Top 20 Surprisingly Short Celebrities
#20: Danny Trejo
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5’6’’ When filmmakers need a tough guy, they go straight to Danny Trejo. Known for his confrontational persona, muscular frame, and husky voice, Trejo just oozes intimidation. Appearing in movies like “Spy Kids”, “Machete,” and the “From Dusk till Dawn” franchise, Trejo is often typecast as gruff and violent characters who kill instead of speak. Therefore, it may come as a surprise to hear that the actor is just a hair under 5’6’’. Regardless, he could still kick all our butts, and we wouldn’t want to face him in the boxing ring.
#19: Vanessa Hudgens
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5’1’’ You certainly can’t judge star potential by height. Vanessa Hudgens first rose to fame playing Gabriella Montez in “High School Musical”. She had just turned 17 when the first movie was released in January 2006. And despite the fact she’s gone on to lead a successful career in film and music, she will always be Gabriella to us! She’s 5’1’’ in height, although her powerful voice might have made you see her as taller!
#18: Melissa Rauch
4’11’’ If we’re getting exact, Rauch is actually 4’10’’ and a half. Rauch once joked “That extra half really counts. I need every bit I can get,” so we’ll round up to make her feel even better! Playing Bernadette on “The Big Bang Theory,” Rauch always appeared shorter than her co-stars. However, she often stood beside some relatively short male actors, which could have made her appear a little bit taller than she actually is. For example, Johnny Galecki is only 5’5’’, and Rauch’s on-screen romantic partner, Simon Helberg, is a little over 5’4’’.
#17: Jason Marsden
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5’1’’ A lot of us might not recognize Jason Marsden if we saw him. But we might recognize his voice. Marsden is a very accomplished voice actor, appearing in a wide range of animated movies, television shows, and video games. Perhaps his most famous work is voicing Max Goof, which he started doing in 1995 with the popular Disney film “A Goofy Movie.” Marsden is just under 5’1’’ in height, with most estimates placing him at 5’0’’ and a half.
#16: Kourtney Kardashian
5’0’’ Maybe it’s her impeccable sense of fashion, maybe it’s her tiny family members (like the 5’2’’ Kim), maybe it’s the shoes that give her an extra couple of inches. Heck, maybe it’s even the weird magic of camera angles. Either way, you might be surprised to learn that Kourtney Kardashian is just 5 feet tall. Yes, she always appears shorter than some of her siblings, including Khloe Kardashian and Kendall Jenner, both of whom come in around 5’9’’. But without meeting her in person, you may have assumed she was a little taller.
#15: Mark Wahlberg
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5’8’’ This actor has always carried himself tall. He typically plays tough guys, whether it’s Sean Dignam in “The Departed,” Dusty Mayron in “Daddy’s Home,” or Cade Yeager in the “Transformers” films. Wahlberg has even portrayed himself as a rugged force off-screen, whether it was going by Marky Mark back in his rap days or controversially claiming that he would have prevented the crashing of American Airlines Flight 11. All this to say, it may be surprising to some that Wahlberg is 5’8’’. This isn’t short, by any means, but his imposing figure may have had people thinking otherwise.
#14: Shakira
5’1’’ It’s sometimes hard to gauge a singer’s height. They’re often seen by themselves in music videos, and cameras do odd things to a person’s stature. Furthermore, the public usually sees them sitting down for interviews or performing on stage, once again without other nearby people to serve as a point of comparison. Therefore, it may be somewhat difficult to determine that Colombian icon Shakira is just a hair over 5’1’’. However, her classmates definitely noticed. Shakira claims that she was called “Enana” in school, which is the Spanish word for “dwarf.”
#13: Jon Stewart
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5’7’’ This celebrity is often seen sitting behind a desk, having served as the host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.” Most people would recognize his face, but they may not have seen him standing or walking around much. So they may be surprised to find that Jon Stewart is a bit on the shorter side. His height is listed at 5’6’’ and a half, and Stewart has described himself as being both 5’6’’ and 5’7’’. His stature is more easily seen in movies, like when he stands next to the 5’10’’ Adam Sandler in “Big Daddy.”
#12: Angus Young
5’2’’ When you picture hard rockers, you typically picture big, burly guys with a commanding stage presence. Angus Young of AC/DC has a commanding stage presence, but he’s certainly not big and burly. In fact, the Australian rocker stands at 5’2’’. He’s just one inch taller than Shakira! But it’s not just Young’s profession and skill with the guitar that fools us into thinking he’s taller than he is. Young also doesn’t appear that small on stage, as his bandmates are also shorter than average. His brother, Malcolm Young, was around 5’3’’, and singer Brian Johnson is 5’5’’.
#11: Kendrick Lamar
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5’5’’ (164 cm) In the song “Savior” on his album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, Kendrick Lamar states that he is 5’5’’. Estimates have the Pulitzer-winning rapper at very close to this, at 5’4’’ and a half. It could be that the estimates are wrong, or that Lamar is rounding up! It’s hard to gauge. As mentioned before, it’s hard to tell a performer’s height, as they are often seen by themselves in music videos and on stage. It becomes easier when they pose next to other artists.
#10: Rooney Mara
5’3’’ It’s easier to gauge Rooney Mara’s height in movies like “Carol” than it is in, say, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” In that movie, Mara plays badass computer hacker Lisbeth Salander. who comes across quite larger-than-life. Her actual height is 5’3’’. This is quite an average height for a woman and is by no means ‘short’. But it may be surprising nonetheless, considering Mara’s hard-edged roles and the fact that she stands taller than her famous sister Kate Mara, who is just 5’2’’.
#9: Jeremy Renner
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5’8’’ Like Mark Wahlberg, Jeremy Renner often plays tough and formidable characters. Renner typically portrays militaristic types, as can be seen in “The Avengers,” “S.W.A.T.,” “The Hurt Locker,” and “28 Weeks Later,” just to name a few. This may give movie viewers a warped perception of his height, as these kinds of characters are typically associated with being tall. But Renner stands just a smidge over 5’8’’. Renner’s “Avengers” castmates may make him appear taller than he is, with both Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr. hovering between 5’7’’ and 5’8’’.
#8: Christina Aguilera
5’2’’ This pop superstar has a strong presence, but it’s not because of he height. Aguilera rose to prominence in the late ‘90s and early 2000s with the mega successful pop songs “Genie in a Bottle” and “What a Girl Wants.” Following the success of those singles, Aguilera matured both as a songwriter and artist and started exploring more mature material with R&B songs like “Dirrty.” Whenever Aguilera stands or performs alongside someone, it becomes clear that she is quite short. In fact, she stands just a bit shorter than 5’2’’, coming in at about 5’1’’ and a half.
#7: James McAvoy
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5’7’’ This Scottish actor has played a number of powerful figures, for example Professor Charles Xavier in the “X-Men” franchise and the violent Kevin Wendell Crumb in “Split” and “Glass”. He was particularly daunting in the latter films, especially as the Beast. But despite playing these formidable characters, James McAvoy is surprisingly short, at 5’7’’. The star is well proportioned and doesn’t appear significantly shorter than his co-stars, which arguably adds to the perception that he is taller than he really is.
#6: Sylvester Stallone
5’8’’ When it comes to on-screen tough guys, it doesn’t get much tougher than Sylvester Stallone! We mean, come on, this is Rambo! This is Rocky Balboa, the heavyweight champion of the world! One would expect him to be a towering figure, but in reality, he’s a very average 5’8’’. Or thereabouts. To be honest, there’s some disagreement. Some - including Stallone himself - claim that he’s 5’10’’. Others estimate that he’s 5’9’’ or 5’8’’, with some even going as low as 5’7’’. Regardless, the general consensus is that Stallone is shorter than one would expect and that he might use tricks like camera angles and elevator shoes to appear taller.
#5: Lady Gaga
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5’1’’ Determining Lady Gaga’s height is almost impossible. When she’s not dressed in elaborate clothing, she’s sporting massive heels or acting in movies where camera angles and industry tricks can warp height. To get a true gauge of Lady Gaga’s height, one must look at her when dressed “normally” and standing next to other celebrities whose heights are not as contentious. The iconic performer has claimed that she’s close to 5’4’’, but estimates put her at just over 5’1’’. She may be larger than life, but she’s relatively short.
#4: Tom Cruise
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5’8’ One of the greatest entertainers of his day, Tom Cruise has attained worldwide fame for his Oscar-nominated acting and out-of-this-world stunts. In fact, he could be considered more of a stuntman than an actor these days, as all of his recent movies are bombastic action flicks that see Cruise attempting to top his own daredevilry. Yet Cruise’s surprisingly short stature is also legendary. His true height is often the source of contention, but most estimates place him in the tall 5’7’’ to short 5’8’’ range. This becomes more obvious when comparing Cruise to his famous ex-wives in photos. Katie Holmes is a solid 5’9’’, while Nicole Kidman is a very tall 5’11’’.
#3: Kanye West
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5’8’’ We don’t know what it is about Kanye West that makes him appear taller. Maybe it’s his grandiose personality, or maybe it’s that he’s often been seen standing next to his 5’2’’ ex-wife. He’s also a big sneakerhead and often wears bulky shoes that could give him a slight boost. But either way, Ye has always seemed quite a bit taller than his average height of 5’8’’. But we suppose there were clues. In the Estelle and Kanye West song “American Boy,” Estelle recalls meeting “a five foot seven guy who’s just [her] type,” which is likely referring to Ye.
#2: Robert Downey Jr.
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5’8’’ The “Iron Man” actor regularly wears elevator shoes in public, which give him an extra couple of inches on the red carpet. He’s also reportedly worn height-boosting footwear on set, such as for his roles as Tony Stark in the MCU. Speaking of the MCU, his co-star, Gwyneth Paltrow, has claimed that Downey disliked her wearing heels next to him. Paltrow stands about an inch taller than Downey at 5’9’’, and would be pushing six feet with heels. This all combines to create the impression that Downey is much taller than his 5’8’’.
#1: Prince
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5’2’’ It’s not that we thought Prince was tall. But it may be surprising to hear how short he was, at 5’2’’. Like many performers, Prince had a very big personality about him, and carried himself powerfully. He was also known for wearing heels, which would have pushed him into the 5’5’’ range. That’s still shorter than average, but the height difference next to other people wouldn’t have stood out so much. With over 100 million records sold, an Academy Award, and seven Grammys, it’s obvious that height doesn’t matter a lick in the face of incredible talent.
