By 
I'm on the phone with the most famously introverted woman in the world, Susan Cain, when I attempt to break the ice by asking her about Frozen. I'd read somewhere that she liked it, and it seems like an innocuous way to get anyone talking (except, maybe, John Travolta).
Cain, author of The New York Times Best Seller Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Won't Stop Talking, thaws out instantly. "I do adore Frozen. I just thought it was great," she laughs. "But it's funny you brought that up, because I have been thinking about it in a larger context lately, about these heroines for girls. I don't know of any recent kids' movie where the main female character is an introvert other than Frozen. So I'd like to partner with Disney or Pixar to produce some scripts that celebrate the kind of girls that are powerful in a quiet way, because they need role models too."
If anyone could actually affect that sort of change, it'd be Cain, famous not only for that bestseller but also for her wildly popular "The Power of Introverts" TED Talk. More than 8 million people have watched it; Bill Gates considers it one of his all-time favorites, and it's certainly made Cain a mouthpiece for the stifled, introverted set. But Cain's not against extroverted people, as is often misreported ("My husband, my best friend, and my Quiet Revolution co-founder are all extroverts," Cain says. "Introverts and extroverts are yin and yang— we enjoy and need each other.") She's simply drawing attention to a recent trend. With the outspoken, domineering extrovert so celebrated in today's culture—Be powerful! Be bold! Start your own company at 19! Tweet your every thought to everyone you know!— introverted personalities aren't just steamrolled in the process. Worse, they're also stigmatized.
I've called Cain up to talk about this shift, because it seems like it's a problem especially for women, like the modern Western world is suddenly having trouble reconciling that a strong woman can also be an introverted one. (As Cain puts it, "In our efforts to instill confidence in young women, are we promoting an ideal of sassy outspokenness that's just as confining as the 1950s model of docility?") We need middle ground—to appreciate both extroverts and introverts for what they each bring to academia, business, everything. Instead, we're championing a one-note image of female strength and leadership, as if being like Beyoncé, Sheryl Sandberg, or any other quintessential extrovert is the only way to be a female and to be successful. In the process, we're pushing introverted women to ape behavior that's unnatural to them, like that's what they need to do to get ahead, and to question if something is "wrong" with them for being more of a think first, speak after type. And since we know full well—thanks to countless studies like this one—that "the most assertive person in the group doesn't necessarily have the best ideas," as Cain says, it's to the detriment of everyone, introverts and extroverts alike, companies as well as classrooms.
But what, beyond TED Talks, best sellers, and initiatives like Cain's new Quiet Revolution (in which she's partnering with schools and companies to make offices and classrooms more introvert-friendly) can be done to bolster the introverted female's image? To let the world know we shouldn't try to change those women's natures? Well, after Cain addresses the Frozen thing—that we need more introverted role models for young girls—it sparks something else in our phone chat. Maybe we need more introverted role models for grown women, too, I mention—we have Cain herself to look to, yes, but we need more! Cain leapt at the chance to share some of her kindred spirits with me: Below, she reveals her list of 10 famous, successful introverted women who prove that Cain's not the only example of a quietly powerful leader. Far, far from it.
Emma Watson: The 23-year-old actress (and our April cover star) talked about her love of Cain's book in an interview with Tavi Gevnison, saying that she's "an introverted kind of person just by nature," that "it's not like a conscious choice" that she's making. And that accepting that part of her personality was a "very empowering" thing for her. (Not that Emma wasn't powerful already; she was the highest grossing actress of the past decade, actually.)
Audrey Hepburn: The late actress was quoted as saying that her role in Breakfast at Tiffany's was her biggest challenge: "I'm an introvert. Playing the extroverted girl was the hardest thing I ever did," she said. And yet Hepburn nailed that role and countless other ones, including serving as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador who—though an introvert—tirelessly spoke out for those underprivileged children who couldn't speak for themselves.
Martha Minow: When Cain went to speak at Harvard last fall, she discovered that the 59-year-old Dean of Harvard Law School, Martha Minow, is an introvert, too. Cain calls her "the ultimate quiet leader," and considering Minow nabbed a post as one of country's the top academic administrators (and is credited as a life-changing teacher for our president, Barack Obama) we'd certainly agree.
J.K. Rowling: The 48-year-old author credits her introversion, in part, for the Harry Potter franchise, saying that when the idea came into her head: "To my immense frustration, I didn't have a pen that worked, and I was too shy to ask anybody if I could borrow one…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." (So had she been the extroverted type, to go and grab a pen from a pile of strangers, we might never know what "Hogwarts" means. Eek.)
Laura Bush: The former first lady, 67, was quoted as saying "George and I are complete opposites," at the 2005 White House Correspondents' dinner. "I'm quiet, he's talkative. I'm introverted, he's extroverted. I can pronounce nuclear..." she joked. But in all seriousness, it's wonderful to see that a woman with an introverted nature can be a powerful first lady, and one of the most popular first ladies ever, at that.
Christina Aguilera: "She tells me that she has always been 'intense and introverted' and that, as a result, she's felt like an outsider her entire life," wrote one reporter of the 33-year-old singer. And yet Aguilera hasn't let that hold her back from crafting an image as a total exhibitionist, and winning not one but four Grammys in the process.
Marissa Mayer: Cain points out that Mayer often "talks about how she is naturally shy and introverted," and yet modern media ignores it and paints her as an extrovert instead. If the 38-year-old-old Yahoo! president and CEO is that successful, she must be extroverted, right? Actually, no—not at all. Quiet leadership is more her speed.
Mia Hamm: The 42-year-old soccer player is now retired, but at one point, the Women's World Cup winner was one of the most recognizable athletes in the world. And as an introvert, she didn't let "her contradictory tug of war: her desire to avoid the spotlight and her role as her sport's biggest star" hold her back from being a great with the press and a fabulous teammate.
Courteney Cox: The 49-year-old actress hasn't let her self-reported introversion hold her back from both having an A-list acting career and starting her own production company. (Or from getting everybody to want to be her Friend.)
Wendy Kopp: The 46-year-old founder of Teach for America admitted, "I'm an introvert, there's no doubt about it." Still, she hasn't let that stop her from leading one of the most inspirational non-profit organizations in the world.
