If you've never seen someone in real life, it's hard to gauge how tall they are. A lot of the time, it's pretty shocking! These are some of the tallest leading ladies in the limelight...
Gigi Hadid
Gigi Hadid is the daughter of international supermodel Yolanda Hadid and famous LA real estate developer Mohamed Hadid. Running a business and modeling runs in her blood, so it only makes sense that she would take on the modeling world by storm. She inherited her height from both of her parents.
Gigi is 5'10, which is a perfect height for modeling. She's only 24 and has achieved so much in such a short amount of time. Her 48 million followers on Instagram probably agree that she's the perfect mix of down-to-Earth and fabulous.
Ireland Baldwin
Ireland Baldwin is the famous daughter of Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger. Somehow, she surpassed both of her parents height-wise. She's a great deal taller than the both of them!
Ireland clocks in at a whopping 6'2. She's a natural model and has gotten tons of incredible gigs through her talents. She's also in some movies and twilights as a DJ on the weekends. The 23-year-old has her hands in a lot of projects.
Tyra Banks
The younger generations probably know Tyra Banks best for her role on America's Next Top Model, which has really come under fire for its abusive and harmful beauty standards. They only recently started accepting petit models onto the runway!
Tyra herself is 5'10, so it only makes sense that she was trying to follow the industry standard and didn't understand her discriminatory ways. After all, she had been in the modeling business since she was 15.
Khloe has done her best to ward off the haters over her body. "I love my body; I'm healthy, I work out. But I also enjoy life... the more scrutiny I am under, the more confident I become. I am who I am. I can't do anything about it, and I love who I am."
Khloe Kardashian
She's the tallest of the Kardashian sisters which is why she's faced so much scrutiny. She even had her former stepmother say that she is not the biological daughter of Robert Kardashian and that's why she's so tall! At 5'10, she towers over her sisters and her mom...
Khloe has done her best to ward off the haters over her body. "I love my body; I'm healthy, I work out. But I also enjoy life... the more scrutiny I am under, the more confident I become. I am who I am. I can't do anything about it, and I love who I am."
Kendall Jenner
There's a lot of controversy surrounding the Kardashian-Jenner family almost all of the time, but that doesn't stop Kendall from achieving her real-life goals. The model starting working when she was a teenager and has walked in shows all over the world.
As the daughter of Caitlyn and Kris Jenner, it only makes sense that she had the connections to help her rise to the top. That doesn't mean the 5'10 supermodel didn't work hard for her position in the industry. She's the tallest of her siblings!
Kate Middleton
Kate Middleton and Prince William are definitely going to have some tall kids. The Duchess is 5'10 while her husband is 6'3! If she wasn't royalty, she would probably be a runway model.
The Duchess of Cambridge has a lot more on her plate than modeling some looks. She's a philanthropist along with her job as a royal. She focuses on issues that affect young kids and wants to better the world for them!
Claudia Schiffer
Claudia Schiffer is a supermodel, actress, executive producer, and fashion designer. She started her modeling career in the early 1990s. This German-born Jill of all trades is 5'11!
In fact, she was so successful in her career as a model that she holds the Guinness World Record for being the model with the most magazine covers. She's appeared on over one thousand covers in her career!
Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver was 5'11 as a teenager which was an easy source of bullying. After all, kids in high school hate people who are different than them, and poor Sigourney was the classic "tall girl" stereotype. Later in life, her height proved to be valuable!
The actress is best known as "The Sci-Fi Queen" and has portrayed tons of sci-fi heroines who are strong and independent. Her height definitely played a part in those domineering roles! She's been in Ghost Busters, Galaxy Quest, Alien, and Avatar.
Kimora Lee Simmons
Kimora Lee Simmons is a model turned entrepreneur. She was a whopping 5'10 by the time she was 10-years-old! In order to help Kimora appreciate her height instead of dread it, her mother signed her up for modeling classes. That proved to pay off.
When she was 14, she got a gig in a Chanel campaign. "You can do anything you put your mind to," she said in reflection of the start of her career. "You can do it in stilettos. Life is a series of adjustments; You can make changes along the way, but if you don't start moving forward you'll never get anywhere!"
Maggie Gyllenhaal
A lot of people are a bit shocked to see that the actress is super tall! The award-winning actress is 5'9. Maybe it's her sweet demeanor that makes you think she's shorter than she is!
Gyllenhaal has been all over TV and movies. She starred in Donnie Darko, Mona Lisa Smile, and Dark Knight. She even received a Golden Globe for her performance in the BBC series The Honourable Woman.
Jane Lynch
It only makes sense that the stern yet goofy gym teacher of Glee would be towering over her co-stars at 6 feet tall. You have to be tall in order to play that type of character, and it made her even funnier in her role.
Unsurprisingly, Lynch played basketball in high school and even heavily considered going into the WNBA. Comedy was calling her name, however, and she broke into the acting scene instead.
Venus Williams
Venus Williams, one-half of the superstar Williams tennis twins, is 6'1. She's actually a little taller than her sister, which is funny since they're identical twins. Either way, she uses that to her advantage.
Naturally, she loves her height. "You've got to remember I am six feet one inch, very tall (I love it!)" she Tweeted one day. She's one of the greatest tennis players in the world and has been ranked number one worldwide by the Women's Tennis Associations on three different occasions.
Brigitte Nielsen
Brigitte Nielsen is best known as the wife of Sylvester Stallone in the 80s. Weirdly enough, she was an entire three inches taller than him, measuring in at 6'1. Naturally, the press back in the day was all over that! They even called her an "Amazon" in a derogatory manner. It surely wasn't easy for her.
"My childhood was really comfortable and secure, but school was a nightmare. I was a lot taller than the other girls and they called me Gitte the giraffe." Kids are brutal! Luckily, she had quite a nice life. She even returned to her Rocky role in Creed II.
Macy Gray
Macy Gray is the fantastic voice behind the song "I Try" that was a hit back in the day. One time she said, "I'm kind of tall." Well, she's 6'! So yeah, you're kind of tall.
She's made some funny comments about seeing people in real life and not realizing how short they are. "Actors are really tiny, like toothpicks. I mean, Hugh Jackman is a tall, gorgeous thing, but a lot of actors are short. It's crazy! I think someone's going to be tall, and then I'm disappointed." Everyone is tiny to you, Macy!
Melania Trump
The First Lady is actually quite tall! Before she was in a place of political power, she was a supermodel. She was already at her adult height of 5'11 by the time she was a teenager and was scouted while she was at a fashion show in Paris.
Photographer Stane Jerko saw her sitting on a staircase and knew that she had potential. She modeled for years after that before retiring and focusing on raising her son, Barron. Just to add, Barron is already over six feet tall and he's only 14!
Ivanka Trump
Ivanka Trump is the daughter of Donald Trump. She's always been tall and lanky, measuring in at 5'11", and used it to her advantage for a quick modeling stint. Instead of continuing down that road, though, she went into business.
Businesswoman
"I wanted to be a businesswoman from as early as I can remember, and specifically, my real passion was real estate." Ivanka has a bunch of different businesses and is now an Advisor to her POTUS father.
Tilda Swinton
Tilda Swinton is a British actress best known for her art-house films... and tall posture, of course. Folks all over the world adore the renowned actress, but young millennials might cower in fear over her role as the White Witch in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Tall Stature
The Scot is 6 feet tall and usually towers over most people in the room. She's captured the hearts of even more fans through her stint on Avengers: Endgame. She just keeps on goin' up!
Gwendoline Christie
Of course, everyone's favorite Stark protector is on this list! Christie might even top the charts with her staggering height of 6'3. At the beginning of her career, she was told time and time again that she would never work in acting due to her height.
Look At Her Now!
Christie ended up snagging the role of a lifetime as Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones. Her tall stature was key in her character, who was always called a "knight" or a "sir" due to her domineering height and no-games attitude.
Adrianne Palicki
Adrianne Palicki has model looks and an actor's personality. She played Tyra Collette on Friday Night Lights where she easily stood out as the tallest cast member. Luckily, that ended up working in her favor.
Still Going Strong
Although many people have tried to push her into modeling, that just isn't her cup of tea! The 5'10 actor likes to stay on the TV screen. She's currently playing Kelly Grayson in The Orville.
Saffron Burrows
Saffron Burrows was able to use her height to her advantage in her acting career. After all, she owes it to her 6' stature to play Cynthia Taylor on Mozart in the Jungle. Someone needed to play that big cello!
Modeling First
Before she was an actor, she went into modeling. She was quite successful but it didn't feel like a fit. After a few auditions, she was able to land some small parts to get her foot into the door.
Michelle Obama
Eleanor Roosevelt, Melania Trump, and Michelle Obama are all tied to be the US's tallest First Ladies. At 5'11, she stands just two inches shorter than her POTUS husband. It took her a while to appreciate her height, she admits.
"I'm Tall!"
"It's a little hard because I'm so tall, so you see people just kind of looking at me just because I'm so tall," she told Jimmy Kimmel on his late-night show. She was able to channel her height into her career and is one of the most powerful women in the world!
Kaia Gerber
Models have to be tall, but Kaia Gerber exceeds expectations! As the daughter of Cindy Crawford, it's no secret that she's 5'9. She had one of the best modeling teachers in the world, so it was only natural for her to break onto the scene.
Going Deeper
"A lot of people ask me what my mom has taught me about modeling. The truth is the things she teaches me go deeper than what pose to make or what my good side is," she said in an interview. It only makes sense to learn from the best!
Brook Shields
Brooke Shields was only 12-years-old when she played the lead role in Pretty Baby. She was already so tall as a pre-teen that it made it easier to cast her for older roles. She was quickly welcomed into the modeling world after her growth spurt.
The Public Eye
Shields has been in the public eye for a large majority of her life. When she was younger, people always asked her about her height. "As I got older and taller, the stockings got bigger, but this year, I don't know... I'm 5-feet-11!" That was in 1983 when she was just 18-years-old. She now clocks in at 6 feet tall!
Rachel Maddow
It's easy to forget just how tall Rachel Maddow truly is... After all, she sits behind her desk all day! But once she stands up, her 6' statue is very apparent. Maddow is anything but normal in the TV world.
Breaking Boundaries
In addition to her height, she broke boundaries on TV in other ways. "I'm not a TV anchor baby. I'm a big lesbian who looks like a man." Maddow is paving the way!
Aisha Taylor
Aisha Taylor is so sweet and charming that her six-foot height confuses people. The actor, comedian, director, and Daytime Emmy winner has her own talk show where she doesn't do too much standing around.
Storyteller
"For one thing, I was extraordinarily tall. In third grade, I was almost twice as tall as some of the other kids." Sometimes, hardships like that are what make successful adults! After all, she's learned to make light of her height and bring that energy into her Whose Line Is It Anyway? career.
Blake Lively
Blake Lively was the ever-popular Serena van der Woodsen on Gossip Girl. You needed to have a tall stature to play that sort of domineering role, that's for sure! She's 5'10, which makes her way taller than her co-stars.
Raising Three Girls
Lively is now married to Ryan Reynolds, who is also starkly tall, and they're raising their three girls together. They are going to have some tall supermodels in the future, that's for sure!
Laura Dern
Laura Dern is everyone's favorite 90s beauty. She had iconic roles in Blue Velvet and Jurassic Park. In order to play those roles, though, directors had to make her appear shorter.
Skewing Perspectives
It's easy to play tricks with the cameras! Dern is actually 5'10, which is way taller than most people would expect. She even admitted that she used to try and make herself shorter by putting herself in a "pretzel" shape when she was young. Own that height!
Julia Roberts
"I'm too tall to be a girl, I never had enough dresses to be a lady, I wouldn't call myself a woman. I'd say I'm somewhere between a chick and a broad," Julia Roberts joked ones. At 5'9, that sentiment makes sense!
Pretty Woman
Even with those thoughts and feelings, she was still the perfect contender to play the lead in Pretty Woman and Erin Brockovich. It seems like she owns her height nowadays.
Adele
Adele has a strong voice, so it only makes sense that she towers over the competition. At 5'9, the Brit knows how to use her domineering stature to create incredible ballads. She's won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and ten Grammys.
On Being Different
Adele always wanted to be different and stick out from the rest. "I've never wanted to look like models on the cover of magazines. I represent the majority of women and I'm very proud of that." Even though she's model-status tall, she's telling the truth!
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman was once a wife to notoriously short Tom Cruise. Apparently, that wasn't a problem in their marriage. Kidman (5'11") divorced Tom Cruise (5'8") and managed to get married to 5'10" Keith Urban. Hey, she likes them shorter!
Tall and Powerful
Kidman has been in tons of incredible movies, but it's always shocking to see how tall she is in real life. Once again, movie directors know how to work a camera to hide someone's true height!
Serena Williams
Tennis icon and superstar, Serena Williams, is 5'9" tall. Having height definitely gives you an advantage on the tennis court, and Serena is living proof. After all, she's one of the greatest tennis players of all time!
Grand Slammer
So far in her career, she's won 23 Grand Slam singles titles. In 2017, she gave birth to a baby girl and has been playing on the parenting court ever since. Her kid is already showing how tall she is!
Katie Holmes
Tabloids loved Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. They loved poking fun at them and spreading rumors about their relationship. Naturally, their favorite thing was comparing Holmes's 5'9" height to Cruise's 5'8" height.
Never Live It Down
The two haven't been together in eight years, but people still talk about them. After all, their relationship was pretty public... The whole Scientology thing was also a favorite of the tabloids. Since then, Holmes dated actor Jamie Foxx, but they've also broken up.
Leslie Jones
If Leslie Jones isn't your favorite Saturday Night Live cast member, then you're lying. Before her acting and comedy career took off, Jones was actually going to head into another career. Obviously, with her height topping off at 6', you can probably guess what it was.
Basketball
Naturally, she was inclined to play basketball. Her father suggested she try it out since her height would be sought after. She was so good that she got a college scholarship and almost went into the big leagues.
Kristen Johnston
Kristen Johnston is best known for her role on 3rd Rock from the Sun. She won two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series because of her role! Sadly, she revealed her struggles with her height in her past.
Awkwardly Tall
"I was 5'11 at age 13. I was enormous, a monstrosity, a freak. I've always been an outsider." Luckily, that's not the case anymore. She's very much a Hollywood insider now!
Maria Sharapova
It's no secret that Maria Sharapova is a giant. At 6'2, it's hard to mask just how tall she really is, even on the tennis court. She usually towers over anyone else on the court.
Using Her Height
Luckily, her height has proven to be an asset in her tennis game. She won the silver medal in women's singles at the 2012 Olympics in London. She's an athlete, model, and entrepreneur all in one tall package!