How tall is your favorite celebrity? It’s been a topic of conversation among fans of the famous since at least the beginning of the motion picture industry – and probably dating back to the earliest days of theater.
24/7 Tempo selected 50 celebrities, past and present, whose height has held a fascination with the public. We focused our list on motion-picture stars, musical performers, and athletes, with a few outliers, drawing information from Celebrity Heights and various fan sites and new sources.
The cult of celebrity extends into the worlds of music and sports and beyond, but historically, the obsession over a celeb’s height has focused on movie stars. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, from the 1930s to the late 1950s, movie makers would go to certain lengths to make sure a leading man was taller than the actress with whom he was paired. They’d shoot a scene at an angle to exaggerate the height of the actor, or he would wear elevator shoes or stand on an unseen riser to offset the height difference. Humphrey Bogart (5′ 8″) famously wore lifts to make him taller than Ingrid Bergman (5′ 9″) in “Casablanca.” (It won’t surprise you to learn that that film classic takes first place in our list of the 25 best Humphrey Bogart movies.)
The heights of athletes have long been well-documented, though in the past they were sometimes exaggerated to gain a psychological advantage. College and NBA star center and sports iconoclast Bill Walton had a different take: He was commonly thought to be 7’ 2”, but was self-conscious about his height, so listed it as 6’ 11”.
And sometimes, athletes overcome what might appear to be disadvantages of stature. Minnesota Timberwolves star Jordan McLaughlin is only 5’ 11”, while the average height of NBA players is 6’ 6”, and a number of them top 7 feet. On the other hand, Usain Bolt, the greatest sprinter of all time, is 6′ 5″, a marked contrast with the typically squat, muscular men who compete to be the fastest in the world. (These are the 40 most successful athletes of the 21st century.)
Adele
> Known as: Singer/songwriter
> Height: 5′ 8″
Elon Musk
> Known as: Businessman, entrepreneur (SpaceX, Tesla, X, etc.)
> Height: 6′ 1″
Yao Ming
> Known as: Former NBA star, president of Chinese Basketball Association
> Height: 7′ 6″
Drake (Aubrey Drake Graham)
> Known as: Rapper, singer, actor
> Height: 6′
Leonardo DiCaprio
> Known as: Actor, producer
> Height: 6′
Wolfgang Puck
> Known as: Chef/restaurateur
> Height: 5′ 8″
Lyle Lovett
> Known as: Singer/songwriter, actor
> Height: 6′
Kareena Kapoor Khan
> Known as: Bollywood star
> Height: 5′ 5″
Kerry Washington
> Known as: Actor
> Height: 5′ 4″
Lady Gaga (Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta)
> Known as: Singer/songwriter, actress
> Height: 5′ 1″
Megan Rapinoe
> Known as: Professional soccer player
> Height: 5′ 6″
Al Pacino
> Known as: Actor
> Height: 5′ 6″
Amy Adams
> Known as: Actor
> Height: 5′ 3 “
Kim Kardashian
> Known as: Media personality, businesswoman
> Height: 5′ 2″
Kevin Costner
> Known as: Actor, producer, director
> Height: 6′ 1″
Rihanna (Robyn Rihanna Fenty)
> Known as: Singer/songwriter, actor
> Height: 5′ 8″
Anne Hathaway
> Known as: Actor
> Height: 5′ 7″
Anthony Anderson
> Known as: Actor, comedian, game show host
> Height: 5′ 9″
Bad Bunny (Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio)
> Known as: Rapper, singer/songwriter
> Height: 5′ 11″
Quentin Tarantino
> Known as: Director, writer-producer
> Height: 6′ 1″
Rafael Nadal
> Known as: Professional tennis player
> Height: 6′ 1 ”
Taylor Swift
> Known as: Singer/songwriter
> Height: 5′ 11″
Awkwafina (Nora Lum)
> Known as: Actress, comedian, rapper
> Height: 5′ 1″
Michelle Yeoh
> Known as: Actor
> Height: 5′ 4″
Mindy Kaling
> Known as: Actor, comedien, writer-producer
> Height: 5′ 3″
Ben Affleck
> Known as: Actor, director
> Height: 6′ 2″
Beyoncé (Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter)
> Known as: Singer/songwriter
> Height: 5′ 7 ”
Fan Bingbing
> Known as: Actor
> Height: 5′ 6″
Bradley Cooper
> Known as: Actor, director
> Height: 6′ 1″
Zahn McClarnon
> Known as: Actor
> Height: 5′ 6″
Tom Brady
> Known as: Former Super Bowl-winning NFL quarterback
> Height: 6′ 4″
Martin Short
> Known as: Actor, comedian, writer
> Height: 5′ 8″
Camilla Cabello
> Known as: Singer/songwriter
> Height: 5′ 2″
Cardi B (Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus)
> Known as: Rapper
> Height: 5′ 1″
Kareem Abdul Jabbar
> Known as: Former NBA star, actor, activist
> Height: 7′ 2 “
Catherine O’Hara
> Known as: Actor, comedian
> Height: 5′ 4″
Clint Eastwood
> Known as: Actor, director
> Height: 6′ 4″
Jeff Bezos
> Known as: Businessman, entrepreneur (Amazon, Whole Foods, Washington Post, etc.)
> Height: 5′ 8″
Daniel Day-Lewis
> Known as: Actor
> Height: 6′ 2″
Jay-Z (Shawn Corey Carter)
> Known as: Rapper, record producer, businessman
> Height: 6′ 2″
Justin Bieber
> Known as: Singer, businessman
> Height: 5′ 8″
Tom Cruise
> Known as: Actor
> Height: 5′ 7″
The Undertaker (Mark William Calaway)
> Known as: Professional wrestler
> Height: 6′ 6″
Trace Adkins
> Known as: Country singer, actor
> Height: 6′ 6″
José Andrés
> Known as: Chef/restaurateur, humanitarian
> Height: 5′ 10″
Salma Hayek
> Known as: Actress, film producer
> Height: 5′ 2″
Usain Bolt
> Known as: Retired sprinter, eight-time Olympic gold medalist
> Height: 6′ 5″
Viola Davis
> Known as: Actor, producer
> Height: 5′ 6″
will.I.am (William James Adams Jr.)
> Known as: Rapper, singer, songwriter
> Height: 5′ 9″