The man behind CelebHeights is not here to make friends.
CelebHeights owner Rob Paul with actor Corey Feldman, who claims to be 5'8", but Rob pegs him at 5'5".
Rob Paul / Via celebheights.com
In a recent episode of the podcast Mystery Show, a listener asks host Starlee Kline to solve a surprisingly thorny melon-scratcher: How tall is Jake Gyllenhaal? The premise of Kline's show is to solve insignificant but intriguing humdingers that can't be sussed out online. The listener had noticed that in the movie Source Code, Jake sometimes seemed kind of short, and yet in other scenes, seems kind of tall. Curious, he googled "how tall is Jake Gyllenhaal," which led him to CelebHeights.com. However, the entry for Jake on the site (which has charmingly retained its 2004 design) only increased the mystery of his real height. According to the comments section:
One user explained his theory compared to other celebs:
"I heard he's taller than Gordon Ramsey and Will Smith. Slightly shorter than Hugh Jackman. Same height as Elle Macpherson in heels. 180cm is out of the question. 187cm for Jonathon Ross. 179 for Jake."
User Mr-KILLER-SHRIMP thought:
"Indeed Chris, this guy is 178 range at best. Clearly sub 180."
This comment ignited a [sic] flame war:
"From what I'm seeing Mr-KILLER-SHRIMP your one heck of a downgrader...and I'm certain you've got a height complex.You will probably lie if I ask how tall are you,and don't worry I don't even care.Why am I saying this and being a bit rude? Maybe,lets think for a second...maybe its because every single person on this site you lower his listed height by atleast 1.5 inches.The fact that you said Jake was 175cm...Jonathan Ross 180cm?ARE YOU SERIOUS? The list you gave me also was a load of *beep* I'm aware of the fact that you and I are guessing but unlike you I'm actually trying to guess their REAL height and actually THINK for a second,rather than making everyone shorter just because It will make me feel better,assuming thats what you're doing."
After a series of false leads, host Starlee eventually gets Jake himself on the phone. He coyly admits to being 5'11½", closing the door not just on one listener's curiosity, but on a debate on the Celeb Heights site that has been raging since 2005. Moreover, this kind of debate is relatively typical of CelebHeights. We tend to think of height as something objective. It can be measured and verified, stamped on our driver's licenses charted in our mugshots. And yet, as the drama at CelebHeights shows, it's not that simple.
Even though most of us vary by just a few inches from each other, height is tied to our identity in a complicated way. Fashion magazines might recommend that woman over 5'6" wear a maxi dress, but women just two inches shorter should abstain, at risk of it being unflattering. We tend to vote for the taller candidate in presidential elections. Male CEOs tend to be an average of 6'0" — a few inches taller than the average population. Taller people earn more money (white men add a 1.8% increase in salary for every inch over average, according to one study).
The height issue seems to be, well, heightened, for men. The most hotly contested celebrities on the site are all men. A male friend of mine with a slight stature lamented to me how he often sees women write in their Tinder bios, "Swipe left if you're under 6'1"," which he finds deeply hurtful and unfair. We diagnose shorter men for having a "Napoleon complex" — judging their personalities purely by their physical appearance, something that might seem obviously wrong if it were about, say, women and weight. In short, sometimes height is worth fighting over. At least to some people.
CelebHeights has been around for more than a decade now. It's run by a guy named Rob Paul, 39, who lives just outside of Glasgow. Rob told me over email that his interest in height stemmed from age 14, when he hit 5'8" and stopped growing. His reason for starting the site was to fill a gaping hole he saw on the internet. "In 2004, no sites dedicated to discussing each and every celebrity height existed," Rob explained. "While a site like IMDb was flourishing, I felt a lot of the height information being put on the web was wildly off the mark … I figured CelebHeights would be a good repository, with entries controlled by one editor."
The site runs ads, but according to Rob, the ad revenue "isn't going to make me wealthy." But it's still a full-time job. For example, there are a lot of conventions to attend, which can be a perk. "I once travelled to a convention in Blackpool, England, and met a girl from my hometown who was attending the same convention. We hit it off, and eight years later, we're still together," Rob said.
While a site like IMDb was flourishing, I felt a lot of the height information being put on the web was wildly off the mark...
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