These short female celebrities don’t let their height stop them from having larger-than-life careers. Being on the not-so-tall side may preclude you from going on a few rides at Disney or from reaching that oddly placed kitchen cabinet — you know, the little one above your fridge — but there is nothing wrong with being short, and these short celebrity women would probably agree.
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While the world of modeling may be overrun with women measuring in at 6 feet or taller, a surprising number of our favorite celebs are decidedly, verifiably short (which, for the purposes of this article, we’re clocking as 5 feet, 2 inches or shorter).
Curious who makes the list? Game of Thrones‘ Emilia Clarke is one such badass chick. The Mother of Dragons slays both onscreen and off, and she does so while standing at exactly 5 feet, 2 inches tall. In short, she’s a pint-size powerhouse. And Clarke is far from alone: Awkwafina, Lady Gaga, Kristen Bell, and the Olsen twins all command attention in spite of their small size. Wildlife warrior Bindi Irwin is just 4 feet, 11 inches. Also on the list: Mother-daughter duo, the late Carrie Fisher and Billie Lourd, and (not surprisingly): gymnasts Simone Biles and Shawn Johnson East.
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Since we typically see these ladies on screen or in our social media feeds and not in real life, we’re often surprised to find out just how petite some of these women are — and on the flip side, super-tall celebs often take us by surprise too (like when we found out Taylor Swift is actually 5 feet, 10 inches tall).
So, who else makes up the list of short female celebrities? These ladies may be small in stature, but they’re definitely not short on personality and talent — read on to see all the female celebs under 5 feet, 2 inches tall.
A version of this article was originally published in December 2014.
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Christina Aguilera
Image Credit: Alberto Rodriguez/Variety via Getty Images With a voice that is larger than life, it’s hard to believe that Christina Aguilera is only 5 feet, 2 inches tall.
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Maren Morris
Image Credit: Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for GLAAD. Maren Morris may be a powerhouse country star, but she’s about 5 five 1 inch in real life without her iconic heels!
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AnnaSophia Robb
Image Credit: Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images. Carrie Diaries alum AnnaSophia Robb may seem taller on the red carpet, but the beloved actress is only 5 feet tall!
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Sabrina Carpenter
Image Credit: Photo by John Sciulli/Getty Images for Gucci. Sassy songstress Sabrina Carpenter is shorter than you think: she’s actually 4 feet 11 ¾ inches!
Good thing she’s good at walking in platform heels because we would never know how short she is if not for Google!
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Alexa Bliss
Image Credit: Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images. WWE superstar Alexa Bliss is actually 5 feet and 1 inch! If you’ve watched her in the ring, you’ll know height is no issue for her.
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Lil’ Kim
Image Credit: Steven Ferdman/Getty Images Lil’ Kim may be a legend, but she’s surprisingly only 4 feet 11 inches.
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Judi Dench
Image Credit: Mike Marsland/WireImage Living legend Judi Dench is known for iconic roles in the James Bond series and Belfast. The award-winning actress is only 5 feet 1 inch.
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Jenna Ortega
Image Credit: Frazer Harrison/WireImage via Getty Images All of the edge in a small package. Wednesday star Jenna Ortega is surprisingly only 5’1!
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Linda Phan
Image Credit: Photo by Phillip Chin/WireImage via Getty Images TV personality Linda Phan is 5’2! Given she’s married to one half of the 6’4 Property Brothers, Phan often looks super short beside her husband Drew Scott.
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Keiko Agena
Image Credit: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images You know and love her as Lane on Gilmore Girls. What you might not know about Keiko? She’s actually 5’1, making her perhaps one of the shortest residents of Stars Hollow.
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Brenda Song
Image Credit: David Livingston/Getty Images Brenda Song has made a name for herself in Dollface, Station 19 and, of course, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. Fun fact? She’s 5’2!
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Angela Kinsey
Image Credit: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images Everybody’s favorite sassy Office accountant clocks in at 5’1.
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Jennette McCurdy
Image Credit: Taylor Hill/WireImage via Getty Images You may be surprised to hear that memoirist Jennette McCurdy is only 5’2!
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Camila Mendes
Image Credit: Christopher Polk for Variety. Riverdale star Camila Mendes may have a big personality, but she’s actually on the shorter side IRL at 5’2.
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Quinta Brunson
Image Credit: Michael Buckner for Variety. This may come as a surprise but Emmy-winning writer Quinta Brunson is 4′ 11. And dripping head-to-toe with talent to boot!
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Amanda Seyfried
Image Credit: Matt Sayles/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images It may be surprising to learn that that Oscar nominee is only 5 feet, 2 inches, considering the big roles she tackled onscreen. She even played the much taller Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout — she’s 5 feet, 7 inches .
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Vice President Kamala Harris
Image Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images. The first female Vice President of the United States doesn’t have to tower over anyone because Kamala Harris has plenty of power in all 5 feet, 2 inches of her.
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Constance Wu
Image Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images. There’s a lot of debate on the internet as to how tall (or short) Constance Wu is, but the Hustlers star said it herself at the 2019 Golden Globes red carpet to Access Hollywood — she’s 5 feet, 2 inches tall.
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Beanie Feldstein
Image Credit: Rich Fury/Getty Images. There was a lot of drama surrounding her Broadway role in Funny Girl, but this Fanny Brice proudly stands at 5 feet, 1 inch, no matter what the critics say.
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Debbie Allen
Image Credit: Amy Sussman/Getty Images. She’s a dancer, a singer, an actress, a Grey’s Anatomy executive producer, a director, a business owner, a wife, and a mom — that’s how much talent Debbie Allen packs into all of her five feet, two inches.
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Sarah Hyland
Image Credit: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images. The former Modern Family star, and bride-to-be, stands at 5 feet, 2 inches tall — 10 inches shorter than her fiancé, Wells Adams.
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Camila Cabello
Image Credit: Christopher Polk for Variety. Camila Cabello makes our list easily! The singer stands at just 5 feet, 2 inches tall.
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Avril Lavigne
Image Credit: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP. Avril Lavigne also falls into the category of small but mighty! The “Sk8er Boi” songstress is 5 feet 2 inches tall.
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Lisa Bonet
Image Credit: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP. Lisa Bonet’s height isn’t much different from daughter Zoë Kravitz, who will get to later on in this list. The actress stands at just 5 feet, 2 inches tall.
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Jenna Dewan
![The Wrap's Power Women Summit 2019. 25 Oct 2019 Pictured: Jenna Dewan. Photo credit: Jen Lowery / MEGA TheMegaAgency.com +1 888 505 6342 (Mega Agency TagID: MEGA535621_004.jpg) [Photo via Mega Agency]](https://www.sheknows.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/jenna-dewan-height.jpg?w=210)
Image Credit: Jen Lowery / MEGA. As a dancer, Jenna Dewan’s compact and fit frame has definitely been an asset. She has no shame in being 5 feet, 2 inches tall.
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Christina Milian
Image Credit: Dave Starbuck/Geisler-Fotopress/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images. She’s conquered film and music and Christina Milian has proven she’s a force to be reckoned with! She totally gives new meaning to the old Shakespeare quote, “Though she be but little, she is fierce!” Milian is just 5 feet, 2 inches tall.
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Jennifer Love Hewitt
Image Credit: Dave Starbuck/Geisler-Fotopress/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images Longtime actress Jennifer Love Hewitt grew up in front of audiences’ eyes! Although she blossomed into the talented leading lady she is today, her height comes in at just 5 feet, 2 inches tall.
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Bindi Irwin
Image Credit: RE/Westcom/STAR MAX/IPx Bindi Irwin has done an impressive job of carrying on her late father Steve Irwin’s animal-loving legacy — not to mention creating her own. The 4-foot, 11-inch conservationist is about to become a mom.
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Melissa Rauch
Image Credit: Dave Starbuck/Geisler-Fotopress/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images. At 4 feet, 11 inches, being short was a huge part of Melissa Rauch’s storyline as Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz on The Big Bang Theory.
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Candace Cameron Bure
Image Credit: Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP You probably know that Candace Cameron Bure has had a big career on the small screen, from her role as D.J. Tanner on Full House to the Fuller House reboot to those Hallmark movies. She’s also mom to three grown kids, and isn’t afraid to get a little handsy with her husband, Valeri. What you may not know? The star stands at a petite 5 feet, 2 inches tall.
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Jada Pinkett Smith
Image Credit: FayesVision/WENN via Getty Images At only 4 feet, 11-1/2 inches tall, Jada Pinkett Smith tends to round her height up to 5 feet even.
Another petite powerhouse with a thing for tall men, Pinkett Smith is famously towered over by her 6-foot-2-inch husband, Will Smith.
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Simone Biles
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images It’s no surprise that Olympic gold medalist and all-around gymnastics badass Simone Biles is short — standing (and flipping and twisting) just ≈≈tall — after all, it’s practically a requirement in her sport.
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Giada De Laurentiis
Image Credit: John Salangsang/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images She’s a giant in the world of celebrity chefs, but Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis stands just 5 feet, 2 inches tall.
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Melissa McCarthy
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images Funny lady Melissa McCarthy is 5 feet, 2 inches tall.
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Alyssa Milano
Image Credit: Nina Westervelt/Variety via Getty Images Charmed actress Alyssa Milano stands at 5 feet, 2 inches tall.
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Awkwafina
Image Credit: Nina Westervelt/WWD via Getty Images While Awkwafina can seem like she’s towering over her scene partners in her hit show Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens, she’s only 5 feet, 1 inch tall.
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Zoë Kravitz
Image Credit: Swan Gallet/WWD via Getty Images Big Little Lies is filled with big little stars: Zoë Kravitz is one inch taller than co-star Reese Witherspoon at 5 feet, 2 inches tall.
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Kate Mara
Image Credit: Swan Gallet/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images Actress Kata Mara, the lead in Hulu miniseries A Teacher, is 5 feet, 2 inches tall.
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Nicki Minaj
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images Nicki Minaj knows how to dominate the rap industry even at 5 feet, 2 inches tall.
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Billie Lourd
Image Credit: Alberto Rodriguez/Variety via Getty Images Like her actress mom, Carrie Fisher, Billie Lourd is smaller than she looks with her 5 feet, 1 inch height.
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Susan Lucci
Image Credit: Nina Westervelt/Variety via Getty Images No one — and we mean no one — is bigger in the world of soap operas than Susan Lucci. But outside of Pine Valley, the daytime diva stands at a petite 5 feet, 1 inch tall.
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Ariana Grande
Image Credit: Stephen Lovekin/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images Not so grande after all? Ariana Grande is only 5 feet tall — and yet she can hold a note to go on for days.
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Lucy Hale
Image Credit: Swan Gallet/WWD via Getty Images Pretty Little Lies star Lucy Hale is five feet, two inches tall, proving good things come in small packages.
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Salma Hayek
Image Credit: Variety via Getty Images Salma Hayek is 5 feet, 2 inches tall, and laughs at how she tries to overcome her height in her acting career: “I act tall!…But look how short I am…I can’t even act to be tall. I’m five-two. I can’t even create the illusion that I am tall!”
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Janelle Monáe
Image Credit: Christopher Polk/WWD via Getty Images Janelle Monáe brings the petite power at 5 feet tall.
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Cynthia Erivo
Image Credit: Katie Jones/Variety via Getty Images Harriet star Cynthia Erivo joins the short ladies’ club in Hollywood at 5 feet, 1 inch tall.
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Shawn Johnson East
Image Credit: Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images Need more proof that short women can do anything? Olympic Gold medalist Shawn Johnson East is 4 feet, 11 inches tall.
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Emma Roberts
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images Actress and mom Emma Roberts is related to Hollywood Royalty — that’d be Aunt Julia Roberts — and talent clearly runs in the family. But at 5 feet, 2 inches tall, Emma is definitely shorter than her Pretty Woman relative, who’s 5 feet, 9 inches tall.
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Stevie Nicks
Image Credit: Rob Latour/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images Mega-star… icon… legend… inspiration… there are a lot of words we can think of to describe Stevie Nicks, but tall isn’t one of them. The singer, pictured here at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, is just 5 feet, 1 inch.
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Nicole Richie
Image Credit: Donato Sardella/Getty Images. Nicole Richie may be small, but she knows how to stand out in a crowd. The designer told People that at 5 feet, 1 inch, she has to be strategic about her wardrobe. “I’m 5 feet, 1 inch, so I can’t just go and wear some miniskirt,” Richie said. “That would look a lot better on someone 5 feet, 9 inches. I have to work with my body… my go-to look is loose pants and a tank top. I’m really into bodysuits. If I am at home, it’s sweats. I like to be super-cozy.”
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Chandra Wilson
Image Credit: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic/Getty Images. Can you believe larger-than-life TV personality Chandra Wilson is just 5 feet tall? We can’t!
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Rachel Zegler
Image Credit: Swan Gallet/WWD via Getty Images West Side Story actress and soon-to-be Snow White star Rachel Zegler is about to have a huge career in Hollywood but, in terms of height, she’s mini!
The actress stands a 5 feet, 2 inches.
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Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi
Image Credit: Theo Wargo/Getty Images. At just 4 feet, 8 inches, Jersey Shore alum Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi is the smallest celeb on this list.
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Emilia Clarke
Image Credit: WENN via Getty Images Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke is a fierce badass and just 5 feet, 2 inches tall.
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Anna Chlumsky
Image Credit: Joseph Marzullo/WENN via Getty Images Veep star Anna Chlumsky is 5 feet, 2 inches tall.
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Hilary Duff
Image Credit: Apega/WENN via Getty Images Your favorite Younger star, Hilary Duff, measures in at 5 feet, 2 inches tall.
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Nicola Coughlan
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images Beneath all the grand gowns and hairdos that her character wears in Bridgerton, Nicola Coughlan is just 5 feet, 1 inch.
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Anna Kendrick
Image Credit: Adriana M. Barraza/WENN via Getty Images Pitch Perfect star Anna Kendrick comes in at 5 feet, 2 inches tall, packing a ton of talent into such a small frame.
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Amy Poehler
Image Credit: Adriana M. Barraza/WENN via Getty Images Comedian and former SNL star Amy Poehler is 5 feet, 2 inches tall.
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Kourtney & Kim Kardashian
Image Credit: Nicky Nelson/WENN via Getty Images Just because she’s the oldest, that doesn’t mean she’s the tallest.
In fact, Kourtney — the eldest Kardashian sister — measures in at only 5 feet tall, while Kim comes in at 5 feet, 2 inches and Khloé at an impressive 5 feet, 10 inches tall.
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Hayden Panettiere
Image Credit: Apega/WENN via Getty Images Hayden Panettiere has stated her height as 5 feet, 2 inches tall in the past, but experts speculate the Nashville actress is more likely an even 5 feet.
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Lady Gaga
Image Credit: Ivan Nikolov/WENN via Getty Images Lady Gaga’s stage presence totally overshadows the fact she’s just 5 feet, 1 inch tall.
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Halle Bailey
Image Credit: Alberto Rodriguez/Variety via Getty Images In addition to her stellar performance, Halle Bailey really put the “little” in Little Mermaid thanks to her 5 feet, 2 inches stature.
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Vanessa Hudgens
Image Credit: Brian To/WENN via Getty Images She may have a commanding voice that would stop anyone in their tracks, but Vanessa Hudgens is a mere 5 feet, 1 inch tall.
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America Ferrera
Image Credit: Dan MacMedan/WireImage via Getty Images Superstore star America Ferrera is 5 feet, 1 inch tall.
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Kylie Minogue
Image Credit: WENN via Getty Images Australian singer and sometime actress Kylie Minogue used to claim in interviews that she was over 5 feet tall — until, that is, her sister Danni outed her, saying, “She lies about her height! Kylie always says she’s 5-foot-1, but she is so not. She is actually 5 feet.”
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Dolly Parton
Image Credit: Apega/WENN via Getty Images She may be short in stature, but she’s tall in stage presence!
At only 5 feet tall, country legend Dolly Parton relies on the clever use of big hair, big shoes and a big personality to add inches to her tiny (in most ways, ahem) frame.
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Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen
Image Credit: WENN via Getty Images Although Mary-Kate and twin sister Ashley told Oprah Winfrey they both measure in at around 5 feet tall, Mary-Kate is widely estimated to fall shy of that mark. For reference, Mary-Kate’s little sister Elizabeth, pictured with the twins here, is 5 feet, 7 inches. As Michelle Tanner would say, “Whoa, baby!”
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Mae Whitman
Image Credit: Brian To/WENN via Getty Images She may not look it, but Good Girls star Mae Whitman is just 5 feet tall.
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Eva Longoria
Image Credit: Apega/WENN via Getty Images Eva Longoria’s personality takes up so much room on the small screen, it’s hard to believe she’s 5 feet even!
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Christina Ricci
Image Credit: FayesVision/WENN via Getty Images Christina Ricci — who earned our eternal fandom for her beloved roles in the cult classics Casper, Mermaids and The Addams Family — likes to joke, “I’m 5 foot 1 first thing in the morning,” adding an inch to her height of 5 feet even.
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Shakira
Image Credit: FayesVision/WENN via Getty Images Shakira may be short, but she sure knows how to work all 4 feet, 11 inches. The Colombian star said, “My classmates also used to call me Enana, which means ‘dwarf,’ because I was always the tiniest one in my class.”
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Kristin Chenoweth
Image Credit: Nicky Nelson/WENN via Getty Images Could Kristin Chenoweth be any more adorable?
Always one to look on the bright side, the perennially peppy star embraces her short stature, saying, “I used to want to be tall, and then I thought, ‘If I were tall, then people would say I was pretty, and not cute.’ And then I realized there are worse things than being called cute.” She’s just 4 feet, 11 inches tall!
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Meghan McCain
Image Credit: Jason Mendez/Invision/AP. As a co-host of The View, Meghan McCain has a big platform — and big opinions. But in person, the conservative host and new mom (to daughter Liberty) is a petite 5 feet, 1 inch tall.
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Reese Witherspoon
Image Credit: Jeff Spicer/Future Image/WENN via Getty Images Reese Witherspoon is a little over 5 feet tall, an entire foot shorter than her ex-husband, Jim Toth, who’s 6 feet 1, inch tall.
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Paula Abdul
Image Credit: Gregg DeGuire/WireImage/Getty Images At 5 feet tall, singer, dancer, choreographer and television personality Paula Abdul is a pint-size powerhouse.
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Kristen Bell
Image Credit: Jim Spellman/WireImage/Getty Images. Bad Moms star Kristen Bell is 5 feet, 1 inch tall — a full 14 inches shorter than hubby Dax Shepard.
