These celebrity women are doing it for the tall girls by proving that no height difference is too big to stop them from finding love with a shorter man. From Nicole Kidman to Sophie Turner, generations of stars have proudly stepped out on the red carpet, heels and all, with their smaller beaus on their arms and we love to see it.
There’s always been a certain expectation, subtle or not, that couples should look a certain way — and that extends to height. But these couples are changing that. Listen, we know it’s a small accomplishment (honestly, just a few inches) but we think it’s still worth celebrating!
Let’s take Kidman and Keith Urban as a prime example. Their inch of height difference not seem like a lot, but when Kidman dons a pair of heels, she stands quite a few inches taller. Does it bother him? Absolutely not! These two are always beaming on the red carpet, proving that antiquated assumption that women ought to be the shorter of the two in a couple is just as out-of-date and unnecessary as you’d imagine.
Let’s celebrate the celebrity women who are taller than their male spouses and partners!
A version of this article was published on April 2022.
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Charlize Theron
Image Credit: Foc Kan/FilmMagic via Getty Images At 5’11”, Charlize Theron towered over 5’8″ Sean Penn when she wore heels on the red carpet.
The Mad Max star and the Fast Times at Ridgemont High star started dating at the end of 2013, after 10 years of friendship, but split in 2015.
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Rhea Perlman
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images Rhea Perlman’s 5’0″ stature still gives her several inches over husband Danny DeVito, who’s 4’10” height is due to him being born with multiple epiphyseal dysplasia, a rare genetic disorder that affects bone growth.
The couple married in 1982, after 10 years together, and went on to welcome three children. They split in 2017 but are still legally married. Perlman says they remain friends and have no intention of filing for divorce.
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Liv Tyler
Image Credit: Steve Eichner/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images Liv Tyler’s 5′ 10″ height gave her a headstart in her modeling career and meant that she was almost a head taller than her 5’8″ ex-husband Royston Langdon, with whom she shares a son, Milo.
The couple were married from 2003 until 2008.
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Coco Rocha
Image Credit: Nina Westervelt/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images 5’10” model Coco Rocha is quite a bit taller than her artist husband of over a decade, James Conran, who is around 5’8″.
The couple married in 2010 and share three children.
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Clare Grant
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images 5’4″ Seth Green is significantly shorter than his 5’7″ wife Clare Grant. They have been married since 2010.
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Uma Thurman
Image Credit: Sam Levi/WireImage via Getty Images Former Hollywood power couple Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke often showed off their height difference on the red carpet in the 90s.
Pulp Fiction star Uma Thurman stands tall at 5’11” while her husband of seven years was an inch shorter, making her tower over him in heels.
The couple’s relationship ended in a rocky affair scandal in 2005 but the pair managed to cordially co-parent their now-adult children, actors Maya and Levon Hawke.
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Brooke Shields
Image Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic via Getty Images Brooke Shields has always been repping the tall girls with her impressive 6’0″ stature, making her an inch taller than her tennis superstar ex-husband, Andre Agassi, to whom she was married from 1997 to 1999.
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Erica Schmidt & Peter Dinklage
Image Credit: John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage has done wonders by being out-spoken about living with achondroplasia, a common form of dwarfism.
“It’s not my dominant character trait. It has to be part of a complex portrait that informs other pieces of your personality,” he told The New Yorker in 2019.
His writer wife Erica Schmidt is 5’6″ while Dinklage is 4’5″.
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Sophie Turner
Image Credit: Alberto Rodriguez/Variety via Getty Images Game of Thrones alum Sophie Turner has a few inches on her Jo. Bros. ex-husband, Joe Jonas. The actress is 5′ 9″ while her ex is 5′ 7″.
Turner and Jonas married in 2017 after two years of dating and welcomed two daughters, Willa and Delphine, in 2020 and 2022. They separated in August 2023.
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Nicole Kidman
Image Credit: Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images Nicole Kidman nearly always is taller in heels when she stands next to husband Keith Urban. Without them, the Oscar winner is roughly 5′ 11″ compared to Urban’s 5′ 10″.
Kidman and Urban share two daughters and have been married since 2006.
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Taylor Swift
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage Taylor Swift and Joe Jonas had a few inches difference between them, with Swift at 5’11” and Jonas at 5’7″.
The teen sweethearts dated briefly in 2008 before a very public breakup, during which Swift accused Jonas of dumping her in a “27-second” phone call.
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Katie Holmes
Image Credit: Jim Spellman/WireImage Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise’s height difference was very visible when she wore heels on the red carpet. Holmes is 5’9″, and her ex-husband Tom Cruise is 5’7″.
The couple, who welcomed daughter Suri during their marriage, were married from 2006 until 2012.
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Nicole Kidman
Image Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc. Another instance of one of his wives being taller than Tom Cruise was with Nicole Kidman, who was four inches taller at 5’11”. They divorced in 2001 after 10 years of marriage. They share two children, Connor and Isabella.
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Eniko Hart
Image Credit: Mark Von Holden/Variety via Getty Images While Eniko Hart might seem very tall indeed, she’s actually just 5′ 7″. Her husband, comedian Kevin Hart, is 5′ 5″ by comparison.
The Jumanji star is adamant that height is nothing to be insecure about. “Height is nothing. Personality is the best and biggest thing you can have. You can be the tallest person in the world with the smallest personality,” he said in a 2018 interview with Mopi.
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Helen Lasichanh
Image Credit: Stephen Lovekin/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images It’s no surprise that statuesque model Helen Lasichanh is 6′ 0″ tall. Her husband, artist and producer Pharrell Williams, is roughly 5′ 8″. The parents-of-two have been living happily ever after since the early 2000s.
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Zendaya
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images Whenever Zendaya and Tom Holland hit the red carpet, it’s easy to see that the Euphoria star has a few inches on her Spider-Man. The Emmy winner is about 5′ 10″ while Holland is 5′ 8″.
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Gwendoline Christie
Image Credit: Aurora Rose/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images Gwendoline Christie is so statuesque, and she’s definitely a tad taller than her longtime partner Giles Deacon. The Game of Thrones alum is 6′ 3″, while Deacon is roughly 6′ 1″.
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Tina Fey
Image Credit: Amy Sussman/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images 30 Rock alum Tina Fey and her husband Jeff Richmond also share a height difference. Fey is about 5′ 5″ while her husband of more than 20 years is about 5′ 2″. The college sweethearts share two daughters.
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Tracy Pollan
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images Michael J. Fox is 5’4″ while his wife of nearly 40 years Tracy Pollan is two inches taller at 5’6.”
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Rhea Durham
Image Credit: Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for Apple TV+ Mark Wahlberg and Rhea Durham are only one inch part, with Durham at 5’9″ and Walhberg at 5’8.” They married back in 2009 and are parents to four children.
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Geena Davis
Image Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images Geena Davis and her ex Reza Jarrahy had a small height difference. While Davis is 6’0,” Jarrahy is 5’8″.
The couple married in 2001 and, after three kids and 16 years together, separated in 2017.
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Cameron Diaz
Image Credit: Donato Sardella/Getty Images for REVOLVE Cameron Diaz is 5′ 9.” Her husband Benji Madden, whom she married in 2015, is 5′ 6.” The couple share a daughter, Raddix, whom they welcomed in December 2019 and a son, Cardinal, born in 2023.
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Erin Darke
Image Credit: Leon Bennett/Getty Images Actress Erin Darke has a few inches on her longtime partner Daniel Radcliffe — who you may know from a little franchise called Harry Potter. Darke is 5′ 7″ compared to Radcliffe who’s 5′ 5″. The duo have been together since 2012 and welcomed their first baby in 2023.
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Ariana Cooper
Image Credit: JB Lacroix/Getty Images Deryck Whibley is 5’7″ while his wife of eight years Ariana Cooper is 6’0.”
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Penny Lancaster
Image Credit: Steve Eichner/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images Former model Penny Lancaster is quite a bit taller than her longtime husband Rod Stewart. Lancaster’s 6′ 1″ while Stewart is two inches shorter at 5′ 8″. The pair, who got married in Italy in 2007, share two kids together.
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Carla Bruni-Sarkozy
Image Credit: Dominique Maître/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images In all of their public appearances together, it was clear to see that French former President Nicolas Sarkozy was a tad shorter than his wife, model and singer Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. Bruni is statuesque at 5′ 9″ high while Sarkozy is 5′ 5″. The parents of Giulia Sarkozy tied the knot in 2008.
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Bella Hadid
Image Credit: Aurora Rose/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images The Weeknd and Bella Hadid are almost the same height, Hadid is 5′ 9″ while her then-boyfriend is 5′ 8″. The two began dating in 2015 and were on and off until their split in 2019.
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Gigi Hadid
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images Speaking of Hadids, Bella’s sister Gigi also has no problem being the tallest one in the relationship. The model is 5′ 10″ while her former partner Zayn Malik is 5′ 9″. The two dated on and off between 2015 to 2021 and share their daughter, Khai.
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Padma Lakshmi
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive/Penske Media via Getty Images Former Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi was two inches taller than her ex-husband Salman Rushdie. The two were married from 2004 to 2007.
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Cher
Image Credit: Frank Teti / TV Guide / courtesy Everett Collection In one of the most televised couples in the world, Cher towered over her ex-husband Sonny Bono at 5′ 9″ while he stood at 5′ 5″. The pair, who share son Chaz Bono, were married from 1964 to 1975.
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