7 Times Celebrities Towered Over Other Stars On The Red Carpet

Height is literally just a number, but it leaves a lasting impression on people, especially if someone is much taller than the average height for men (5 feet, 9 inches) or the average height for women (5 feet, 4 inches) in the United States. Many times, fans won't notice a big increase in height until they see their faves walk a red carpet and someone ends up towering over the rest of the stars. What really throws people for a loop is when a celebrity's child grows up and is now much taller than their famous parents — such as Barron Trump, Mason Disick, and Sasha Schreiber (who is considered one of Hollywood's tallest nepo babies).

Watching your faves on TV or in movies doesn't always give away just how tall someone is. There are several different tricks and techniques used to hide a major height gap onscreen. There have been numerous celebrity encounters on red carpets that showed massive height differences between certain celebs, and some even set social media ablaze.

Back in 2017, "Hairspray Live!" stars Jennifer Hudson and Kristin Chenoweth attended an event for the NBC production and magnified their height difference on the red carpet. Hudson, who played Motormouth Maybelle in the musical, is 5 feet, 9 inches tall, while Chenoweth, who was Velma Von Tussle, isn't even 5 feet tall.

In an interview with Advocate, Chenoweth revealed she's 4 feet, 11 inches tall. "I could wear heels, I could tease my hair, and maybe on a good day I could be 5' 1". But the bottom line is, I'm 4' 11" and that's the way I was put together," she said. This means that Hudson and Chenoweth have a 9-inch height difference when neither are wearing high heels. During that "Hairspray Live!" event, Chenoweth might have been able to catch up to Hudson's stature somewhat thanks to the heeled wedges she wore, but Hudson also opted for high heels at the event, which only created an even bigger height discrepancy.

In January 2025, Nicole Kidman and Ariana Grande attended the Palm Springs Film Festival and shared a magical moment on the red carpet. The duo couldn't contain their love and admiration for each other, hugging and laughing together. Grande even kissed Kidman's hand like the queen she is. While that was heartwarming, the internet lost it over the celebrities' height difference. Replies on a video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, of the duo at the film festival couldn't help but comment on how much shorter the "Wicked" star was. "Ariana no Grande," joked one person. "She's so smol [sic]," wrote another.

Grande is 5 feet, 2 inches, while Kidman stands at 5 feet, 11 inches tall, which is quite a gap. Kidman shared on the documentary series "In Vogue: The 90s" that she was bullied about her height when she was a kid. "I mean, I was a red-headed, fair-skinned girl who was almost 5'11 at the age of 14," adding, "I would get teased, and it wasn't kind" (via People). The "Moulin Rouge!" star also shared, "My whole life, I wanted to be 5'2" and curvaceous and suddenly, being 5'11 and completely sort of skinny and flat chested was like, 'Great, we can dress you.'"

Is Milo Manheim super tall, or are his "School Spirits" co-stars just short? Technically, it's both. Manheim, who plays ghost jock Wally Clark, is well over 6 feet, clocking in around 6 feet, 3 inches tall. The co-star he's standing next to on the red carpet is Sarah Yarkin, aka beatnik ghost Rhonda Rosen, who is only 5 feet, 2 inches tall. Looking at the above photo, none of the cast stands higher than the word "Spirits" written behind them except for Manheim. The top of his head reaches the "S" in "School," which really highlights just how much taller he is than his castmates.

Back in 2018, Manheim opened up about his height to Just Jared Jr. "I was in the circus for about two to three years. I'm a tall guy, I'm like 6' 3"," he said. The "Dancing with the Stars" alum said his circus skill was acrobatics, and he performed with his much-shorter friend: "I would just throw him up in the air and it was just crazy." 

Longtime pals and movie co-stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Kevin Hart always stand out when they're together on a red carpet. Besides their fun antics, their huge height difference always draws the audience's attention. Johnson has had a height discrepancy in the past, with some reports claiming he's as tall as 6 feet, 5 inches, and others believing he's actually only 5 feet, 10 inches tall, or any height in-between. No matter how tall Johnson actually is, he will always be taller than Hart, who stands much shorter. The "Night School" actor shared his actual height in an interview with "60 Minutes." In a clip uploaded to X, he said, "[I'm] 5-foot-5, like with a shoe on, like a sneaker. Now, if I put a boot on, I can get to 5' 5″ and a half."

Thankfully, Hart is able to laugh about his height, especially when he's paired up with Johnson. There were plenty of short jokes at Hart's expense in "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle," which starred both actors. Hart also incorporates his short stature into his standup routine, as seen in his "60 Minutes" sit-down.

Zendaya and Tom Holland are a rare couple in Hollywood where the woman is taller than the man — and, honestly, who even cares? Not Holland, that's for sure. The "Spider-Man" star said in an interview with SiriusXM that the drama around height was "ridiculous." He also shared how all the people who screen-tested with Holland for the role of MJ were taller than he was. Holland and Zendaya's co-star, Jacob Batalon, said in the interview, "It's not a weird thing for women to be tall." Reports claim Batalon is 5 feet, 3 inches or a little taller, while Zendaya is 5 feet, 10 inches and Holland is 5 feet, 8 inches, which Holland did admit was on the shorter side.

Moreover, Zendaya revealed, "My mom is taller than my dad. My mom's taller than everyone." Clearly, Zendaya and Holland aren't letting height stop them from being together, since sources told TMZ in January 2025 that the couple is now engaged.

If Jacob Elordi is in your movie, be prepared to look extremely short standing next to him on the red carpet. He's a whopping 6 feet, 5 inches tall and always towers over his co-stars, including the creatives behind "Priscilla," a biopic about Elvis and Priscilla Presley in which Elordi played the King of Rock and Roll. Cailee Spaeny played Priscilla and she's only 5 feet, 1 inch tall. Doing some quick math here, that means Elordi is well over a foot taller than his co-star — which he managed to see the humor in during filming. He told W Magazine, "I'm excellent at finding ways to lean," adding, "it's a skill I've perfected throughout my career. I'm always leaning."

Elordi also towers over "Priscilla" director Sofia Coppola, who is slightly over 5 feet, 4 inches, and Priscilla Presley herself, also 5 feet, 4 inches tall. For context, Elvis was a little bit shorter than Elordi, standing at an even 6 feet.

During the 2024 Critics Choice Awards — in which "Succession" won Best Drama Series — stars Kieran Culkin and Sarah Snook also took home awards for Best Actor and Best Actress in a Drama Series, respectively. Culkin and Snook stood next to co-stars Matthew Macfadyen and Nicholas Braun, and the four of them lined up according to height. Braun is 6 feet, 7 inches tall, while Macfadyen is 6 feet, 3 inches, and Snook and Culkin are both around 5 feet, 5 inches, though some reports claim Culkin is an inch or so taller.

The cast isn't afraid to poke fun at the major height difference, with Braun and Macfadyen doing a bit backstage during the 2024 Golden Globes. When Culkin jokingly asked who was the tallest "Succession" cast member, Macfadyen claimed he was — until Braun popped in and showed off his impressive stature. "Nick's taller than me," Macfadyen said, after trying to argue that fact at first (per Entertainment Weekly).

Braun opened up about his height on the ABC News show "Popcorn With Peter Travers," sharing how being super tall hasn't been easy for him in his career. "I've lost a lot of roles because of my height, because it's hard to photograph people. Or they don't want to put the lead actresses on apple boxes, which I understand." Moreover, Braun has even gone so far as to lie about his height when auditioning, saying he's two or three inches shorter than he actually is. He explained to Business Insider that he didn't want to scare off casting directors before he even had a chance to audition.