10 actresses who struggled to land Hollywood roles because they were too tall
10 celebrities who struggled to land Hollywood roles because they were too tall
Being tall isn’t the worst thing you can deal with in terms of beauty standards. But some of the biggest names in Hollywood have been shamed or worse, turned down just because they have a few extra feet on their frame. Here’s a list of tall celebs whose life experiences will make you grateful you aren’t.
1. Elizabeth Debicki
Elizabeth Debicki who stands at 6'3" had little trouble landing glamorous roles but she always wanted to play somebody "ordinary." The actress once said, “There is something really beautiful for me to get asked to play somebody ’ordinary’ and ’normal.’ I guess what I mean by that is to play a housewife, to play someone young, of a low socioeconomic background. I really haven’t gotten the chance to play a lot of those characters before." Guess Deicki finally got what she was looking for in 'Widows.'
2. Nicole Kidman
Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman said that she lied about her height when she first started out. The star would take a few inches off her height in order to get an audition. The 56-year-old star reportedly said, “I was a teenager who wouldn’t conform, but I had a lot of fears and insecurities because I was very tall. I was 5’10” by the time I was 13 years old.”
3. Gwendoline Christie
The ‘Game of Thrones’ star Gwendoline Christie was over 6 feet tall when she was just 14. In an interview, she reportedly shared, “I’d been told, just simply because I was a tall woman, with somewhat unusual looks, that I would probably never work on-screen.”
4. Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron is 5’9" but she struggled with landing good roles too. The actress even spoke out about her ordeal, “Jobs with real gravitas go to people that are physically right for them and that’s the end of the story. How many roles are out there for the gorgeous, f***ing, gown-wearing eight-foot model?” She added, “When meaty roles come through, I’ve been in the room and pretty people get turned away first.”
5. Brigitte Nielsen
The 6-foot-tall Brigitte Nielsen faced bullying as a child due to her height which the actress said was "really hard" on her. Nielsen also said that in her next life, she would like to be 5'8". The actess was 16 when she was offered a gig by a modeling agent in Copenhagen. “It gave me some firm confidence. But, of course, having been teased for 10 years, in your young years... that never really leaves you,” the 60-year-old actress added.
6. Blake Lively
Blake Lively was reportedly bullied as a child for her height. She is 5’10’’ and reportedly shared, “Kids used to make fun of me in elementary school by calling me Big Bird (because I was ’too tall’ and had ’yellow’ hair).”
7. Kristen Johnson
Kristen Johnson made it to six feet when she was just 11. The actress told Oprah Winfrey in 2009, “I relate to that kind of age and growing up and getting out of wherever I was and sort of blossoming and understanding, oh, my God, being different is great. As stupid as that is, and as sort of Oprah as it sounds, but it's true.”
8. Geena Davis
Geena Davis revealed that she felt insecure due to her height growing up. During an interview, she said, “I was tall from a baby. I was always the tallest kid in class, male or female, right up until senior year. And I found it very stressful to stand out so much because the last thing I wanted to do was stand out. It’s not like kids teased me — I just felt it. I didn’t fit in.”
10. Allison Janney
Allison Janney who is 6 feet tall said in an interview, “I was always sort of a late bloomer in a lot of things … I felt like my career started late and I think it was because of my height — and maybe some of my confidence issues.” “I was playing 40-year-old women when I was 20. I didn’t get considered for ingenue roles,” she revealed.
