remarkably has evolved into a very effective speaker.

Rosa Parks

The Civil Rights legend who refused to give up her bus

seat for a white man in 1955 was also considered an
introvert. Susan Cain wrote in the introduction of her
book Quiet: The Power Of Introverts In A World That Cant
Stop Talking:
I had always imagined Rosa Parks as a stately woman with
a bold temperament, someone who could easily stand up to
a busload of glowering passengers. But when she died in
2005 at the age of 92, the flood of obituaries recalled
her as soft-spoken, sweet, and small in stature. They
said she was timid and shy but had the courage of a
lion. They were full of phrases like radical
humility and quiet fortitude.

In fact, Parks titled her 2000 autobiography Quiet

Strength.

Audrey Hepburn

Despite her public persona, the British actress identified

as an introvert. Shes oftenquoted as saying: Im an
introvert ... I love being by myself, love being outdoors,
love taking a long walk with my dogs and looking at the
trees, flowers, the sky.
Warren Buffett

Cains book has a chapter titled, Why Did Wall Street

Crash And Warren Buffet Prosper? using an explanation

of introversion and extroversion personality

characteristics to help answer that question. She wrote:
Warren Buffet, the legendary investor and one of the
wealthiest men in the world, has used exactly the
attributes weve explored in this chapter
intellectual persistence, prudent thinking, and the
ability to see and act on warning signs to make
billions of dollars for himself and the shareholders in
his company, Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett is known for
thinking carefully when those around him lose their
heads. Success in investing doesnt correlate with
IQ, he has said. Once you have ordinary intelligence,
what you need is the temperament to control the urges
that get other people into trouble in investing.

Roy Rogers

The singer and actor earned the nickname King of the

Cowboys for his roles in many musical westerns. Im an

introvert at heart, he once said, according to CNN. And
show business even though Ive loved it so much
has always been hard for me.
Candice Bergen

The Murphy Brown star shared at The Huffington

Posts Third Metric conference in June that she and her
husband are on opposite ends of the scale: Im an
introvert and my husband is like the mayor, she said.

George Stephanopoulos

Despite my job chatting people up, Im an introvert,

the TV journalist told Good Housekeeping in 2012. One
way he finds moments alone in his frenetic world?
Meditation. Its been a lifesaver for me. Ive been
meditating for about two years now, consistently and
kind of seriously, he said at HuffPosts Third Metric
conference. I feel more space in my life even when its
not there.

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