If you’ve ever watched Dharma & Greg or caught a late-season episode of Fear the Walking Dead, you’ve probably had that moment. You know the one. You look at the screen and think, "Wait, is Jenna Elfman actually that tall, or is everyone else just really short?"
It’s a fair question. Honestly, the camera can be a total liar. It makes people look like giants or hobbits depending on the lens and the floorboards. But with Jenna Elfman, what you see is basically what you get. She isn't just "TV tall." She is actually, legitimately tall.
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How Tall Jenna Elfman Is (The Official Number)
Let's just get the data out of the way first. Jenna Elfman is 5 feet 10 inches tall. In the metric world, that’s about 178 centimeters. For a woman in Hollywood, that is a massive physical presence. To put it into perspective, the average height for an American woman is roughly 5 feet 4 inches. Jenna towers over that by half a foot.
She’s often compared to other "statuesque" actresses like Charlize Theron or Blake Lively, who both sit around the same height. But there’s something about Jenna's frame—maybe it’s the way she carries herself—that makes her seem even more imposing.
The Ballerina Body Secret
Why does she look so leggy? Well, before she was ever Dharma Finkelstein, she was a classically trained ballerina. That matters more than you’d think.
When you train in ballet from the age of five, you develop a specific kind of posture. You learn how to "lift" out of your hips. Even now, decades after she had to give up professional ballet due to an ankle injury, that dancer’s alignment is still there. She doesn't slouch.
She actually received a full scholarship to the Westside School of Ballet and was even a "Legs Girl" for ZZ Top in the 90s. You don't get that gig unless your proportions are, frankly, a bit ridiculous. Her height isn't just in her torso; it’s mostly in her legs, which creates a vertical line that makes her look like she's 6 feet tall when she's wearing even a modest heel.
Height Dynamics on the Set of Dharma & Greg
One of the reasons her height became such a "thing" was her co-star, Thomas Gibson.
In Hollywood, there’s often this weird pressure to make the male lead taller than the female lead. If the woman is taller, they’ll literally make the guy stand on a box (affectionately called an "apple box") or dig a trench for the woman to walk in.
Thomas Gibson is about 6 feet 2 inches. Because he’s a tall guy himself, the show didn't have to hide Jenna’s height. They could let her be 5'10" and wear boots or heels without it looking "unbalanced" by traditional TV standards.
Kinda refreshing, right?
It allowed her character to be as physically expressive as she wanted. Dharma was all about big movements and "free-spirit" energy, and having that extra height just made her physical comedy land better.
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Jenna vs. Bodhi: The Height Gap at Home
People always get curious about her husband, Bodhi Elfman. In a world where celebrity couples usually look like they were measured with a ruler to match perfectly, the Elfmans are a bit different.
Bodhi is roughly 5 feet 9 inches.
Yeah, she’s got about an inch on him. If she wears heels to a red carpet event—which she almost always does—she ends up looking significantly taller than him. They’ve been married since 1995, so clearly, nobody in that household is losing sleep over who has to reach the top shelf in the kitchen.
It’s actually become a bit of a trademark for them. They look comfortable together, and that confidence probably comes from the fact that they’ve been together since before she was even famous.
Why Her Height Matters for Her Roles
Being a tall woman in acting isn't always easy. Sometimes you lose roles because you "tower over" the leading man. But Jenna found a way to make it her brand.
- In Sitcoms: Her height gave her a "quirky but commanding" presence. She wasn't the "cute little girl next door." She was the "force of nature" next door.
- In Drama: In Fear the Walking Dead, her height helped her look capable. When you're playing a survivor in a zombie apocalypse, being 5'10" makes it a lot more believable when you're taking down "walkers" or holding your own in a fight.
- In Fashion: Designers love her. She has the literal proportions of a runway model, which is why she consistently kills it in red carpet photos.
The Reality of Being 5'10" in Hollywood
Honestly, being a tall actress is a bit of a double-edged sword. On one hand, you have "star power" and a physical presence that demands attention the moment you walk into a room. On the other hand, you're constantly being measured—literally and figuratively—against your male counterparts.
Jenna Elfman has never seemed to shy away from it. Whether she’s guest-judging on So You Think You Can Dance or filming her latest project, she owns every inch.
If you're looking to replicate that kind of presence, it really comes down to the "ballet brain"—it’s less about the number on the measuring tape and more about the posture and the confidence.
If you want to see how she uses her height to her advantage, check out some of her early dance work or her more recent dramatic turns. You'll see that she uses her long limbs to emphasize her acting, making her one of the most physically gifted performers of her generation.
Next time you see her on screen, just remember: she’s not standing on a stool. She’s just that tall.
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Practical Insight: If you're on the taller side and feel self-conscious, take a page out of the Jenna Elfman playbook. Focus on "dancers' posture"—shoulders back, neck long—to turn your height into an asset rather than something to hide. It worked for a Golden Globe winner, so it’ll probably work for you too.