She got dropped by her manager, lawyer, and record label on the same day. She was 16. The reason? Being "too sexy." For most people, that would end the story. For Madison Beer, it was chapter one.

What happens when the music industry tells a teenage girl she's too much? When the same people who promised to build her career decide she's not worth the trouble?

You either disappear. Or you spend the next decade proving them wrong while battling suicidal thoughts, a BPD diagnosis, and the relentless accusation that you're fake.

Madison chose the second path. Her personality type explains why she couldn't have chosen differently.

TL;DR: Why Madison Beer is an Enneagram Type 4
  • The Search for Self: She titled her sophomore album "Silence Between Songs" because she realized her greatest growth happens in quiet moments of reflection. She wrote a memoir at 24 to understand herself. This is textbook Type 4.
  • Emotional Depth as Art: Her music processes real trauma. "Life Support" came from suicidal ideation. "Dear Society" attacks the pressures that nearly broke her. Each album marks a psychological transformation.
  • The Core Wound: Dropped at 16 for being "too sexy." Accused of plastic surgery constantly. Asked "Am I crazy?" until her BPD diagnosis brought relief. Type 4s feel fundamentally different and misunderstood. Madison lives this daily.
  • Pain as Creative Fuel: Type 4s transform suffering into art. Madison channels abusive relationships, industry betrayal, and mental health battles into songs that resonate because they're true.
  • Authenticity Over Everything: She chose genuine expression when it cost her career at 16. She keeps choosing it. That's the 4w3 pattern: wanting success, but only on authentic terms.

What is Madison Beer's Personality Type?

Madison Beer is an Enneagram Type 4 (The Individualist)

Enneagram Type 4s are driven by a core need: to understand themselves, express authentic identity, and find meaning in emotional experience. They fear being insignificant or without a unique identity. They process life through an intensely personal lens.

Madison doesn't just fit the Type 4 profile. She embodies it.

She named an album after her need for introspection. "Silence Between Songs" captures the Type 4's inner world. In her words: "I kind of convinced myself that the moments where I was making music and when I was on tour and when I was my busiest was when I was growing. As I've gotten a little bit older, I realized it's actually been the moments that I've been able to tune out the noise and I've been able to be alone, really reflect and be more isolated where I've grown the most."

That's the Individualist speaking. Growth happens in solitude. Identity forms in silence.

Her BPD diagnosis brought relief. When she was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder in 2019, most people would feel devastated. Madison felt understood: "I felt a weird sense of relief because, for a long time, I was like, 'Am I crazy?'"

Type 4s crave self-knowledge above almost everything. For Madison, having a name for her internal chaos meant she could finally make sense of herself.

She wrote a memoir at 24. Not a celebrity cash-grab. A genuine attempt to understand her own story. The Half of It processes her identity through writing because that's what Type 4s do. They make art to understand themselves.

She chose authenticity when it cost her everything. The industry wanted a certain Madison at 14. She gave them a different one. They dropped her. She rebuilt anyway.

4w3: The Aristocrat

Type 4s have two possible "wings." Madison is a clear 4w3, blending the Individualist's emotional depth with the Achiever's drive for recognition.

The difference matters. A 4w5 Madison might have retreated after being dropped at 16. Disappeared into songwriting without caring if anyone heard it. Become a recluse artist.

Instead, she rebuilt her public presence. Fought for visibility. Turned her pain into a Grammy-nominated career.

That's the 3 wing at work:

  • She actively pursues commercial success while maintaining artistic integrity
  • She cares about aesthetics. The visuals. The brand. The Instagram presence.
  • She's competitive. She talks about chart positions and Grammy nominations openly.
  • She channels emotions into products (albums, tours, merch) rather than just private journals

The 3 wing doesn't make her less authentic. It means she wants to be authentically successful. Not just authentically suffering.

The Roots of an Individualist

Madison Elle Beer was born March 5, 1999, in Jericho, Long Island, to a Jewish family. Her father Robert is a Moroccan Jewish real estate developer. Her mother Tracie, an Ashkenazi Jewish interior designer, would later become Madison's manager after the industry abandoned her daughter.

The first wound came at seven. Her parents divorced in 2006. For a Type 4 child already attuned to emotional undercurrents, watching a family fracture deepens sensitivity. It confirms that feeling of being somehow different. Somehow alone even when surrounded by people.

Madison showed artistic drive early. She won a modeling competition at four. But music was the real pull.

She taught herself piano, drums, and guitar from books and YouTube tutorials. No formal instruction. Just internal drive.

At 13, she started posting cover songs to YouTube. One of them—a rendition of Etta James's "At Last"—would change everything.

The Bieber Tweet and What Followed

In 2012, Justin Bieber tweeted Madison's "At Last" cover to his millions of followers. Overnight, she went from middle schooler with a YouTube channel to trending topic worldwide.

Scooter Braun signed her before her 14th birthday. The machine started turning.

Then came the fall.

At 16, her manager, lawyer, and label all dropped her on the same day. The reason: "too sexy."

What did that mean, specifically? Madison has since explained: "There was a conversation around me when I was 14, I remember people being like, 'She's too sexy' and 'We can't sell that because she's so young, so we'd have to wait.' This was a real conversation, grown men talking about how I was too sexy. I was 14."

"Literally the same day my manager dropped me, my lawyer dropped me, and my label dropped me. Everything in my life went away within 12 hours," she told Cosmopolitan. "I felt like I was a dollar sign to them and when I didn't bring in enough money, they didn't care about me anymore."

The full weight of her abandonment emerges in her memoir. She confronted those who dropped her: "You guys just stole years of my childhood that I'll never get back. And now it's just 'good luck' and 'have fun'? I can't go to college because I've been homeschooled. I have a high school degree and nothing else because of my career. My whole family uprooted and moved to Los Angeles with no connections. I have no friends. Are you guys kidding me?"

For any teenager, devastating. For a Type 4, existential.

The professional loss was secondary. The real wound was being rejected for being herself. The industry told her she was too much. Too provocative. Too something. That message lands differently when your core fear is being without significance or unique identity.

Her mother Tracie stepped in as manager. An interior designer who had founded her own firm in 1993, Tracie had moved the family to Los Angeles in 2012 to support Madison's career. Now she pivoted entirely, taking on contracts, tours, and merchandise deals. Madison would later write: "She has the biggest heart ever and is so selfless and amazing. An added bonus is that not only is she my mom, but also my best friend."

Madison spent the next four years rebuilding as an independent artist.

The Wilderness Years: 2016-2020

This period gets glossed over. It shouldn't. It's where Madison became Madison.

From 16 to 21, she existed in industry limbo. No major label. No powerful manager. No clear path. Just a teenager with a YouTube following, releasing independent singles, fighting for every bit of visibility.

For a Type 4, this was both devastating and liberating.

The devastation: abandoned, rejected for being herself. The people who promised to believe in her decided she wasn't worth the trouble.

The liberation: for the first time, nobody was telling her what to do. No executives dictating her sound. No management shaping her image. She could figure out who she actually was.

The output was steady. "Dead" dropped in May 2017, followed by "Say It to My Face" that November. She worked on her EP for three years, and in February 2018, released As She Pleases. Singles like "Dead" and "Home with You" earned gold certifications in the U.S. without major label support.

Billboard would later call "Boyshit" one of "the best pop chorus openings of 2020."

In August 2018, Madison made her festival debut at Lollapalooza in Chicago. She was the only female solo artist on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart without a major music label.

That November, she joined forces with Riot Games and (G)I-DLE for "Pop/Stars" under the virtual K-pop group K/DA, exposing her to an entirely new gaming audience.

"Dear Society" (2019) directly attacked the pressures suffocating her:

"Dear society, why do I have to fit your beauty? / Tell me who decided / What's right or wrong for me and my body."

Darker work. More personal. More her. The industry wanted pop princess. She was becoming something else.

In August 2019, she finally signed with Epic Records, posting a picture with balloons spelling "EPIC" and writing that after "years of being an independent artist" she was "so excited" to have label support again. But the relationship would prove complicated.

When Life Support finally arrived in 2021, it wasn't the album a label would have manufactured. It was the album a young woman created while processing suicidal thoughts. That rawness came directly from years of artistic freedom born from abandonment.

The wilderness made her.

Her Brother Ryder

Madison isn't the only Beer in music. Her younger brother Ryder is a singer and producer who's collaborated with her and developed his own sound.

For Type 4s, this can be tricky. The Individualist's need to be unique sometimes clashes with having family in the same creative space. Sharing your territory feels threatening.

Madison has been publicly supportive, featuring Ryder in her content and championing his work. She's found a way to maintain individual identity while sharing the creative world with her brother. That's growth for a 4.

The Music: Processing Pain Into Art

Type 4s don't just make art. They become it. Every creative work extends their inner world outward.

Madison's discography isn't a collection of singles. It's a psychological timeline.

The Sound

What does Madison Beer actually sound like?

Her music defies easy categorization. Critics describe it as alt-pop fused with R&B, pulling from dream pop, electropop, and soulful influences. She cites Arctic Monkeys, Lana Del Rey, Daft Punk, Melanie Martinez, Lady Gaga, and Ariana Grande as inspirations.

Her voice is expressive and commanding, with smooth runs and emotionally charged phrasing that demonstrates her deep R&B roots. She taught herself piano, drums, and guitar from YouTube tutorials as a kid. That self-made musicianship infuses her work.

After her 2024 Spinnin Tour, she noticed fans commenting that her live vocals surpassed the studio recordings. For Locket, she wanted to push herself: "I wanted to write bridges that were more vocally impressive and push myself further in the booth."

Life Support (2021): Surviving Out Loud

Her debut album came from her darkest period. She's been candid about recording while battling suicidal thoughts.

"I couldn't do it anymore. I'm not in that dark place anymore," she later reflected.

The album processed mental health struggles, toxic relationships, and the daily fight to stay alive. Madison co-wrote the entire album and co-produced most tracks.

For her, creating during crisis wasn't a choice. It was survival. Type 4s channel intense suffering into art because it's the only way to externalize what's overwhelming inside.

Then came TikTok.

"Selfish" went viral on the platform and became her fastest gold-certified record. "Reckless" followed in June 2021, debuting with over 729,000 first-day Spotify streams—her biggest debut at the time. The song peaked in the top forty on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40.

The irony wasn't lost on anyone: the mainstream visibility the industry had denied her at 16 came through an algorithm, not an executive's decision.

Madison had clawed her way back.

But even with success, label tensions surfaced. She revealed that Epic Records gave her "almost zero support" for "Reckless," including having to pay for the music video herself. The people in power, once again, weren't fighting for her.

So she took matters into her own hands.

Silence Between Songs (2023): The Introspective Turn

Her sophomore album marked a shift inward. The title captures the Type 4's introspective journey: growth happens in the quiet.

Musically, she leaned into her influences. Lana Del Rey. Tame Impala. The Beach Boys. Dream pop. Psychedelic rock.

The album resists easy pop categorization. That's the point.

"Boyshit" became an anthem. "Home to Another One" showcased her vocal range and emotional depth.

Silence Between Songs earned a Grammy nomination for Best Immersive Audio Album at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards. She didn't win that night (Alicia Keys took home the award), but the nomination itself was validation.

The artist the industry tried to silence at 16 was now standing on the Grammy red carpet.

Locket (2026): The Next Chapter

Her third studio album released January 16, 2026, preceded by singles "Make You Mine," "Yes Baby," "Bittersweet," and "Bad Enough."

She conceived the title before writing any songs. That's Type 4 process: start with the emotional concept, build the art around it.

"After writing the album, it feels like each song lives within this metaphorical locket for safekeeping," she explained. "Each album feels like an era and once the albums are out in the world, the chapter for me, usually with what I wrote about, is closed."

The lead single "Make You Mine" (2024) marked a sonic shift. She wanted a "delicious EDM-pop moment" for her tours, something to keep energy high. The dance-pop track topped the US Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart and peaked at number 10 on the US Pop Airplay Chart.

It also earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Pop Recording at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards.

Two Grammy nods in two years. Madison proving she can be joyful, not just deep.

The Half of It: A Memoir at 24

In 2023, Madison published The Half of It, a memoir chronicling her decade in the spotlight. Not a celebrity victory lap. A genuine attempt to understand herself.

The book tackles:

  • Being blackmailed with leaked private photos
  • Suicidal thoughts during the Life Support era
  • Navigating therapy and BPD while famous
  • The abusive relationship that left her traumatized

What makes this distinctly Type 4 is the purpose. Not sharing the story. Understanding it.

"There are songs on the album that definitely were inspired to be written during the time of writing the book," she explained. "Getting that deeply into some really serious things that I've been through, and just facing certain facts that maybe I'd been running from prior, it made me want to write about them."

The book includes journal prompts and "Dear Madison" sections. She's inviting readers into her process of self-discovery.

Asking them to do the same work she's doing.

The Controversies: A Type 4 Under Fire

"Industry Plant"

The accusation follows her everywhere. Madison Beer isn't self-made. Justin Bieber's tweet made her. Scooter Braun handed her a career. She's manufactured.

For any artist, this stings. For a Type 4 whose identity is built on being genuine and unique, it's existential.

Here's what makes it complicated: there's a kernel of truth. She was discovered through a celebrity tweet. She was signed by one of the industry's biggest managers before 14. Those are facts.

But the narrative ignores what happened next.

She was dropped. At 16, the same industry that "planted" her abandoned her. If she was a plant, she was uprooted.

2016 to 2020 wasn't spent being groomed by executives. It was spent as an independent artist, releasing singles through her mom's management, rebuilding an audience one fan at a time. No label support. No machine.

Madison's response is pure Type 4: she doesn't deny the advantages she had. But she insists on the authenticity of what she's created since. The music is hers. The struggle was real. The comeback was earned.

The accusation hurts precisely because it denies the one thing Type 4s need most: recognition of their genuine, unique self.

The Lolita Controversy

In June 2020, during an Instagram Live Q&A, a fan commented: "PLEASE TELL ME YOU DON'T ROMANTICIZE LOLITA."

Madison replied: "I definitely do. But we're not gonna talk about that."

The clip went viral. #MadisonBeerIsOverParty trended on Twitter. Critics accused her of romanticizing the relationship between a predator and child in Nabokov's controversial 1955 novel.

Her initial defense made things worse. She tweeted (later deleted): "I said I romanticize it because to me it's about a taboo relationship, not about the age... I also have said I romanticize Hannibal Lector, who plays a killer in a film. He's a character in a film and that's not real. I don't romanticize KILLERS in real life."

Eventually, she apologized. "I misspoke and would never condone inappropriate relationships of any kind... I clearly didn't read into the book or see it the same way and I apologize." She added that she was "too flippant" and needed to "read it through a new lens."

For a Type 4, being misunderstood about something intellectual and personal cuts deep. The gap between her intent (appreciating dark literature) and public perception (endorsing abuse) exemplifies the communication challenges Individualists face.

She tried to explain her internal experience. The world heard something else entirely.

The Plastic Surgery Accusations

This one is constant. Relentless speculation about cosmetic procedures. Comments analyzing her face for evidence of work done.

In a tearful response, she said: "This would break anyone...I'm hurting."

The accusation that she's constructed a fake appearance strikes at the Type 4's deepest value. If authenticity is everything, being called fake is everything taken away.

The Israel-Gaza Conflict

During the 2024 conflict, Madison (who is Jewish) faced criticism for her silence. She revealed she'd received "threats of contract termination and expulsion" if she spoke out.

Being silenced on an issue touching her identity conflicts with everything Type 4s need. They require authentic expression. Being forced into silence on something this personal creates real psychological strain.

The Jack Gilinsky Relationship

Her relationship with Vine star Jack Gilinsky ended after a leaked recording revealed him verbally abusing her. Rather than hiding this trauma, she's discussed it openly, warning others: "Don't make the same mistakes I did."

Type 4s often transform personal pain into public lesson. Madison turned abuse into advocacy.

Mental Health: The Type 4 Inner World

Madison's openness about mental health provides a window into the Individualist experience. Like fellow Type 4 Billie Eilish, she's part of a generation willing to discuss these struggles publicly.

But Madison's disclosures go particularly deep.

The Diagnoses

In August 2019, she was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. She's also discussed PTSD and "pretty gnarly OCD."

Rather than treating these as shameful secrets, she views them as keys to self-understanding:

"When you go through traumatic things that cause PTSD or BPD, or I've been diagnosed with pretty gnarly OCD, when you go through these really intense, difficult things, especially early in your life, you look at people and the world very differently."

That's Type 4 reframing. Difficulty becomes distinction. Suffering becomes insight.

Therapy as Transformation

Madison attends therapy three times per week. The process has been central to her growth.

"Once I was given a diagnosis, going through therapy three times a week, I was getting more in touch with my emotions and figuring out how to be stable. I was able to write better and understand myself better."

She's learned to set boundaries. This is crucial for Type 4s who can become overwhelmed by emotional intensity.

"I set a lot of boundaries with myself now. I'm very self-aware if I'm in a comment rabbit hole... That's been a thing with my therapist, going over setting boundaries in my everyday life."

Fame's Distortion

Madison has reflected on how celebrity warped her self-perception.

"I don't think our brains were wired for us to be famous and have a million photographers taking pictures of you at every angle, especially when you're a growing person. It's unfortunately impacted my mental health and my self-view."

In a 2024 Teen Vogue interview, she admitted her "natural kindness was replaced with resentment toward the industry and public scrutiny."

This hardening is a common Type 4 defensive pattern. When you feel chronically misunderstood, you start protecting yourself with walls. You build armor. The question for any Type 4 is whether that armor eventually comes off.

Beyond the Darkness: Madison's Lighter Side

Reading about Madison's struggles, you might wonder: does she ever have fun?

She does. And that balance matters for understanding who she is.

She plays video games—Fortnite, Dress to Impress on Roblox. She kept this hobby secret for years because she was "too nervous" and thought she was bad at it. "Now I'm just publicly bad," she joked. The gaming world has even influenced her music. She's mentioned wanting sounds "that maybe you haven't heard a lot in music."

She paints. Practices yoga and meditation. She describes herself as "an open book" with fans: "I really am an open book. Like, I'm being so for real. I tell them everything."

Her self-described mission? "I try to be a joyous person that's loving life and has more empathy than judgment." She credits her mother for teaching her about empathy and generosity.

She admits to being her own biggest critic: "I'm picking myself apart. Everything I say and do, I'm like, 'You're being annoying.'" But that self-awareness comes with humor. She laughs at herself. She plays bad video games publicly. She engages with fans like friends.

The joy isn't separate from the depth. It's earned through it.

The Present: Still Searching

Madison is dating NFL quarterback Justin Herbert. Her Spinnin Tour in 2024 sold out venues worldwide. She's building the global fanbase she was denied at 16.

In early 2026, she announced the Locket Tour with 32 shows across Europe and North America.

After years of tension with Epic Records, she parted ways with the label and teamed up with Full Stop Management. The priority? Creative freedom. The same thing she's been fighting for since 16.

What's notable is how she connects with fans. By sharing her struggles authentically, she creates space for mutual understanding. At meet and greets, she's described as "the sweetest," hugging every single fan.

Type 4s deeply crave feeling understood. Madison creates that feeling for others.

Her fans don't just admire her music. They feel seen by her vulnerability. That's the 4w3 working at its best: using success as a platform for genuine connection.

The Type 4 Pattern: Connecting the Dots

Looking at Madison's life through the Type 4 lens reveals consistent patterns:

Core Fear in Action (Being Insignificant/Without Identity):

  • Dropped for being "too sexy." Rejected for being herself.
  • Plastic surgery accusations. Her authenticity constantly questioned.
  • Forced silence during Gaza conflict. Expression suppressed.

Core Desire in Action (Finding Significance and Authentic Self):

  • Writing a memoir at 24 to understand herself
  • Naming an album after her need for introspection
  • Embracing BPD diagnosis as self-knowledge rather than stigma

Transformation Through Art:

  • Life Support from suicidal ideation. Creating to survive.
  • Silence Between Songs from self-discovery. Creating to understand.
  • Locket from joy. Creating to celebrate.

Each album marks a psychological transformation. That's what Type 4s do. They document their evolution through creative work.

Signs of Integration:

  • Regular therapy (3x weekly)
  • Setting boundaries with herself and others
  • Moving from resentment toward genuine expression
  • Finding joy, not just depth

What Madison Teaches Us About Type 4s

Madison's story offers recognition for Individualists and insight for everyone else.

For Type 4s: Her journey validates the experience. Feeling fundamentally different. The relief of finally understanding yourself. The compulsion to transform pain into art. You're not alone in this.

For everyone else: Madison reveals what drives the Individualist. The constant search isn't indulgence. It's necessity. Type 4s need to understand themselves before they can function in the world. That process never really ends.

The lesson? Authenticity isn't a destination. It's a process. The "silence between songs" isn't empty. It's where the real work happens.

Madison Beer was told she was too much at 14. Dropped at 16. Written off as an industry plant. Accused of being fake. Misunderstood at every turn.

She responded by writing three albums, a memoir, and building a Grammy-nominated career on her own terms. Not by proving them wrong. By proving herself right.

That's the Type 4 move. You don't win by convincing others you're authentic. You win by actually being it, loudly, until they can't ignore you anymore.

If Madison's story resonates with your own search for identity, explore what makes you uniquely you. What personality type are you?

Disclaimer: This analysis is based on publicly available information and aims to explore Madison Beer's personality from an Enneagram perspective. It's not a definitive assessment but an invitation to reflect and engage.