Somatotypes of Famous People

The reason for posting somatotypes of famous people is to illustrate the value of this method of understanding human behavior.  We all feel we know famous people.  At least we know “about” famous people.  We certainly know what they look like.  Because there is such a public appetite for information about celebrities we get a glimpse of  some very personal information about their relationships, problems with addictions,  and other aspects of their character.  Today, in addition to the tell-all biographies, magazines, and TV shows we have endless pages of inter-net sources.

It is likely that our universe of celebrities is even larger than our entire circle of acquaintances, including schoolmates, church members, country club associates, fraternal societies, workmates, friends and relatives.   Once you know the somatotypes (body-types) of these famous people you will begin to see the connection between their location on a standard somatotype chart and the similarities they share  with those who are in close proximity.

Hopefully, you will appreciate the utility of this scientific tool.  You might even want to find YOUR somatotype and satisfy your curiosity about where you fit into the quilt of human society.   Eventually you discover yourself by finding others.  (If you want to discover your somatotype, click on this link for instructions:  HOW CAN I DISCOVER MY SOMATOTYPE?)

Somatotyping famous people requires three types of information.

1. Biographical Information.  There needs to be sufficient published biographical information about the famous person.  This is usually not a problem with celebrities.  But there are some sources that I try to avoid.  Preference will be given to biographical information that is provided by monitored sources such as Wikipedia.  Other sources are “official biographies” that are accepted by the celebrity as accurate.  I will avoid information that has been legally disputed or that is provided by people who have an axe to grind.

2.  The hard part is finding a picture of a celebrity that exposes enough of their body to make an accurate determination of their somatotype.  Sexy starlets are easy to find.  It’s much harder to find businessmen or women in revealing attire.   Generally, if there are only fully clothed pictures available I will only claim about 60% accuracy.  The most accurate pictures (95%) will be front or back pictures where the person is positioned perpendicular to the camera.  Less accurate are the pictures where the subject is turned at a slight angle to the camera (75%).   I am constantly trying to find methods of improving accuracy in these less than perfect situations.

3. Height and weight are essential.  I will always look at multiple sources to arrive at a consensus on height and weight.  The weight of females in the public eye are often inaccurate.  On the other hand the height of male celebrities is often exaggerated.  My skills at estimating weight given height is steadily improving.  It’s a skill that is fairly easy to master when you consider that every carnival has a weight guesser who is skilled enough not to lose money.

The somatotype data will be presented as follows:

• Celebrity Name
• Endomorphy (Gut dominance) expressed on a scale of 1 (low) and 7 (high)
• Mesomorphy (Muscular dominance) expressed on a scale of 1 (low) and 7 (high)
• Ectomorphy (Linearity – Heighth – Nervous dominance) expressed on a scale of 1 (low) and 7 (high)
• Balanced (Degree of balance between Endomorphy, Mesomorphy and Ectomorphy)  This again is expressed on a scale from 1(low) and 7 (high).  This is my contribution to somatotyping.  It adds the missing fourth dimension to Sheldon’s scheme. It is expressed in temperament as “orientation” or “sensory system dominance.
• Trunk Index:  Ratio of the thoracic (chest) trunk to the abdominal part of the trunk.
• Weight (Curve showing weight variance over time)
• Personality Sketch (Some brief – some long – based on somatotype.
• D-I-S-C equivalent of somatotype dimensions.  The D-I-S-C personality profile system seems to map well onto somatotype.
• MBTI – Probable Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory classification of the celebrity based on somatotype.

The chart below is a standard way of showing the relationship between the three major components of physique as determined by William H. Sheldon.  I will continue to chart the somatotypes of famous people in groups of 25 as long as I can obtain the information.  The somatotypes I list for a particular person may need to be updated if I am able to find more accurate information.  If you aren’t familiar with the theory behind this chart click on this link for INFORMATION ABOUT SOMATOTYPING THEORY.