15 celebrity couples with dramatic height differences
15 celebrity couples with dramatic height differences
Brianna ZiglerTue, October 13, 2026 at 5:45 PM UTC
0
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith; Kris Humphries and Kim Kardashian; Joey King and Jacob ElordiCredit: Steve Granitz/FilmMagic; FilmMagic; Jesse Grant/WireImage
You’ve heard of celebrity age gaps… but what about celebrity height gaps?
Major differences in height are hardly as controversial as age gaps, though one might consider it jarring to date a person with a significantly different frame. Not so for these 15 celebrity couples of past and present, in which one party was considerably more diminutive than their other half.
For example, Kim Kardashian and basketball player Kris Humphries had a height difference of more than a foot and a half, with Humphries clocking in at nearly 7 feet. Meanwhile, Christina Ricci, who is only a little over 5 feet, once dated comedian-turned-conspiracy theorist Owen Benjamin, who towered over her at 6’ 8”.
Below, you’ll find Entertainment Weekly’s list of celebrity couples whose height difference is the first thing you’d notice about them.
01 of 15
Shaquille O’Neal and Nicole “Hoopz” Alexander
Shaquille O’Neal and Nicole “Hoopz” Alexander at his retirement party in 2011Credit: Ethan Miller/WireImage
Height difference: 23 inches
Basketball icon Shaquille O’Neal had more than a few inches over his former girlfriend Nicole Alexander, who was just shy of two feet shorter than him.
In 2011, couples’ therapist Susan Heitler discussed the possible issues that could arise in a relationship with a significant height difference (via ABC News). “The challenge for a couple that’s asymmetric in height is to figure out how to experience collaboration,” Heitler explained. “When a man’s head is above everyone else’s, he can begin to feel like it’s all about him, like he’s in a separate world from her.”
02 of 15
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson and Kelsey Henson
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson and Kelsey Henson at the ‘Masters of the Universe’ premiere in 2026Credit: Jesse Grant/Variety via Getty
Height difference: 19 inches
Game of Thrones actor Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, who played the Mountain, married girlfriend Kelsey Henson in 2018. They’re a very affectionate pair, as evidenced by their social media posts, but the first thing you’d likely notice about them is their bewildering height difference — Henson stands at a mere 5’ 2”, while Björnsson looms over her at 6’ 9”.
In 2017, the pair went viral after sharing photos on Instagram, with users marveling over their statures in the comments: “How do you kiss? Do you jump in his arms every time and wrap your legs around his waist?”
Henson, having a sense of humor, replied in kind, “Hahha he bends, I tip toe. Or just say screw it, pick me up.”
03 of 15
Christina Ricci and Owen Benjamin
Christina Ricci and Owen Benjamin in 2009 in Los AngelesCredit: Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
Height difference: 19 inches
In 2008, Yellowjackets star Christina Ricci dated former standup comedian Owen Benjamin, and her 5’ 1” frame certainly looked memorable against Benjamin’s 6’ 8”. Ricci opened up to Elle in 2017 about being a woman on the shorter side, and it comes with its share of struggles.
“I do have to fight to be taken seriously,” Ricci said plainly. “Being very small and young-looking and an actress? Oh my god. People are just like, ‘Well, this one’s an idiot. Clearly.’ I’m learning how to manage that.”
She continued: “I think that for me, though, in terms of fighting stereotypes or fighting to be seen in a different way, this show itself [Z: The Beginning of Everything] is a huge example of that. I’m not a traditional leading lady. I don’t look like one. I don’t act like one. I’ve never in my life been cast in this sort of romantic lead. But you have to fight for yourself, nobody is going to do it for me. I’ll do it myself.”
04 of 15
Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries
Kris Humphries and Kim Kardashian at ‘A Very Melo Brunch’ in 2011Credit: Todd Oren/FilmMagic
Height difference: 19 inches
Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries’ time together was short, but their height difference certainly wasn’t. With Kardashian standing at a mere 5’ 2”, Humphries towered over her at 6’ 9”. The couple had a height difference of one foot and seven inches.
05 of 15
Myha’la and Armando Rivera
Myha’la and Armando Rivera at the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar PartyCredit: Lionel Hahn/Getty
Height difference: 16 inches
At 5’ 1”, Industry star Myha’la intimately understands the pressures of being a smaller woman. “I can’t walk in a space and be like, ‘I’m not feeling super confident today,’” she told Marie Clairein2024. “You don’t want to ever give anybody the idea that you’re not capable. As women particularly, I feel like we have to come in there and bust balls or else nobody’s going to listen to us.”
However, she certainly isn’t looked down upon by her husband, actor Armando Rivera — even if he does literally look down on her. The actor’s height is listed as 6’ 5” on his Academy of Art University athlete bio, which is more than a foot taller than Myha’la. However, height had no bearing on their compatibility: “‘We’re going to be together for the rest of our lives,’” the actress said of what she thought when she first met Rivera.
06 of 15
Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens
Jonathan Owens and Simone Biles at the 2026 ESPY AwardsCredit: Theo Wargo/WireImage
Height difference: 15 inches
Fans have noticed the height disparity between star gymnast Simone Biles and her footballer husband, Indianapolis Colts safety Jonathan Owens. In a playful photo Biles posted to her Instagram in August 2025, the 5’ 11” Owens knelt down in order to match the height of his 4’ 8” wife.
Biles opened up in 2024 about the problems that come with being such a short lady, specifically when it comes to finding clothes that fit. “Before y’all complain that nothing fits y’all, I want y’all to see my struggle…” she captioned a photo on her story, showing a pair of pants from Abercrombie & Fitch sized at a 23/000.
“So hard to find bottoms that fit,” she added. “But when I find them…my heart.”
07 of 15
Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith at the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar PartyCredit: Doug Peters/PA Images via Getty
Height difference: 14 inches
IMDb lists Jada Pinkett Smith’s height as 5 feet, which is certainly a stark contrast to her husband Will Smith, who is roughly 6’ 2”. Pinkett Smith opened up being considered “too short” for a role during a 2018 interview with Vanity Fair — in fact, it’s how she met her future husband.
“I met Will [for] the first time doing an audition for Fresh Prince of Bel-Air years ago,” she recalled. “I had to be 19 years old. And I auditioned for him, and I remembered at that time they were like, ‘You’re too short.’ And then years later, once my movie career popped off, the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air tried to come back and they wanted me to come on to play his girlfriend as a series regular. And I was like, ‘No, not gonna happen. I remember when you guys told me I was too short.’”
Advertisement
However, Pinkett Smith felt it all worked out for the best: “I don’t know if Will and I would have eventually gotten married if I did [get the role]. I didn’t get the role but I got the guy, how about that?”
08 of 15
Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd
Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd attend the 53rd Annual CMA Awards in 2019Credit: John Shearer/WireImage
Height difference: 14 inches
Country singer Maren Morris named her 2022 song “Tall Guys” after her then-husband Ryan Hurd, who, at 6’ 3”, soared above Morris, who is 5’ 1”.
The song is a fun, affectionate tribute to height-gifted fellows like Hurd. However, it doesn’t take much for Morris to feel dwarfed by someone, as her height is three inches below the national average for women. “I’m 5’1”, so I look at everyone like they’re taller than me,” she told ABC News, even admitting she used to wish to be taller. “I always feel jealous, like, ‘Oh, tall people must love being at festivals and concerts because you can see the stage no matter what.”
But Hurd helped Morris put things into perspective: “But Ryan ... is like, ‘No, it’s awful because everyone’s mad at you for standing in front of them.’”
09 of 15
Joey King and Jacob Elordi
Joey King and Jacob Elordi at Variety’s Power of Young Hollywood event in 2018Credit: Jesse Grant/WireImage
Height difference: 14 inches
While filming the first Kissing Booth movie, stars Joey King and Jacob Elordi had a brief romance. Even on screen, you couldn’t help but notice the difference between the 6’ 5” Elordi and the 5’ 3” King.
While they were together, King shared the sweet story of the first time they had to kiss for the movie — and how Elordi’s height made things tricky — with Seventeen magazine. “Jacob and I were in our director’s office rehearsing the scene,” she recalled. “He[sic] like, ‘Ok, we’re going to rehearse today, blah, blah, blah, and we’re going to rehearse this scene.’ I flip to the page and it’s our gazebo kiss, the super passionate, intense one.”
“I was like, ‘Omg! I just met this guy. I have to make out with this person in an office,’” she continued. “He was nervous. I was nervous. It all worked out, but it was hilarious because I was in a small square office, trying to figure out how to run up to him and grab his face and kiss him. And you know, he’s pretty tall. Figuring that out the first time was a bit challenging. I think we hit heads a couple of times.”
10 of 15
Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher
Sacha Cohen and Isla Fisher at the 45th Kennedy Center Honors ceremony in 2022Credit: Paul Morigi/Getty
Height difference: 13 inches
Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher went their separate ways in 2023 after 13 years of marriage, but while they were together, you couldn’t help but be impressed by the height difference between the Borat comedian and the Hot Rod star. While Fisher is a humble 5’2”, Cohen is an imposing 6’ 3”.
11 of 15
Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard
Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell at the 83rd Annual Golden Globe Awards in 2026Credit: Amy Sussman/Getty
Height difference: 13 inches
Comedy actors Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard share 13 years of marriage, as well as 13 inches between them (Bell is 5’ 1” and Shepard is 6’ 2”). In September 2025, Bell and her Nobody Wants This costar Justine Lupe appeared on Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast. Lupe, who is 5’ 9”, discussed previously dating a “short king.” Shepard noted his own ample height difference with Bell while asking about the logistics of Lupe’s relationship with her ex.
“Did you lean over when you hugged or did he go tiptoes? I’m not saying that to insult the short king, because I have to obviously lean over quite a great deal to hug Kristen,” he joked.
12 of 15
Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky
Elsa Pataky and Chris Hemsworth at the 96th Annual Academy Awards in 2024Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Height difference: 12 inches
Marvel star Chris Hemsworth is certainly akin to a real-life superhero when it comes to his stature, especially compared to his wife, Elsa Pataky — he has exactly one full foot on her. The model and actress is listed on IMDb as being 5’ 3”, while her husband of almost 16 years is 6’ 3”.
13 of 15
Susan Anton and Dudley Moore
Susan Anton and Dudley Moore at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in 1984Credit: Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty
Height difference: 9 inches
Actress and singer Susan Anton was once linked with Arthur star Dudley Moore — and it was a notorious coupling because of their vast height difference, in which Anton positively towered over Moore. Anton’s height is listed as 5’ 11”, while the late Moore was just a little over 5’ 2”.
Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.
“We just found humor in it,” Anton toldFox News years later. “We knew we were not a usual-looking couple. I was a good foot and a half taller than him. But here’s the thing, when you’re with someone who fills your heart with joy and love, things like that just don’t matter. And that’s something we realized quickly. And I think we also showed people that. The heart goes where it wants to go. It doesn’t care about your skin color, height or anything else.”
14 of 15
Sophie Dahl and Jamie Cullum
Sophie Dahl and Jamie Cullum at the Universal Music BRIT Awards afterparty in 2017Credit: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/ Getty
Height difference: 8 inches
Jazz singer Jamie Cullum and model Sophie Dahl are used to scrutiny over their height difference. While Cullum is 5’ 4”, Dahl is a majestic 6 feet; Cullum told The Standardin 2012, “We don’t really care about the height difference to be honest,” before adding, cheekily, “I can assure you I make up for it in other ways.”
For her part, Dahl had addressed the gossip about their mismatched heights with similar apathy in 2007. She found it odd, but “when you’re really happy you don’t give a shit,” she told The Guardian. “I think if we were both slightly more neurotic people, it would be crippling, but the fact of the matter is that we’re both happy. It’s cool.”
15 of 15
Elle Fanning and Gus Wenner
Elle Fanning and Gus Wenner at the 83rd Annual Golden Globe Awards in 2026Credit: Amy Sussman/Getty
Height difference: 3 inches (estimated)
Sentimental Value star Elle Fanning, who is 5’ 9”, cuts an impressive figure next to her partner Gus Wenner, who has no confirmed height but is at least a few inches shorter. Fiction Horizon guesses that his height could be 5’ 6”. Suffice it to say, he’s a shorter guy dating a taller woman, which is famously gawked at even if it’s only a small difference.
In an interview with Glamour from 2016, Fanning acknowledged her height and discussed finding confidence in another tall actress she’s worked with: Nicole Kidman. “She’s so tall, but she very much embraces how tall she is. I grew seven inches when I was 12, and I’m not as tall as her—I’m 5’9”—but also, everyone is not [always that] tall in the movie industry! [Laughs] Having talked to her about it and seeing her so confident...I really looked up to that.”
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
