ESFP – the Performer, the Activator, the Challenger
Majel Barrett’s first character on Star Trek was the icy cold Number One, the executive officer in the original pilot. Lwaxana Troi, aka: “The Auntie Mame of the Galaxy,” could not be further removed from that role. At once a welcome spark of life in the pastel corridors of the Enterprise-D, and a controversially disruptive figure, she pulls everyone around her into her own eccentric orbit.
(I’ll be referencing “Half a Life” quite a bit for this profile, since it’s one of the all-time heartbreakingly great episodes of TNG, and the one you should watch if other Lwaxana episodes make you crazy.)
Dominant Function: (Se) Extraverted Sensing, “The Kitchens”
Lwaxana pursues life with gusto. Her energy, her gigantic hair, her endless supply of sparkly dresses, her insatiable appetite for…pleasure, all dominate whatever crowd she’s a part of. She speaks her mind, and speaks other people’s minds as well—unlike her half-Betazoid daughter Deanna, who receives only vague impressions of emotions, Lwaxana can read exactly what people are thinking, and comments on it out loud.
Especially if she’s picking up a man’s lusty thoughts about her.
On one of her exasperating visits to the Enterprise, she comes looking for a husband, and whatever available man happens to be in the room with her becomes her next choice. She’s practically planning the honeymoon with Riker before Troi can pull her away. At the end of the visit, after all the bluster and fluster she’s caused, Lwaxana casually points out that a pair of ambassadors on board are assassins, solving the problem just like that. Continue reading
Heroes & Villains of MBTI 