MBTI® personality types are not only an excellent way for people to learn more about themselves. They are also a top-notch method of understanding more about the characters on favorite television programs. The best shows have well-rounded, well-developed characters, and they spend so much time with them that it’d be easy for fans to pinpoint their MBTI® types.
This is absolutely true for the new acclaimed Netflix series from Lang Fisher and Mindy Kaling, Never Have I Ever. Each character has so much depth that coming-of-age stories of the past would be ashamed by how many tropes they embodied. The Never Have I Ever characters are far from archetypes. They’re fully fleshed out and deserving of MBTI® types.
Devi: ESTJ
ESTJ stands for Extroverted, Sensing, Thinking, Judging, and it fits Devi perfectly. This personality type is known as the Executive. A goal-oriented teenager, Devi is always trying to make sure things go exactly according to her plans.
Granted this is a comedy show, so they rarely do. But it’s completely within the ESTJ type for Devi to try, try again. Half of Devi believes she’s destined for greatness. The other half wants to be like everyone else. That’s an ESTJ personified.
Des: ISFJ
Introverted, Observant, Feeling, and Judging, Des fits in with the Defender of personality types. Despite their introverted nature, ISFJs are often warm and welcoming as they show how much they care for the people around them.
They’re also ones who are intensely loyal. While Des doesn’t prove himself intensely loyal to Devi after being introduced in Season 3, he is to his mother. Just how much he cares and values his mother trumps how much he cares about other people, which drives a wedge between them.
Rhyah: ESFJ
Des and his mother have a lot of different traits when it comes to their personalities. The difference is that Rhyah is absolutely in the Extroverted category. While Des is content to hang back and see what happens, Rhyah dives right in.
ESFJs, or Consuls, are people who thrive in community and forming connections with others. They’re always ready to offer help and advice, and for Rhyah, that often manifests in sharing knowledge from her profession with others.
Manish: ENFP
Campaigners like Devi’s favorite teacher share a desire for connection with others with Consuls. They strive to have meaningful relationships with those around them, which is part of what makes Manish such a great teacher. He truly cares about his students as people.
ENFPs are also imaginative and creative, giving Manish an edge in keeping his students engaged in the classroom. Idealists, ENFPs like Manish strive to see the good in people and embrace the fun of the world around them.
Aneesa: ENFJ
Aneesa might not be the protagonist of Never Have I Ever, but Protagonist is her personality type. The ENFJ type is someone who draws others to her, and like many other Extraverted and Feeling types, longs for emotional connections with others.
That’s part of what sees her go nearly immediately from focusing her feelings on Ben to her feelings on Fabiola. She connects with both of them so well, but realizes too late that perhaps her feelings aren’t entirely romantic. Protagonists like Aneesa strive to do the right thing, which is why she can’t stay with Ben when she knows he has feelings for someone else, and she can’t stay with Fabiola when she realizes they make better friends.
Trent: ESFP
The Entertainer is the perfect personality type for Trent. Entertainers fully embrace life, wanting to experience everything it has to offer, looking for all the fun they can possibly have - and sharing it with others.
Trent, like any ESFP, is generous with his time most of all. He’s there for both Paxton and Eleanor, striving to make their lives better by offering up his companionship in games or acting opportunities, and it hits him hard when he realizes he might disappoint them or not be enough for them.
Eleanor: INFP
The key friendship on Never Have I Ever is between Fabiola, Eleanor, and Devi. Of these three, Eleanor is the sunniest and most cheerful. That isn’t to say she doesn’t have her own problems, but it’s just that she deals with them with the most optimism.
INFP stands for Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Perceiving and it’s the personality type that best represents a driven idealist, or the Mediator. That’s exactly who Eleanor is! The fact that she’s the exact opposite of Devi’s type is why they’re such good friends. They complement each other.
Fabiola: ISTJ
Of the three best friends, Fabiola is the quietest and the most logical. She goes through a lot during the series and is always figuring out something new about her identity. This makes her an ISTJ (Logistician) because she is quite reserved and introspective.
Fabiola also has an acute sense of what she is going through in her life. She just has trouble vocalizing it from time to time. But once she finds her voice, she becomes one of the series’ strongest characters.
Nalini: ESTJ
The reason why Devi clashes so frequently with her mother, Nalini, is because they are extremely similar people. They’re going through similar emotions in their lives, but they manifest in different methods.
But still, Nalini is an ESTJ. She loves to direct people and to uphold her own rules that dictate the lives of others, especially her own daughter. Furthermore, it can be tough to communicate when two personality types are identical.
Kamala: INFJ
Kamala is very close to being an ENFJ, but she is not quite self-assured enough to advocate for herself as an ENFJ would. Instead, she allows herself to be swept up in tradition, and she becomes too afraid of upsetting others to stop it, like an INFJ, or the Advocate.
Still, though, Kamala is a very deep-feeling person who is attuned to her own sense of self, as well as the needs of others. This explains why she is so warm and caring of others, while being extremely loyal to the people she loves.
Ben: ENTP
Midway through the first season of Never Have I Ever, the model UN becomes a major plot point. Spearheaded by Ben, his role in the group shows why he is an ENTP, the personality type that is most associated with loving debates. They are the type known as the Debater.
Ben is an excellent debater, but he also has a tendency to pick fights. Fans get a glimpse into his home life, which garners empathy, but it still doesn’t excuse his frequent rudeness to Devi and other classmates. The more he matures, though, the more positive his ENTP traits will become.
Paxton: ESFJ
Paxton is an undeniable ESFJ in the show. He derives his energy from his friendships, and he is reluctant to believe that anyone would betray him. (There’s clear hurt in his face when he realizes Devi has.)
Paxton treats the world with kindness and his ESFJ attributes manifest in the care he gives to his sister and to Devi when she has her run-in with the coyote. While Paxton shares the same personality type as Rhyah, he isn’t quite as willing to push his advice onto other people. He still thrives in friend groups and when he has the chance to help others, like offering advice to Fabiola, but not quite to Rhyah’s extreme approach.
Jamie: ESTP
Many therapists embody the qualities of the ESTP (the Entrepreneur) because they are able to shift their focus between the nitty gritty and the big picture details of a person’s life. It’s why Jamie is a perfect match for Devi. Dr. Ryan’s advice might not always be heard by Devi, but she offers her some great gems.
She’s also quite deft at persuading Devi to consider things from a different point of view and at protecting Devi from some potentially self-destructive actions. This aid is the hallmark of an ESTP.
Mohan: ISFJ
ISFJs tend to be among the most responsible and caring figures because they are driven by their need to protect the ones they love. Mohan, Devi’s late father, is definitely one of these people.
Granted, much of what is known about Mohan comes from Devi’s own perspective. But she still is clearly influenced by the parental love that Mohan instilled in her. He seemed like a true family man. It’s no wonder that Devi found herself drawn to Des (outside of her finding him “hot”). Des has a lot of the same warmth as her father as a result of their personality types.
John McEnroe: ENFP
Mohan’s favorite tennis player was John McEnroe, the hot-headed star who peaked in the 1980s. Since then, McEnroe has ingratiated himself to the comedy community and has turned up in many specials and series over the years.
His best role, however, might just be as the narrator of Never Have I Ever. Playing himself, McEnroe continues to embody his famous ENFP personality. Manish and McEnroe might not seem like they have much in common with this personality type, but they both are the words of wisdom in Devi’s life, and they both offer her a look at what it means to go after what you love. McEnroe has tons of energy and is focused primarily on winning, just like the champions of the ENFP world. In a way, everyone on Never Have I Ever is a champion.
