By Stacy Nguyen
Northwest Asian Weekly
Do you have a tiger in your life? If you do, chances are that they are bold (some may say brash), courageous, energetic, competitive, and impulsive. Tiger people are also very charismatic and exciting to be around—but take heed, the tiger’s dark side is sometimes tempestuous, hungry, and full of sharp teeth and dangerous claws.
Here are some famous tigers. Let’s see if they exemplify classic tiger traits or if they are mere kittens!
1998
Jaden Smith
Known for: Being Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s son and also for being a cultural and fashion icon.
Traits: Tigers are known for being fiercely independent, and notably, Smith asked his parents to be emancipated at age 15 and to move out of their family home. The reason cited was that he wanted to live his life outside of the Hollywood bubble. His mom, Jada, was reportedly heartbroken over it, but she let him go because she knew he was too independent and couldn’t be caged.
Tiger scale: 9 out of 10
1986
Drake
Known for: Emotional and arresting rap, Toronto pride.
Traits: While tigers are known for having a hard exterior that masks a gushy and sentimental center, Drake doesn’t come across as a person who has a hard outer shell. Rather, he’s built a career out of being appealingly soft (vulnerable). He seems too sweet to be a fully fledged tiger, perhaps.
Tiger scale: 6 out of 10
Lady Gaga
Known for: Being a multi-hyphenate, bold fashion choices.
Traits: This is a woman who wore an entire dress made out of meat. Not only is that bold, it’s literally meat! Tiger food! That’s pretty on the nose, and thus it’s with confidence that I say that they don’t get more tiger-y than Gaga.
Tiger scale: 10 out of 10
1974
Mark Paul Gosselaar
Known for: Saved by the Bell, being a bottled blond.
Traits: Okay, first, I need to remind you that Mark Paul Gosselaar identifies as API. His mom is Indonesian! And other than that, this dude seems like a pretty humble and chill actor who has had a string of low-key TV roles, often playing again the Zack Morris-type that he was associated with early in his career, which makes me think that he is secretly tortured by how terrible (and tiger-y) that character was! I bet IRL, Gosselaar is not tiger-y at all.
Tiger scale: 2 out of 10
Victoria Beckham
Known for: Spice Girls, being posh, being reluctant about smiling and showing her teeth.
Traits: Okay, we’re all thinking it. Of all the Spice Girls, Scary Spice is the one that comes across most like a tiger. In contrast, Posh Spice comes across rather distant, quiet, and subdued. Beckham does seem a bit willful though (she keeps turning down a Spice Girls reunion), so there may be a little bit of tiger in her after all!
Tiger scale: 4 out of 10
Tom Cruise
Known for: Top Gun, jumping on Oprah’s couch, Scientology.
Traits: I mean, come on. It’s Tom Cruise! It’s the man who screamed, “Show me the money!” and insists on hanging off cliffs and not letting his stunt doubles do their job. This is the man who told Brooke Shields that she was a dummy for taking meds for her postpartum depression. You might say that Tom Cruise exemplifies all of the tigers’ most positive and negative traits!
Tiger scale: 10 out of 10
1962
Jim Carrey
Known for: Having an amazing early career, making Robin Williams feel insecure, getting problematic as he ages.
Traits: Jim Carrey seems like a performer who really gives his all, one that is energetic, adventurous, and risk-taking, so in these ways, he seems very tiger-y. However, he also doesn’t come across as a strong leader particularly. Compared to his peers, he’s not producing his own movies. His upcoming credit is the sequel to “Sonic the Hedgehog.” He seems more of a lone wolf type, don’t you think?
Tiger scale: 5 out of 10
Rosie O’Donnell
Known for: Hosting her own talk show, being brash and loud, being an LGBTQ activist.
Traits: Oh man, do you remember when Tom Selleck went on “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” in 1999, and instead of talking about his movie, which he was there to promote, O’Donnell instead made it super awkward by grilling him about his support for the NRA? Iconic. Rosie’s a tiger, y’all.
Tiger scale: 9 out of 10
1950
Bobby McFerrin
Known for: “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” jazz, bananas musical ability.
Traits: I went down a rabbit hole watching Bobby McFerrin YouTube videos just now, and it’s clear this man is the human embodiment of like, rain dropping on leaves in the rainforest as birds of paradise fly overhead. I suppose McFerrin’s modest tiger traits include philanthropy, trailblazing, and optimism though!
Tiger scale: 4 out of 10
Debbie Allen
Known for: Playing intimidating women, being a dope choreographer.
Traits: Debbie Allen is fancy and sophisticated, guys. She’s also tough as nails and ferocious, having grown her successful career during a time of a lot of racism. Her career has not slowed down one bit since it started. This lady is relentless! The one ding I can think of with Allen is that she’s not as flashy as the other tigers on this list. That’s it.
Tiger scale: 8 out of 10
1938
Tommy Chong
Known for: Being one half of “Cheech & Chong,” being okay with marijuana.
Traits: FYI, Chong has Chinese ancestry! And he’s also built an entire career around being super duper chill. Outside of his public persona though, Chong is one of the most famous cannabis activists there is. I think that is rather tiger-y of him.
Tiger scale: 5 out of 10
1926
Queen Elizabeth II
Known for: Being a monarch, ignoring legacy of colonialism.
Traits: Uh, she’s ambitious, stubborn (refuses to abdicate), literally a born leader, easily trusted by others (sometimes to the detriment of society). Dude, Queen Elizabeth is a tiger. To the max.
Tiger scale: 11 out of 10
Stacy Nguyen can be reached at stacy@nwasianweekly.com.