14 Celebs Who Are Shy (Yes, Even Kanye West)

While it might seem like a celebrity, someone who literally makes a living by being in the public eye, would be naturally outgoing and vivacious — this isn't always the case. In fact, it might seem counterintuitive, but it kind of makes sense that stars who are so bold and confident in the limelight are secretly more reserved and shy when it comes to their personal lives. For performers — whether they're actors, singers, musicians, or even reality stars — it's crucial for their brand and career that they put themselves out there and play the part of the persona that they've cultivated for themselves. As a matter of fact, they may even feel most comfortable in that "performing" kinda role. It's when they no longer have to be "on" — when they're just casually living their life like normies — that the true side of their personalities come out. And yes, that includes shyness. In fact, shy celebrities aren't exactly rare.

Sure, there are some on this list that are a given (stars like Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, who occasionally come across as awkward or stiff in interviews because of their shyness). But then there are also a ton whose introversion would definitely come as a shock. Like, who would ever think that Kanye West would ever be called "shy" in his life? But oh, he has been — and so have all of these other celebs.

1. Lady Gaga

"I don’t really meet that many other artists because I’m actually kinda shy. I might not be shy with people that I know but with people that I don’t know I am very shy," Gaga reportedly said, according to Hollyscoop. "I generally really keep to myself and I am focused on my music. But when I do meet people that I have lots in common with it goes really well. I always feel shy in the Hollywood scene. I feel a bit like I did in high school, like I don’t really fit in."

2. Justin Bieber

It's hard to think of Justin Bieber as the shy type. But as a fetus Bieber told M magazine in 2010, he'd get nervous around girls: "If I really like a girl, I get nervous. There have been a few dates I’ve gone on that I was totally anxious about. I try to just stay calm and remember to be myself."

Bieber may no longer have that problem around women, but he revealed he still can be shy in this semi-obnoxious tweet to Seth Rogen after the comedian dissed him:

Hmmm.

3. Ed Sheeran

Maybe it's not entirely surprising that Ed Sheeran — a man who adorably blushes when singing "surfboardt" in his cover of Beyoncé's "Drunk in Love" — can be shy, particularly when it comes to striking up a conversation with a woman.

"I am the worst with women, I am awful. I'm just awkward — I can’t start up conversations," he told the Sun . "I can choose a girl and make them my friend easily. But choosing a girl and making them my girlfriend is a bit difficult."

4. Idina Menzel

The Frozen star told Backstage in 2014 that she definitely has a shy, introverted part of her personality.

"I’m so different from day to day, depending on the people surrounding me," she revealed. "Sometimes I’m more shy, introverted. Depending on my comfort with other people, I can be louder, very confident. Then others, I roll up into a ball of insecurity. It’s all part of me."

5. Miley Cyrus

There's not a person on this green Earth who would refer to Miley Cyrus as "shy" — except maybe for the singer herself. To be fair, this was before the days of twerking and a no-effs-given Instagram account, but she told Sugarscape in 2012 that she used to be shy when she was younger — and how she faked it until she made it.

"I was always kind of shy when I would go into new places and I would fake it really well because I’m very loud," she said, "so I would just think if I cranked it up, turned my voice up, I wouldn't come off nervous."

6. Selena Gomez

Gomez is super confident in herself today, but this wasn't always the case. In fact, she revealed that she was kind of a wallflower in her Disney Channel days.

"I was so scared and so shy back then," she told Glamour, according to Us Weekly. "I mean, I grew up in one of the biggest high schools in the world, and that's the Disney Channel. Everybody was falling in love with each other or not liking each other, and it was exhausting, and I was the shy one in the corner."

7. Kanye West

Kanye West, shy? LOL, OK. But according to the closest person to him — that would be his wife, Kim Kardashian — 'Ye is actually much more soft-spoken in his personal life.

"He’s so shy, he’s so shy, swear to God! I am way more outspoken than he is. Way more," Kardashian told 2DayFM. "He’s so shy."

8. Jessica Simpson

"I am a very shy person, but I do believe that God has blessed me with a gift that I need to share," Simpson once told the Chicago Tribune.

9. Kristen Stewart

Of all the stars on this list, Kristen Stewart is the most tight-lipped and makes sure to keep her personal life close to the vest. That's because, as she once explained, she's still working on figuring herself out.

"In real life, I'm very shy. I feel uncomfortable during interviews because I need to talk about myself," she revealed to StarClub magazine, according to the Examiner. "But to talk about yourself, you have to know who you are. When it comes to that, I think there are still a lot of things I need to discover about myself."

10. Kendall Jenner

Kendall Jenner opened up about her shyness in a lengthy post on her app and website, according to People.

"Growing up, I didn't care that I was shy. I never really cared — I just went with it. And in some ways, I kind of liked it," she wrote. "When I think something, I don't usually say it, which is fine. It's more that I'm introverted. I never had anxiety about it. I knew it was part of who I am and I owned it."

These days, Jenner says she can switch off between being shy and outgoing when she needs to be.

"I still get really shy easily," she admitted. "But, being in this industry, surrounded by so many people all the time — going to parties and having to turn it on or off — I can almost flip it like a switch now."

11. Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande has walked many a red carpet, but she still gets some pre-carpet jitters, she told Entertainment Tonight.

"I always get super anxious before these kinds of things, just because it's so nerve-wracking ... I'm still not the best on the red carpet, that's something I'll still working on."

12. Zendaya

"I was really shy. Like, to the point where my parents went to counselor meetings and stuff, like, 'how to get them out of their shyness,'" the singer/actress/dancer revealed in a VEVO Lift vid of her past as an extremely shy kid. (Watch it above!)

13. Robert Pattinson

Like ex-girlfriend K. Stew, it's not surprising that Robert Pattinson errs on the shy side. But, as he revealed to Ace Showbiz, the shyness was at his peak when he was 17.

"I was shy, withdrawn and I didn't have any self-esteem," he said. "The year that I was 17 was one of the worst of my life, because I was searching for my place [in the world]. I was obsessed with a girl for years but I never talked to her because I was extremely shy."

"Years later, I told her about it and she was totally shocked because she hadn't noticed anything," he admitted, ending the confession on a positive note: "But she is the reason I ultimately got into acting."

14. Adele

Turns out, Adele has a crap-ton of stage fright before every performance, no pun intended.

"I puke quite a lot before going onstage, though never actually on the stage," she once told Vogue, according to Us Weekly. "But then... I sh*t myself before everything... the bigger the freak-out, the more I enjoy the show."

Ah, celebs: They're shy (and occasionally puke due to performance anxiety) — just like us!