Golden Globe Winners

There were no true petite Golden Globe winners. Tina Fey, at 5'4 1/2", was the closest to petite any best actress winner could get! This wasn't a good year for petites, was it? And I don't think the Oscars will be any different. We'll find out next week, however.

What do you think?

Guy or Girl....height is an issue if you want to win awards...

The average height of a male winner is tall. No different than that of women. However, unlike women, the comedy-drama ratio varies. For women, the dramatic actress is generally taller than the comedy actress, while it isn't necessarily the case for men. In fact, there are several instances where the comedy actor is taller than the dramatic actor in the Golden Globes, both in the television and film categories. In any case, the average heights of Emmy and Golden Globe winners, broken down into comedy and drama categories are (as I didn't include TV movies/miniseries in the posts about women and height, I won't include them for the guys):

Comedy:

Emmy: around 5'11"
Golden Globe (TV): 5'10 3/4"
Golden Globe (Film): 5'11 1/4"

Drama:

Emmy: 5'10 1/2"
Golden Globe (TV): a little over 5'10 1/2"
Golden Globe (Film): 5'11 1/4"

Notice the difference compared to women (where comedic actresses are, on average, shorter than drama), huh?

I am totally not surprised that the average height of an award winning actor is taller than the national average in the US. Why would it be the same? Has Tom Cruise, a SHORT MAN, ever won an Oscar? Nope. Though women are allowed to be shorter, at times (for the Oscars, women can be as short as 5'2" (Reese Witherspoon)), but no male winner has been shorter than 5'9" in the past eight ceremonies.

I've asked a few of my friends about this whole height thing, and many feel that taller people win not because voters prefer taller actors, but because it "just happened to be that way." I don't know if I really believe that, though. Being recognized with an Oscar, Emmy or Golden Globe is like being promoted to senior management or executive. And studies have shown that people in these positions are more likely to be taller than average.

Award Winning Actors and Height, Part III

So how tall is the average Oscar winning actor? For women, the Oscars had an average height of around 5'6 3/4" almost three inches taller than the US national average! 5'6 3/4" is also the average height of a woman in the Netherlands. So what about men? Would the average Oscar winning actor be around 5'11 3/4" or maybe even 6'? While I don't have this year's winners (of course not, they won't be announced until tonight!), I do have a list of winners from the 2001 to 2007 ceremonies.

2007: Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland), 6'2"

2006: Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote) 5'9 1/2"

2005: Jamie Foxx (Ray), 5'9"

2004: Sean Penn (Mystic River), 5'9"

2003: Adrien Brody (The Pianist), 6'

2002: Denzel Washington (Training Day), 6' 1/2"

2001: Russell Crowe (The Gladiator), 5'11 1/2"

Average Oscar Winner (2001-2007): Just over 5'11"

This is actually a little shorter than I had thought as I thought that it would complement the women's average of 5'6 3/4".

By the way, this year's nominees are:

George Clooney (Michael Clayton), 5'10 1/2"
Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood), 6'1 1/2"
Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street), 5'9"
Tommy Lee Jones (In the Valley of Elah), 6'
Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises), 5'11"

Average height for 2008 nominees: Around 5'11 1/4"

(For actresses, the average height of 2008 nominees average to 5'5", with two nominees being truly petite, including the predicted winner)

All signs point to Daniel Day-Lewis, especially since he won the Golden Globe. Daniel is the tallest out of this year's nominees...hmmm

Anyway, break a leg to all of this year's nominees. I'll have an Oscar wrap tomorrow and a wrap-up of this entire series on Tuesday.

Award Winning Actors and Height, Part IIB

Last time, we examined height and male Golden Globe winners for television acting roles. Today, we move on to film, as we inch closer and closer to Oscar Night. For Golden Globe TV winners, we noticed unlike the women, there were actually five years where the actor who won the dramatic role was shorter than the actor who won for comedy. Will this be true for film as well?

2008:

Comedy or Musical: Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd: The Barber of Fleet Street), 5'9"
Drama: Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood), 6'1 1/2"

Average: 5 '10 1/4"

2007:

Comedy or Musical: Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat), 6'3"
Drama: Forrest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland), 6'2"

Average: 6'2 1/2"

2006:

Comedy or Musical: Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line), 5'8 1/2"
Drama: Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote), 5'9 1/2"

Average: 5'9"

2005:

Comedy or Musical: Jamie Foxx (Ray), 5'9"
Drama: Leonardo DiCaprio (The Aviator), 6'1"

Average: 5'10"

2004:

Comedy or Musical: Bill Murray (Lost in Translation), 6'1"
Drama: Sean Penn (Mystic River), 5'9"

Average: 5'10"

2003:

Comedy or Musical: Richard Gere (Chicago), 5'11"
Drama: Jack Nicholson (About Schmidt), 5'9 3/4"

Average: just under 5'10 1/2"

2002:

Comedy or Musical: Gene Hackman (The Royal Tannenbaums), 6'2"
Drama: Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind), 5'11 1/2"

Average: 6' 3/4"

2001:

Comedy or Musical: George Clooney (O Brother, Where Art Thou?), 5'10 1/2"
Drama: Tom Hanks (Castaway) 6'0 1/2"

Average: 5'11 1/2"


Total Average: 5'11 1/4"

I'm actually not too surprised at the averages. As with the women, the male film average is a quarter of an inch taller than television. Also like the women, the winners in the comedy/musical category tend to be slightly shorter than the winners in drama. The winners' heights also show that there's more discrimination when it comes to short men than short women. Out of all the winners in since the 2001 ceremonies, only Joaquin Phoenix is under 5'9" and at the reported height of 5'8 1/2", he's really close to the 5'9" average. However, with women, there have been three winners, if you include Julie Christie (5'2") who won for actress (drama) this year.

Up Next: OSCAR WINNERS (up to the 2007 ceremonies, of course) on Sunday, February 24, 2008.

Award Winning Actors and Height, Part II a

We continue to look at actors and height in part two of our series. On Monday, we looked at Emmy winners, and it was found that the average actor who won an Emmy was just over 5'10", which is slightly above the US national male average. This matched the female winner, whose height averaged just above 5'5", again, slightly above the US national female average. Today, we continue the series by looking at Golden Globe winners, starting with television

2008 - Television:

Comedy: David Duchovny (Californication), 6' 1/2"

Drama: Jon Hamm (Mad Men), 5'11"

TV movie/miniseries: Jim Broadbent (Longford), 6'1 1/2"

Average 2008 height: Just over 6'

2007

Comedy: Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), 5'11"

Drama: Hugh Laurie (House), 6'2 1/2"

TV movie/miniseries: Bill Nighy (Gideon's Daughter), 6'2"

Average 2007 height: Just under 6'2"

2006

Comedy: Steve Carell (The Office), 5'10"

Drama: Hugh Laurie (House), 6'2 1/2"

TV movie/miniseries: Jonathan Rhys Myers (Elvis), 5'10"

Average 2006 height: Just under 5'11"

2005

Comedy: Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), 6'

Drama: Ian McShane (Deadwood), 5'9"

TV movie/miniseries: Geoffrey Rush (The Life and Death of Peter Sellers), 6'

Average 2005 height: 5'11"

2004

Comedy: Ricky Gervais (The Office UK), 5'8"

Drama: Anthony LaPaglia (Without a Trace), 5'11"

TV movie/miniseries: Al Pacino (Angels in America), 5'7"

Average 2004 height: Just over 5'8 1/2"

2003

Comedy: Tony Shalhoub (Monk), 5'10"
Drama: Michael Chiklis (The Shield), 5'8 1/2"

TV movie/miniseries: Albert Finney (The Gathering Storm), 5'9"

Average 2003 height: Just over 5'9"

2002:

Comedy: Charlie Sheen (Spin City), 5'10"
Drama: Kiefer Sutherland (24), 5'9 1/2"
TV movie/miniseries: James Franco (James Dean), 5'10"

Average 2002 height: Just under 5'10"

2001:

Comedy: Kelsey Grammer (Frasier), 6'1"
Drama: Martin Sheen (The West Wing), 5'7"
TV movie/miniseries: Brian Dennehy (Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman), 6'2"

Average 2001 height: Just over 5'10 1/2"

Total average height: Just under 5'11"

I'm not too surprised at the total average height of 5'11", about two inches above the US national average. The average female Golden Globe winner (for television) is about 5'6", also two inches. I've also noticed that, at least with male Golden Globe winners, comedic actors aren't necessarily shorter than those who win in the drama category, unlike women. Are you surprised, readers?

Next up: Golden Globe winners, Part II B - Film on Friday, February 22.

Award Winning Actors and Height, Part 1

In Part One, we will look at men who have won lead acting awards in the Prime Time Emmys goin backwards from the most recent awards this past September back to 2001. For the purposes of this series of posts, the average male height is 5'9" and the height information is all from IMDB.

In 2007, the winners were:

Comedy: Ricky Gervais (Extras), 5'8"
Drama: James Spader (Boston Legal), 5'10"
Miniseries/Movie: Robert Duvall (Broken Trail), 5'10"

Average 2007 height: just under 5'9 1/2"

2006 Winners:

Comedy: Tony Shalhoub (Monk), 5'10"
Drama: Kiefer Sutherland (24), 5'9 1/2"
Miniseries/Movie: Andre Braugher (Thief), 6'

Average 2006 height: 5'10 1/2"

2005 Winners:

Comedy: Tony Shalhoub (Monk), 5'10"
Drama: James Spader (Boston Legal), 5'10"
Miniseries/Movie: Geoffrey Rush (Life and Death of Peter Sellers), 6'

Average 2005 height: A little over 5'10 1/2"

2004 Winners:

Comedy: Kelsey Grammer (Frasier), 6'1"
Drama: James Spader (The Practice), 5'10"
Miniseries/Movie: Al Pacino (Angels in America), 5'7"

Average 2004 height: 5'10"

2003 Winners:

Comedy: Tony Shalhoub (Monk), 5'10"
Drama: James Gandolfini (The Sopranos), 6' 1/2"
Miniseries/Movie: William H. Macy (Door to Door), 5'9"

Average 2003 height: 5'10 1/2"

2002 Winners:

Comedy: Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond), 6'2 1/2"
Drama: Michael Chiklis (The Shield), 5'8 1/2"
Miniseries/Movie: Albert Finney (The Gathering Storm), 5'9"

Average 2002 height: Just over 5'10 1/2"

2001 Winners:

Comedy: Eric McCormack (Will and Grace), 5'11"
Drama: James Gandolfini (The Sopranos), 6' 1/2"
Miniseries/Movie: Kenneth Branagh (Conspiracy), 5'9 1/2"

Average 2001 height: Just over 5'10"

Total average height: Just over 5'10"

I would say that the average male height of emmy winners, like the average height of female winners is similar, about one inch above the US national average. However, it seems that there are fewer male winners who are more than one inch below the national average as females. There were about five different actresses below 5'4" who won Emmys while only 3 men below 5'9" have won since 2001. Interesting or not? I'd assume that other awards reflect this, but we just have to wait and see! Stay tuned Wednesday for the first part of the Golden Globe winners!

Short Men and Acting Awards

Back in September, we did a series on women, height and acting awards, and we proved that the average winner is generally average to tall, with actresses who win for dramatic roles being more less likely to be petite. But what about the men? Starting Monday and leading up to the Oscars on Sunday, February 24, we will be looking at the height of men who have won lead actor awards for the Emmys, Golden Globes and Oscars from 2001 until last year's awards. My guess is that the average male winner isn't that much off from the female. Slightly above average heighted to tall men are more likely to win, even though there are plenty of shorter-than-average people in show business. Taller people have more of a presence, even though one can play tricks with good camera technique, the right shoes or the right boxes/ditches (I recall reading about Minnie Driver having to walk in a ditch when she was in Circle of Friends because she's either the same height as Chris O'Donnell or slightly taller)

I will do the series in the same order as I did with women, starting with Emmy winners and ending with the Oscars on Oscar Night. The schedule will be as follows:

Monday, February 18: Part One - Emmy Winners (comedy, drama and miniseries/movie)

Wednesday, February 20: Part Two A - Golden Globe winners (film)

Friday, February 22: Part Two B - Golden GLobe winners (television)

Sunday, February 24: Part Three - OSCAR WINNERS

Please come back Monday for the first of several parts! :)

Height and the Grammy Winner

Back in September, Shorty Stories examined the heights of your typical Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy winners and found that average to tall actresses are more likely to win, especially in the dramatic category. But what about musicians? Are the taller ones more likely to win? With the Grammy Awards fast approaching us (February 10, people!), let's take a look at the best female solo artist winners 2000-2006:

2006:

Best R&B Vocal Performance - Mary J. Blige ("Be Without You"), 5'9"

Best Pop Vocal Performance - Christina Aguilera ("Ain't No Other Man"), 5'1 1/2"

Best Rock Vocal Performance - COMBINED WITH THE MEN'S CATEGORY...winner for 2006 was male

Best Country Vocal Performance - Carrie Underwood ("Jesus, Take the Wheel"), 5'3 1/2"

Average female solo height: a little over 5'4 1/2" (thanks a lot, Mary J. Blige, for skewing the height average....JUST KIDDING!!)

2005:

Best R&B Vocal Performance - Mariah Carey ("We Belong Together"), 5'9"

Best Pop Vocal Performance - Kelly Clarkson ("Since U Been Gone"), 5'3 1/2"

Best Rock Vocal Performance - COMBINED WITH THE MEN'S CATEGORY...winner for 2005 was male

Best Country Vocal Performance - Emmylou Harris ("The Connection"), 5'5"

Average female solo height: Just under 5'6"

2004:

Best R&B Vocal Performance - Alicia Keys ("If I Ain't Got You"), 5'8 1/2"

Best Pop Vocal Performance - Norah Jones ("Sunrise"), 5'1"

Best Rock Vocal Performance - COMBINED WITH THE MEN'S CATEGORY...winner for 2004 was male

Best Country Vocal Performance - Gretchen Wilson ("Redneck Woman"), 5'4" (according to celebheights.com. Her height is not listed on IMDB.)

Average female solo height: 5'4 1/2"


2003:

Best R&B Vocal Performance - Beyoncé Knowles ("Dangerously In Love 2"), 5'6 1/4" (Cynthia's Note: I thought she was taller than that)

Best Pop Vocal Performance - Christina Aguilera ("Beautiful"), 5'1 1/2"

Best Rock Vocal Performance - Pink ("Trouble"), 5'4" (Cynthia's Note: This was the last year the rock category had separate male and female solo categories)

Best Country Vocal Performance - June Carter Cash ("Keep On The Sunny Side"), 5'5 1/2"

Average female solo height: just under 5'4 1/2"


2002:

Best R&B Vocal Performance - Mary J. Blige ("He Think I Don't Know"), 5'9"

Best Pop Vocal Performance - Norah Jones ("Don't Know Why"), 5'1"

Best Rock Vocal Performance - Sheryl Crow ("Steve McQueen"), 5'3 1/2"

Best Country Vocal Performance - Faith Hill ("Cry"), 5'8"

Average female solo height: Just under 5'5 1/2"

2001:

Best R&B Vocal Performance - Alicia Keys ("Fallin'"), 5'8 1/2"

Best Pop Vocal Performance - Nelly Futardo ("I'm Like a Bird"), 5'1"

Best Rock Vocal Performance - Lucinda Williams ("Get Right With God"), HEIGHT UNKNOWN

Best Country Vocal Performance - Dolly Parton ("Shine"), 5'0"

Average female solo height (based on three categories): Just over 5'3"


2000:

Best R&B Vocal Performance - Toni Braxton ("He Wasn't Man Enough'"), 5'2"

Best Pop Vocal Performance - Macy Gray ("I Try"), 6'0"

Best Rock Vocal Performance - Sheryl Crow ("There Goes The Neighborhood"), 5'3 1/2"

Best Country Vocal Performance - Faith Hill ("Breathe"), 5'8"

Average female solo height (based on three categories): Just under 5'6 1/2"


Average R&B height: Around 5'7 1/2"
Average Pop height: 5'3"
Average Rock height: Just above 5'3 1/2"
Average Country height: Just under 5'5"

Average height combined: 5'4 3/4"

Notice that with the exception of one, POP ARTIST winners are petite, many on the very petite side, while only one R&B singer is petite (and that year, the pop artist winner was very tall! Almost a switch!)

What about 2007? Who are the petite nominees?

The R&B nominees are: Mary J. Blige, Chrisette Michele, Fantasia, Alicia Keys and Jill Scott. These ladies' heights are either over 5'4" or unknown.

The Pop nominees are: Christina Aguilera, Fergie, Feist, Nelly Futardo and Amy Winehouse. APPARENTLY, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE LADIES IS PETITE (Feist's height is not listed on IMDB, but there are sources that say she's 5'0")!

The Country nominees are: Alison Krauss, Miranda Lambert, LeAnn Rimes, Carrie Underwood and Trisha Yearwood. Carrie Underwood is the only known petite nominee. The others are over 5'4" or their height is unknown.

At least we're guaranteed ONE petite winner!

Petite Golden Globe Winners

While the Golden Globes did not have the glitz and glamour it did in the past due to the WGA strike, the awards went on Sunday night as an hour long press conference. Out of the four leading actress winners (two categories in film and two categories in television), Julie Christie was the only truly petite actress (best performance by an actress in a motion picture - Drama). Marion Cotillard won for best actress in a comedy or musical PLAYED a very petite woman in the film La Vie En Rose (Edith Piaf was only 4'8" or 4'9"), but is actually over 5'6". As for television? The winners were Glenn Close (5'5") for drama and Tina Fey (5'4 1/2" - Tina, you just MISSED the petite club!! Sorry!) for comedy.

Congratulations, Julie Christie! Ms. Christie's win is showing that petite actresses can break from the comedy route and win in dramatic roles.

Now on to the OSCARS!!!

Taller women win...:-(

....at least when it comes to acting awards. The total average of all acting awards (Golden Globes will be broken into two categories, television and film), is: a little over 5'6", with television Oscar winners being the tallest in the past seven years. While the average certainly isn't supermodel tall, just slightly above the average-average height of North American women, it isn't petite either. In fact, when it comes to Oscar winners, the two truely petite women, Reese Witherspoon and Helen Mirren, won for playing real people (interesting note: June Carter-Cash was actually 5'5 1/2" at her full height, making her 3 1/2" taller than Reese! Elizabeth II is 5'4", the same as Helen Mirren.). Another thing to point out is that the petite women have a much better chance to win if awards are separated into comedy and drama categories. The average heights of leading actress winners in the comedy/musical categories are:

• 5'6" (Golden Globes-film)
• 5'4 1/2" (Golden Globes-television.....Sarah Jessica Parker won three times in this category, but the stats don't change much even if you only count her once.)
• 5'3 3/4" (Emmys)

Compare that to women who won in the drama categories:

• approx. 5'6 1/2" (Golden Globes-film)
• a little under 5'8" (Golden Globes-television)
• around 5'6 1/3" (Emmys)

So it looks like Hollywood is not very accepting of shorter women in dramatic roles. That petite actresses can only succeed in girl-next-door/spunky gal type roles (e.g. Carrie, Betty, etc...) unless the dramatic role is that of a "real person." This "short women not taken seriously" syndrome not only exists in Hollywood, but outside as well. Take a look at your place of work, and see which women are "in charge." Are the female senior managers and executives mostly taller? There are plenty of stats and stories about height discrimination and men, that shorter men make less money than their taller counterparts, but little has been done for women. Perhaps there just isn't enough information right now, since women are only beginning to get very senior level jobs (and getting rid of mandatory retirement in certain jurisdictions isn't really helping us break the so-called "glass ceiling") It might have to do with clothing too. Taller women require fewer alterations (if at all) to their clothes. There are some things that can't be altered, so the item would look more ill-fitting on shorter women, but some people in the fashion industry don't really "get it." (Laurie Roe of the Petite Boutique explains about petite misconceptions in her blog.)

Award Winning Actresses and Height, Part IIIb

The Golden Globes, unlike the Oscars, divides their film acting winners into two categories - Musical or Comedy and Drama. Like the other posts, I will be listing leading actress winners from the award years 2001 to 2007. Many of these actresses go on to win Oscars or Emmys. Once again, height info is mostly based on stats given on IMDB.

2001:

Musical or Comedy: Renée Zellwegger (Nurse Betty), 5'4"
Drama: Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich), 5'9"

2001 Average: 5'6 1/2"

2002:

Musical or Comedy: Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge!), 5'10 1/2"
Drama: Sissy Spacek (In the Bedroom), 5'2"

2002 Average: 5'6 1/4"

2003:

Musical or Comedy: Renée Zellwegger (Chicago), 5'4"
Drama: Nicole Kidman (The Hours), 5'10 1/2"

2003 Average: 5'7 1/4"

2004:

Musical or Comedy: Diane Keaton (Something's Gotta Give), 5'6 1/2"
Drama: Charlize Theron (Monster), 5'9 1/2"

2004 Average: 5'8"

2005:

Musical or Comedy: Annette Bening (Being Julia), 5'8 1/2"
Drama: Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby), 5'5"

2005 Average: 5'6 3/4"

2006:

Musical or Comedy: Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line), 5'2"
Drama: Felicity Huffman (Transamerica), 5'5"

2006 Average: 5'3 1/2"

2007:

Musical or Comedy: Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada), 5'6"
Drama: Helen Mirren (The Queen), 5'4"

2007 Average: 5'5"

Total Average: A little under 5'6 1/4"

Interesting to see that 3/7 times, the drama winner is taller than the comedy winner (though only 2/7 are drama lead winners are actually petite.) Not too surprised, however, since we got similar stats at the Emmys. I'll wrap up this series with my conclusion on Saturday. Meanwhile, feel free to comment on these posts.

Award Winning Actresses and Height, Part IIIa

Since the Golden Globes recognize both film and television, I have decided to split them into two separate posts (otherwise you'll be looking at 5 categories per year!). Part A will list TV winners and Part B, which will be posted on Thursday, will list film actresses. Once again, height info is based on IMDB.

2001:

TV:

Musical or Comedy: Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City), 5'4"
Drama: Sela Ward (Once and Again), 5'7 1/2"
Movie/Mini-series: Judi Dench (Last of the Blonde Bombshells), 5'3 1/2"

2001 TV Average: 5'5"

2002:

TV:

Musical or Comedy: Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City), 5'4"
Drama: Jennifer Garner (Alias), 5'9"
Movie/Mini-series: Judy Davis (Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows), 5'5"

2002 Average: 5'6"

2003:

TV:

Musical or Comedy: Jennifer Aniston (Friends), 5'4"
Drama: Edie Falco (The Sopranos), 5'5"
Movie/Mini-series: Uma Thurman (Hysterical Blindness), 6'0"

2003 Average: 5'7"


2004:


TV:


Musical or Comedy: Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City), 5'4"
Drama: Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under), 5'8"
Movie/Mini-series: Meryl Streep (Angels in America), 5'6"

2004 TV Average: 5'6"


2005:


TV:


Musical or Comedy: Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives), 5'6"
Drama: Mariska Hargitay (Once and Again), 5'7 1/2"
Movie/Mini-series: Glenn Close (The Lion in the Winter), 5'5"

2005 TV Average: 5'6" (a little over)


2006:


TV:


Musical or Comedy: Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds), 5'8"
Drama: Geena Davis (Commander in Chief), 6'0"
Movie/Mini-series: S. Epatha Merkerson (Lakawana Blues), 5'6"

2006 TV Average: (a bit over) 5'8 1/2"

2007:


TV:

Musical or Comedy: America Ferrera (Ugly Betty), 5'1"
Drama: Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer), 5'5"
Movie/Mini-series: Helen Miren (Elizabeth I), 5'4"

2007 TV Average: A little over 5'3 1/4"

Total TV Average*: 5'6"

*multiple winners are calculated by their number of wins. In other words, if Actress A wins in 2001, 2002 and 2003, she'll be included three times, whether they are for the same role or not.

So far, the Emmy height average is the shortest to date and television comedy actresses are, on average, the more likely to be petite. Have you noticed this? Do you think the general public has?

Award Winning Actresses and Height, Part II

On Friday, I listed the Outstanding Leading Actress winners for the past seven Emmys, broken down into the three categories that they are awarded. Today, I will list the seven Best Actress Academy Award winners, from the 2001 to 2007 (it's actually 2000 to 2006, since the movies that qualify for the awards must be released the year before.) Once again, most height stats are based on info from IMDB:

2007: Helen Mirren (The Queen), 5'4"

2006: Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line), 5'2"

2005: Hillary Swank (Million Dollar Baby), 5'5"

2004: Charlize Theron (Monster), 5'9 1/2"

2003: Nicole Kidman (The Hours), 5'10 1/2"

2002: Halle Berry (Monster's Ball), 5'7"

2001: Julia Roberts (Erin Brocovich), 5'9"

Average height of winners from 2001-2007: About 5'6 3/4"

This is a almost two inches taller than the average Emmy winner! Another interesting point is that the two petite actresses who won in the Best Actress category were playing real people.

Next up: The Golden Globes- Since the average Emmy winning lead actress is almost 5'5" and the average Oscar winner in almost 5'7", will the average Golden Globes actress (with both movie and television awards) be about 5'6"? Find out Tuesday!

Award Winning Actresses and Height, Part I

Welcome to Part One of my miniseries on award-winning celebs and height. This year, all three major Outstanding Leading Actress Emmy winners were petite. America Ferrera is 5'1"(Comedy-Ugly Betty), Sally Field is 5'2" (Drama-Brothers and Sisters) and Helen Mirren (Miniseries or Movie- Prime Suspect: The Final Act) is 5'4". Therefore, the average height this year is just over 5'2 1/4". But what about other years? How do these ladies compare, at least to the winners since 2001? Let's take a look (all height stats are partially from IMDB):

2006:

Comedy: Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine), 5'2"
Drama: Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU), 5'7 1/2"
Miniseries or Movie: Helen Mirren (Elizabeth I), 5'4"

2006 average height: 5'4 1/2"

2005:

Comedy: Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives), 5'5"
Drama: Patricia Arquette (Medium), 5'1"
Miniseries or Movie: Blythe Danner (Back When We Were Grownups), 5'7"

2005 average height: a little over 5'4 1/4"

2004

Comedy: Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City), 5'4"
Drama: Allison Janney (The West Wing), 6'
Miniseries or Movie: Meryl Streep (Angels in America), 5'6"

2004 average height: a little over 5'7 1/4"

2003

Comedy: Debra Messing (Will and Grace), 5'8"
Drama: Edie Falco (The Sopranos), 5'5"
Miniseries or Movie: Maggie Smith (My House in Umbria), 5'5"

2003 average height: 5'6"

2002

Comedy: Jennifer Aniston (Friends), 5'4"
Drama: Allison Janney (The West Wing), 6'
Miniseries or Movie: Laura Linney (Wild Iris), 5'7"

2002 average height: A little over 5'6 1/2"

2001

Comedy: Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond), 5'2"
Drama: Edie Falco (The Sopranos), 5'5"
Miniseries or Movie: Judy Davis (Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows), 5'5"

2001 average height: 5'4"

The 2007 average is the shortest height average in recent years. The tallest average was in 2004, when the only actress qualified to be petite was 5'4" Sarah Jessica Parker. Generally, the average height (based on the past few years) is just under 5'5", which is just above the national average. It seems that even though there are plenty of actresses who are shorter, it's the average and tall ones who win for leading roles. But is it the same for other awards? Find out next post, when I write about Academy Award winning actresses.