25 Tallest Women Who Ever Lived

Posted by , Updated on March 25, 2024

Giants have always fascinated and perplexed people. Going all the way back to David and Goliath, stories of super tall men have lived in fables, myths, and legends.

Today, however, we know, based upon the NBA alone, tall people exist and come from all walks of life. For some reason, men get the spotlight more than women. Let’s redirect some of the attention. Here are the 25 Tallest Women Who Ever Lived.

25

Heather Greene

heather greeneSource: http://www.snopes.com

While she’s not the tallest woman in the world as she claims to be, Heather Greene still measures at 6 feet, 5 inches (1.9 meters). And yes, that’s after she loses the high heels.

24

Maria Alexandrovna Stepanova

maria_stepanova_with_cutout_by_lowerrider-d83antpSource: https://www.spokeo.com

Maria Alexandrovna Stepanova is a famous women’s basketball player, measuring at 6 ft, 8 in (2.03 m). In the United States, she played for the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA.

23

Elizabeth “Liz” Cambage

Elizabeth_Cambage_at_day_three_of_the_Opals_campSource: http://www.sportsgoogly.com

Australian basketball player Liz Cambage is also 6 ft, 8 in and plays for the Tulsa Shock in the WNBA.

22

Malee Duangdee

Malee DuangdeeSource: https://coconuts.co

Measuring at 6 ft, 9 in (205 cm), Malee Duangdee was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the tallest woman in the world. She passed away at the age of 24 from chronic health problems.

21

Lindsay Kay Hayward

lindsay kay haywardSource: http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com

A professional actress and wrestler, Lindsay Kay Hayward is 6 ft, 8 in (203 cm) tall and received a Guinness World Record for the tallest woman in a leading role.

20

Brittney Griner

Brittney_Griner_accepting_Wade_Trophy_2Source: http://www.wnba.com

Playing for the Phoenix Mercury as a center, Brittney Griner is 6 ft, 8 in (203 cm) tall.

19

Rita Miniva Besa

rita miniva besaSource: http://purbat.com/

Formerly living in Zimbabwe but moved to the United States, Rita Miniva Besa is 6 ft, 8 in (203 cm) tall.

18

Lindsay Corine Taylor

Rocky_point_5-09_leahs_patio_lindcSource: http://old.seattletimes.com

Lindsay Corine Taylor is a long time professional basketball player, playing for several teams in the WNBA. She’s 6 ft, 8 in (203 cm) tall.

17

Gitika Srivastava

gitikasrivastavaSource: http://www.thetallestman.com

A former Indian professional basketball player, Gitika Srivastava measures at 6 ft, 11 in (210 cm) tall.

16

Caroline Welz

caroSource: https://www.tallwomen.org/

At 6 ft, 9 in (205 cm), Caroline Welz is one of the tallest women in Germany.

15

Uljana Semjonova

uljanasemjonovaSource: http://www.thetallestman.com

Measuring at 7 ft, 0 in (213 cm), Uljana Semjonova was a former Soviet basketball player and was the leading women’s player in her time in the 1980’s.

14

Zainab Bibi

zainabbibiSource: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

Zainab Bibi has sought out asylum status in Britain because she fears for her life in her homeland of Pakistan as she feels that her height has made her a target. She measures at 7 ft, 2 in (218 cm) tall.

13

Maria Fassnauer

Maria_und_Rosa_FassnauerSource: http://www.top10hq.com

Born in 1879 in Tyrol, Austria, Maria Fassnauer grew to be 7 ft, 4 in (223 cm) tall, though many believe her height was embellished or inaccurately measured. She became something of a fair-ground attraction at the time but died in 1917.

12

Malgorzata Dydek

798px-Margo_Dydek_2Source: http://www.nytimes.com/

Malgorzata Dydek was a WNBA professional basketball player, playing for several teams including Utah Starzz and Connecticut Sun. She was 7 ft, 2 in (218 cm) tall and unfortunately passed away at the age of 37.

11

Carolina Rascón

CG-Mexicos-Giantess-1Source: http://www.sideshowworld.com/

Carolina Rascón, from a small mining village in Mexico, was said to be 7 ft, 5 in (226 cm) tall. Of course, this is difficult to verify as she lived back in 1944.

10

Delores Pullard

delorespullardSource: http://www.thetallestman.com

Born in 1946, Delores Pullard grew to be 7 ft, 5 in (226 cm), but everyone said she was 8 ft, 1 in (246 cm) tall. Considered the tallest woman in the world back then, she went around in a sideshow. She passed away in 1971 after surgery complications.

9

Ella Ewing

ellaewingSource: http://www.thetallestman.com/ellaewing.htm

Born in 1872 in Missouri, Ella Ewing was the tallest woman in the United States during her lifetime. She grew to be 7 ft, 4.5 in (224 cm) tall and made most of her money traveling in the circus.

8

Trijntje Keever

trijntjekeeverSource: http://www.thetallestman.com/trijntjekeever.htm

If the stories about her are true, Trijntje Keever is the tallest woman ever recorded in history. She was said to be 8 ft, 4 in (254 cm) tall and in order to get money, her parents put her in carnivals. She tragically died of cancer at the young age of seventeen. Since she lived back in the 17th century, it’s probably best to take her height with a grain of salt.

7

Sun Fang

sunfangSource: http://www.thetallestman.com/sunfang.htm

Sun Fang is currently the tallest woman in China at 7 ft, 3 in (221 cm) tall. She’s often mistaken for Yao Defen, another tall woman who recently passed away.

6

Wassiliki Calliandji

wassilikicalliandji (1)Source: http://www.thetallestman.com

Born in Greece in 1882, Wassiliki Calliandji grew to be 7 ft, 6.5 in (229.87 cm) tall. While no photographs of her exist, she’s said to have eyes the size of hen’s eggs with hands and feet of enormous dimensions. She was able to fend off circus entertainers but instead grabbed the attention of the Guinness Book of World Records.

5

Sandy Allen

sandyallen (163)Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/22/opinion/22cohen.html

Sandy Allen was born in 1955 and grew to be 7 ft, 5.5 in (231.78 cm) tall. She mostly performed in the circus but was also an actress. During her lifetime, she was considered the tallest woman in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records.

4

Yao Defen

yaodefen (1)Source: http://www.thetallestman.com/yaodefen.htm

For some time, Yao Defen claimed to be the tallest woman in the world, but the Guinness Book refuted her claims, pointing instead to Sandy Allen. Defen grew to 7 ft, 8 in (233.7 cm) tall and officially became the tallest woman in the world in 2011 but tragically passed away a year later.

3

Jane Bunford

janebunford (2)Source: http://www.thetallestman.com/ginnybunford.htm

Jane Bunford was 7 ft, 11 in (241 cm) tall, but there are no known photographs of her. She lived in England and was listed as the tallest woman in the world in the Guinness Book all the way up to 2001. They only showed a copy of her birth certificate and a picture of her skeleton.

2

Anna Haining Bates

Anna_Swan_with_her_parentsSource: http://www.thetallestman.com/annahainingswan.htm

Anna Haining Bates was born in 1846 in Canada. She grew to be 7 ft, 5.5 in (227.3 cm) tall and traveled around in a circus. She married a very tall man, and they had two children together.

1

Zeng Jinlian

zengjinlian (2)Source: http://www.thetallestman.com/zengjinlian.htm

Zeng Jinlian is the tallest woman ever to be recorded in medical history, reaching up to 8 ft, 1.75 in (248.3 cm) in height. She was born in 1964 and lived until 1982.



Photo: 25. Heather Greene (Fair Use: Illustrative Purposes Only), 24. Maria Stepanova (Fair Use: No free images available), 23. Bidgee, Elizabeth Cambage at day three of the Opals camp, CC BY-SA 3.0, 22. Sanook (Fair Use: No Free Images Available), 21. Lindsay Kay Hayward (Fair Use: Illustrative Purposes Only), 20. Sphilbrick, Brittney Griner accepting Wade Trophy 2, CC BY-SA 3.0, 19. Rita Miniva Besa (Fair Use: No Free Images Available), 18. Wikipedia Commons.com (Public Domain), 17. Gitika (Fair Use: No Free Images Available), 16. Tall Women.org (Fair Use: No Free Images Available), 15. Tallest Man (Fair use: No Free Images Available), 14. Tallest Man (Fair Use: No Free Images Available), 13. Wikipedia COmmons.com (Public Domain), 12. Donald Barnat, Margo Dydek 2, CC BY-SA 3.0, 11. Sideshow World (Fair Use: No Free Images Available), 10. Tallest Man (Fair Use: No Free Images Available), 9. Tallest Man (Fair Use: No Free Images Available), 8. Tallest Man (Fair Use: No Free Images Available), 7. Tallest Man (Fair Use: No Free Images Available), 6. Tallest Man (Fair Use: No Free Images Available), 5. Tallest Man (Fair Use: No Free Images Available), 4. Tallest Man (Fair Use: No Free Images Available), 3. Tallest Man (Fair Use: No Free Images Available), 2. Wikipedia Commons (Public Domain), 1. Tallest Man (Fair Use: No Free Images Available)