History Main / OneHeadTaller

%%* Inverted in ''Manga/NanaToKaoru'', as it's an [[UglyGuyHotWife Ugly Guy, Hot Girl]] comedy.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Creator/JaredPadalecki and Creator/GenevievePadalecki - he's 6'4" and change and she's 5'4".
* Creator/NatalieWood (5') and Creator/RobertWagner (5'11"). And with pretty much all of her male co-stars.
* An inversion: Creator/DudleyMoore (5'3") and Susan Anton (5'11").
* Music/JohnLennon (5'11") and Music/YokoOno (5'2") [[https://36.media.tumblr.com/fd9f50f4cdd1d13e89560e99ab343363/tumblr_n7ononk8lv1te49kho1_1280.jpg Exactly one head height difference.]]
* [[Music/FleetwoodMac Mick Fleetwood]] (6'6") and Sam Fox (5'1") [[https://assets.radiox.co.uk/2015/08/mick-fleetwood-and-sam-fox-at-the-brit-awards-1989-1424788676-view-1.jpg presenting the BRIT Awards in 1989.]]
** In a two-woman case, [[http://akns-images.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/201825/rs_634x1024-180305112834-634-jodie-foster-jennifer-lawrence-3518.jpg the 2018 Academy Awards]] had Creator/JodieFoster (5'3") and Creator/JenniferLawrence (5'9").
* When it comes to stuff like figure skating and ballroom dancing, it's usually recommended that the man be significantly taller than the woman (eg. Man's height > Woman's height + 2-4ins heels). This is a result of one partner (almost always the man) needing to lift the other partner (almost always the woman) straight over his head, which is easier with a wide size disparity (the Russians termed this "gorilla and flea" pairs). Many partnerships that were formed when the pair were tweens/teens often end when the girl has a growth spurt and the boy fails to grow enough to match. Real life example: Ekaterina Gordeeva (5'0") and her husband Sergei Grinkov (6'0"), 1988 & 1994 Olympic gold medalists in pairs figure skating.
* Creator/SachaBaronCohen (6'3") and Creator/IslaFisher (5'3").
* Creator/JohnKrasinski (6'3") and Creator/EmilyBlunt (5'7").
* Creator/HaydenPanettiere (officially 5'2" but many believe she's ''shorter''[[note]]her Website/IMDb page, among other sources, lists her at 5'1/4"[[/note]]) and... well, everyone she's ever been with. Although, her relationship with 6'6"/198cm boxer Wladimir Klitschko might be the most extreme example. (Bear in mind she's wearing '''four inch heels''' [[http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/12/07/article-2520084-19F19AA800000578-717_634x989.jpg in this picture]].)
* UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln was the tallest President of the US at 6'4". His wife, Mary Todd Lincoln was 5'2".
* UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington was pretty tall himself, standing 6'2", compared to his wife Martha Dandridge Custis, who was 5'0". It was said that he would always bend down to speak with her so that she didn't have to crane her neck up to look at him.
* ''Series/{{Today}}'' anchors Willard Scott (6'3") and Katie Couric (5'4") when [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsdFYSssn24 they hosted]] the [[UsefulNotes/MacysThanksgivingDayParade Macy's Parade]] together during TheNineties. Would also fall into HugeGuyTinyGirl in a way, as Willard was a little chubby especially compared to the somewhat mousy Katie.
%%* Willard Scott and both of his wives fit this trope as well—first [[http://kidshow.dcmemories.com/WillardMary2000_640.jpg Mary Dwyer]], who died in 2002, and then [[http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/04/02/article-2595255-1CC5022600000578-782_634x396.jpg Paris Keena]], with that marriage ending with his death in September 2021.
* Creator/TomCruise and almost everyone. Cruise is noticeably on the short side at 5'7" (the average height for American men is around 5'9" or 5'10"), and while he is taller than the average American ''woman'' (about 5'4" in height), he's often paired with statuesque actresses (plus the women he's been most linked with - Creator/MimiRogers, Creator/NicoleKidman and Creator/KatieHolmes - are all taller than him).
* Two couples in the world of voice acting fit this trope: Creator/TravisWillingham (6'4") and Creator/LauraBailey (5'2"), and Creator/TroyBaker (6'3") and his second wife Pamela (5'3").
* [[Music/ImagineDragons Dan Reynolds]] (6'3") and his wife, [[https://www.vegasnews.com/wp-content/uploads/Dan-Reynolds-and-his-wife-Aja-Volkman-at-Mystere-by-Cirque-du-Soleil-March-22-2016-2-570.jpg Aja Volkman]].
* As their StageNames would suggest, Music/LilKim (4'11"/150 cm) and Music/TheNotoriousBIG (6'2"/188 cm).
[[/folder]]

* Kelso and Jackie in ''Series/That70sShow''. Ashton Kutcher is 6'2"; Mila Kunis is 5'3" as an adult, and she was just 14 when the show started.

* Lara Croft in the rebooted ''Tomb Raider'' continuity is a non-romantic yet glaring example of this trope, with virtually every single man and several women in the series to date towering at least half a head (''[[VideoGame/TombRaider2013 Tomb Raider]]'') or more (''VideoGame/RiseOfTheTombRaider'') over her. In the original ''VideoGame/TombRaider'', [[BigBad Natla]] is much taller than Lara where Lara's head only goes up to Natla's chest.

* ''Manga/MyDressUpDarling'': The two main leads, Wakana Gojo and Marin Kitagawa, are both taller than average for their ages. Gojo stands 185cm (6'1") over Marin's 164 cm (5'4").

* ''Manga/SasakiAndMiyano'': Though the gender roles of their MasculineFeminineGayCouple relationship are mostly downplayed, Miyano is significantly shorter than his boyfriend Sasaki, but does grow a little bit over the story. The first time Miyano realizes this dynamic, he panics as he thinks that this likely makes him the {{Uke}} of their relationship.

* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'': Ymir (5'8) is about ''two'' heads taller than Christa. [[spoiler:Of course, when Ymir's is in her [[OneWingedAngel titan form]], she's hundreds of heads taller than Christa.]]

* Another inversion: Creator/DudleyMoore (5'3") and Susan Anton (5'11").

* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'': In the rare moments that [[OneeSama Mikoto (5'3)]] hugs [[StalkerWithACrush Kuroko (5'0)]], Mikoto is a head taller.

* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'':
** Ymir (5'8) is about ''two'' heads taller than Christa. [[spoiler:Of course, when Ymir's is in her [[OneWingedAngel titan form]], she's hundreds of heads taller than Christa.]]
** A non-romantic, but HoYay, example would be Levi and Eren, Levi standing at 160cm or 5'2 and Eren standing at 170cm or 5'7, despite Levi being so much shorter, he's demonstrated he's immensely stronger than Eren; he's not [[WorldsStrongestMan Humanity's Strongest Soldier]] for nothing, those of the fandom that supports the pair goes against the "taller is dominant" part of the trope and Levi seems to top more often.

* Touya & Yukito from ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura''.

* [[LauncherOfAThousandShips Allen]] from ''Manga/DGrayMan'' is only slightly taller than his probable love interest Lenalee (him being 169 cm/5'7, and her being 166 cm/5'5). But in line with this trope he is the youngest and shortest of the main male cast (with the next closest in height being Kanda at 177 cm/5'10), much to the delight of {{yaoi}} shippers.

** An interesting variation of this: Shinra (5'10) has just about one head over Celty (5'8.5) -- not because Celty is particularly short or Shinra is particularly tall, but because Celty is literally [[HeadlessHorseman missing a head]].
** In addition, Kida (5'7) and Mikado (5'5) [[http://static.minitokyo.net/downloads/47/35/469297.jpg?1151576758,Minitokyo.DuRaRaRa!.Wallpapers_469297.jpg are both a head taller than]] Anri (5'0); incidentally, Shizuo appears to be one head taller than Izaya, but is actually half a head (185cm/6'1 vs 175cm/5'9).
** Shizuo and Vorona (5'6.5) are also about a head different.

* ''Manga/{{Gravitation}}'' goes in the reverse, and simply makes Shuicihi much shorter than ''everyone''. Granted, he's also the "bottom" of the relationship.
* Bean Bandit and Rally Vincent from ''Manga/GunsmithCats'' (platonic example). That it doesn't go into HugeGuyTinyGirl territory is testament to the fact that Rally is pretty tall herself.

* Every two of the three girls in ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' is one head smaller than Kyon (5'7) (Haruhi (5'2) only being half a head shorter).

** Spain and Romano also fit this (though their height difference is less than 10 cm/3 inches), as do Greece and Japan (5'5). Like America and England, neither are official couples (interestingly, the most official ones have [[HugeGuyTinyGirl even *more* pronounced height differences]]), but there's definitely HoYay there.
** This trope is also evident with the [[ShipTease semi-canon]] Germany (5'11) and North Italy (5'7.7) and [[LampshadeHanging lamsphaded]], though Italy is not exactly one head shorter than Germany. In fact, Japan's height deficiency compared to Germany is much more pronounced.

** [[NiceGuy Finland]] is 5'7" and 12 cm/5 inches shorter than his [[OddFriendship friend]] [[GentleGiant Sweden]] (5'11"), which tends to get exaggerated in FanWorks pairing them up, sometimes to the extent that Finland is drawn being as short as ''Sealand,'' a 4'3" CheerfulChild.

* In ''Manga/HisFavorite'', Satou is exactly this to his boyfriend Yoshida whose already the shortest kid in class.

* In ''Franchise/{{Inuyasha}}'', any female can expect her love interest to be at least this to her, and if an evil person falls in love with her he will be even taller.

* Maya and Reina from ''Manga/MayasFuneralProcession''.

* Inverted in ''Manga/NanaToKaoru'', as it's an [[UglyGuyHotWife Ugly Guy, Hot Girl]] comedy.

* Shizuma and Nagisa, from ''LightNovel/StrawberryPanic''.

* Applies to Sora and Sunao, Yoru and Ran, and Shinichirou and Nanami in ''LightNovel/{{Sukisho}}''.

* Lenore and Ragamuffin (in his vampire form), from ''ComicBook/LenoreTheCuteLittleDeadGirl''.

* The old Marvel collectible cards said ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} was 6'2", ComicBook/JeanGrey was 5'6", and Wolverine was 5'2". When Cyclops is shown kissing/holding Jean Grey, he is one head taller than she is. However, when Jean Grey is shown kissing/holding Wolverine, he is also one head taller than she is. And whenever Cyclops and Wolverine are shown together, Wolverine is much shorter than Cyclops. Apparently Jean's height varies in order to accommodate this trope.
* ''ComicBook/JemAndTheHologramsIDW'':
** 5'5 Jerrica doesn't even reach her boyfriends shoulders. Rio is 6'2.
** Kimber is a lanky 5'9 woman (without heels) while her girlfriend Stormer is a 5'5 BigBeautifulWoman. Stormer has to lean up to kiss Kimber.
* ''ComicBook/AllNewXMen'': O5 Angel (6'0) is depicted as a head taller than Comicbook/{{X 23}} (5'1) in ''All-New Wolverine''.
* [[Franchise/SpiderMan Peter Parker]] is only meant to be about 5'10, but artists tend to depict him like this compared to his love interests, ''especially'' Mary Jane Watson; strangely, she's nowadays billed as being 5'8, so she should be the same height when wearing heels ([[DependingOnTheArtist which to be fair, some artists do depict her as]]). This goes all the way back to the beginning, where John Romita Sr drew MJ as one of the shortest in the cast (which even lead to Stan Lee's writing having 5'7 Gwen Stacy make a friendly barb about her being a 'little one', due to being depicted a couple inches taller than MJ).

* ''Fanfic/TheServantsOfUngoliant'' features [[spoiler:25-year-old Jhebdryk and 18-year-old Rhejya]]. Also doubled with HugeGuyTinyGirl.

* Jack and Sally from ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas''. Jack is taller then Sally, though Sally's pretty tall too. Jack is just really, ''really'' tall.

* In ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', the part of Jennifer was recast because actress Melora Hardin (5'7) was taller than Creator/MichaelJFox (5'4.25). Interestingly, it was the female crew which insisted Marty should be taller than his girlfriend.

** Ditto with Han (Creator/AldenEhrenreich, 5'8") and Qi'ra (Creator/EmiliaClarke, 5'2") in ''Film/{{Solo}}''.

* The DVD extras for ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'' had some fun with this, with overdubbed lines indicating that Creator/JasonSchwartzman's (5'5") character (Gideon Graves) was actually turned on by being shorter than Creator/MaryElizabethWinstead (5'8" plus shoes)

* On the original ''Series/GetSmart'', Barbara Feldon (5'9) was actually taller than Don Adams (5'7), which could have highlighted the comic nature of the couple, but the producers insisted their heights be "fixed". Most scenes of Max and 99 talking to each other were staged with Don standing on boxes while Barbara slouched. Their heights sometimes visibly change when they cut to a walking scene. At one point she mentioned that she was the only actress in Hollywood with calluses on her ankles, as she would roll her ankles, throw out her hip, and bow her head to look as short as possible.

** ''Series/KamenRiderBlade'': When [[TheHero Kazuma Kenzaki]] (6') and [[WildCard Hajime Aikawa]] (5' 7") happen to stand side by side, their height difference is pretty obvious as Hajime reaches up to Kenzaki's chin. They have been described as big [[AllLovingHero friendly]] guy and tiny [[PerpetualFrowner angry]] guy for a reason.

* Jack (5'8) and Rachel (5'10.5) on ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld''. She is quite a bit taller than him, something he was insecure about when they first got together.

* In ''Series/PhilOfTheFuture'', Phil (5'9.25) is actually a few inches shorter than Keely (5'8). This is never acknowledged in universe.
* Matty and Jenna on MTV's ''Series/{{Awkward}}''

* ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'': Tricia Helfer (5'10.5) as Six is noticeably taller than her series Companion / LoveInterest / ButtMonkey, James Callis (5'8) as Baltar.

** Season 2 has the introduction of Bobbi Morse, portrayed by Creator/AdriannePalicki, who is about 5'11 in flats, an inch taller than her love interest Lance Hunter (5'10), and towers over Simmons in her first appearance.

** Creator/JonathanCake (6'3") and Creator/BrandonRouth (6'2") have the same height disparity with Strahovski as Levi.

* ''Series/SchittsCreek'': David is 5'11" while Stevie is 5'5", so he has to bend down to kiss her in Season One. He's also taller than his boyfriend Patrick, who is 5'8" but it's not as acute.

** The Spy and the Scout's mom.

* Played straight in all ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' titles, but most noticeable in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'', where Leon (5'11) is a head taller than Claire (5'7), and male zombies are a head taller than ''him''. She also does the same to Ashley in ''4''.

* ''VideoGame/RivalSchools''' known pairings fall into this category for the most part. This includes [[HotBlooded Batsu]] and [[GenkiGirl Hinata]]; [[{{Eagleland}} Roy]] and [[ForeignFanservice Tiffany]]; and [[CoolOldGuy Hideo]] and [[HospitalHottie Kyoko]].

** Manticore and [[PsychicPowers Sister Psyche]] from ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes''. His [[BuffySpeak headdress-helmet thingy]] adds to the effect.

** A female elf can quite clearly take the lead with both Alistair and Leliana, despite being at least a head shorter.

* ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'': [[BadassBiker Francis (6'5)]] is half a head taller and [[ActionGirl Zoey (5'9)]] is half a head shorter than Bill and Louis (and most of infected), who are of average height.

* In ''Franchise/TouhouProject'', Marisa is the shortest adult character in the series, while Alice is said to be taller than average. You would never know this from fanart, where artists {{Shipping}} the two together will almost invariably make Marisa taller than Alice due to this trope. Not only is Marisa generally depicted as "the guy" in most of her Ships, but {{Fanon}} depictions of Alice often make her {{Tsundere}} as well.

** John Marston towers over his wife, [[https://i.ytimg.com/vi/83oZ8cHoXtY/maxresdefault.jpg Abigail]]. However in the prequel ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'', he's still signifcantly taller than her but the height difference isn't quite as [[https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nWBGFx14CbE/maxresdefault.jpg dramatic.]]

* ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken'' has this with most official male and female teams, [[https://i.imgur.com/j3gekLs.jpg Rolento to Ibuki]], Jin to Xiaoyu, Lars to Alisa. Inverted with Elena and Dudley.

** Shirou (5'6) is at ''least'' a head taller than Saber (5'1), who's the shortest Servant by far.

* ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'':
** Hisao (5'7) and the shortest girl, Emi (4'11), are this. At one point while hugging her during her arc, he mentions that he has to resist the urge to rest his head on top of hers.
** This trope is also touched on with Lilly (5'7), the character who most strongly averts this by being about as tall as Hisao. Hisao once points out that when he's kissing, it's nice to have her head and lips level with his.

* In ''VisualNovel/ToHeart'', [[ButNotTooForeign Lemmy Miyauchi (5'8)]] is the only female in the cast that is taller than Hiroyuki.

* ''VisualNovel/ZeroEscape'' series: Sigma and Diana in ''VideoGame/ZeroTimeDilemma''. Mostly because Sigma is pretty big.

* ''Webcomic/EverydayHeroes'': Mr. Mighty and his wife Jane.

* Dong-whi over Yun-lee in ''Webcomic/NineteenTwentyOne''.
* Nina and Deirdre in "Webcomic/Threading".

* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', [[InnocentAliens Starfire (5'6")]] is roughly one head taller than [[TheHero Robin (5'4")]], only by a few inches taller.

* Yet another inversion: Music/SonnyBono (5'5") and {{Music/Cher}} (5'9").

* Willard Scott and both of his wives fit this trope as well—first [[http://kidshow.dcmemories.com/WillardMary2000_640.jpg Mary Dwyer]], who died in 2002, and then [[http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/04/02/article-2595255-1CC5022600000578-782_634x396.jpg Paris Keena]], with that marriage ending with his death in September 2021.

* [[ShipSinking Not a couple,]] but [[LetsPlay/{{Yogscast}} the Yogscast's]] LetsPlay/KimRichards is only 5' tall, while her LetsPlay/FluxBuddies partner LetsPlay/DuncanJones is over 6' and isn't even the tallest Yog.

* Lara Croft in the rebooted ''Tomb Raider'' continuity is a non-romantic yet glaring example of this trope, with virtually every single man and several women in the series to date towering at least half a head (''[[VideoGame/TombRaider2013 Tomb Raider]]'') or more (''VideoGame/RiseOfTheTombRaider'') over her.

* In ''Fanfic/MarriageOfHeavenAndHell,'' Makoto is drastically taller at 174 cm (5'9") compared to Koneko (4'6"), to the point that when Yuma Amano eventually transfers to Kuoh Academy, she has to jump on his back to pin her against the wall when confronting her.

** In a two women case, [[http://akns-images.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/201825/rs_634x1024-180305112834-634-jodie-foster-jennifer-lawrence-3518.jpg the 2018 Academy Awards]] had Creator/JodieFoster (5'3") and Creator/JenniferLawrence (5'9").
* When it comes to stuff like figure skating and ballroom dancing, it's usually recommended that the man be significantly taller than the woman (eg. Man's height > Woman's height + 2-4ins heels). This is a result of one partner (almost always the man) needing to lift the other partner (almost always the woman) straight over his head, which is easier with a wide size disparity (the Russians termed this "gorilla and flea" pairs). Many partnerships that were formed when the pair were tweens/teens often end when the girl has a growth spurt and the boy fails to grow enough to match. Real life example: Ekaterina Gordeeva (5'0) and her husband Sergei Grinkov (6'0), 1988 & 1994 gold Olympic pairs figure skating champions.

* ''Series/{{Today}}'' anchors Willard Scott (6'3") and Katie Couric (5'4") when they [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsdFYSssn24 hosted the Macy's Parade together]] during TheNineties. Would also fall into HugeGuyTinyGirl in a way, as Willard is a little chubby especially compared to the somewhat mousy Katie.
* Willard Scott and both of his wives fit this trope as well—first [[http://kidshow.dcmemories.com/WillardMary2000_640.jpg Mary Dwyer]], who died in 2002, and his second wife [[http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/04/02/article-2595255-1CC5022600000578-782_634x396.jpg Paris Keena]], whose marriage ended with his death in September 2021.

* Willard Scott and his late first wife Mary Dwyer [[http://kidshow.dcmemories.com/WillardMary2000_640.jpg fit this trope as well]], as well as him and his current wife (they married in April 2014) [[http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/04/02/article-2595255-1CC5022600000578-782_634x396.jpg Paris Keena]].

* In ''Theatre/BullshotCrummond'', the script specifically recommends that the actress playing the DamselInDistress be taller than the ComedicHero Bullshot.

* Becomes a minor plot point in ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome''. When MJ and Ned first encounter Creator/AndrewGarfield's Spider-Man, they instantly know something is wrong due to how tall he is. Even though Garfield is only 5'10" (while Creator/TomHolland and Creator/TobeyMaguire are both roughly 5'8"), he's still the tallest of the three Spider-Men and becomes "The Tall One" when they're together.

* Becomes a minor plot point in ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome''. When MJ and Ned first encounter Creator/AndrewGarfield's Spider-Man, they instantly know something is wrong due to how tall he is. Even though Garfield is only 5'10, he's still the tallest of the three Spider-Men and becomes "The Tall One" when they're together.

* ''Series/TheWilds'': Toni is the shortest among the island girls. Shelby by contrast is pretty tall. This becomes noticeable after they involved, and especially while kissing.

* ''Anime/Vandread'': Inverted between Hibiki Tokai and Dita Liebely. Though it's not because Dita is excessively tall, but because Hibiki is shorter than average, especially for a man.