Biologically, women do not grow as tall as men, but a there are a few exceptions to consider. Many people would wish to be tall, especially if they feel intimidated about their heights.
Men dominate the world records for the tallest people, and only a few ladies feature on the top ten list.
However, it is also important to consider the ladies who have grown beyond the expected feminine body. Take a look at some of the tallest women in history, in no particular order.
1. Zeng Jinlian
Almost 40 years after her death, Zeng Jinlian still comes first on the list of the tallest women to ever live. She was born in China in 1964 and grew to an astonishing 8 feet, 1 ¾ inch tall.
Unfortunately, her extreme height caused severe spine issues that made her never stand straight. She passed away in 1982, aged 17.
2. Jane Bunford
Jane Bunford was born on July 26, 1895, and grew up to be one of the tallest women on Earth. She was around 7 feet, 11 inches tall at her time of death because there are no records of her life.
However, it is believed that she had an accident when she was 11 that triggered her pituitary gland to release excess growth hormone that made her grow so tall.
3. Yao Defen
Yao Defen has been at the center of the Guinness book of records for claiming that she was the tallest woman in the world.
However, her claims were refuted by Guinness, who claimed that Sandy Allen was taller than her. Defen was 7 feet, 8 inches tall, and was officially named the tallest woman in the world in 2011.
Her height resulted from a tumor in the pituitary gland and passed away in 2012.
4. Sun Fang
Sun Fang is considered the tallest woman in china, currently at 7 feet, 3 inches tall.
She is usually confused for being Yao Defen, another tall Chinese woman who passed away in recent years.
5. Sandy Allen
Born in 1955, Sandy Allen held the Guinness record for the tallest woman in the world for the longest time.
Sandy was 7 feet, 5.5 inches tall and a full-time actress who performed in the circus. She went into the book of records in 1976 and maintained her position till her demise in 2008.
6. Anna Haining Bates
Anna Bates was born in Canada in 1846 and grew to be one of the tallest women in history. At 7 feet, 11 inches tall, Anna went from circus to circus for show purposes.
Anna was later married to a very tall man, and together they had two babies who never survived. Anna Bates’ baby is considered the heaviest baby at childbirth and weighed around 23 pounds (10 kg).
He only lived for 11 hours. On August 5, 1888, Anna died due to heart failure aged 41.
7. Wassiliki Calliandji
Wassiliki Calliandji was a Greek-born woman who reached a height of 7 feet, 6.5 inches in her lifetime.
Even though there is no documentation about her life, she is said to have some massive body features like feet, legs, and eyes the size of a hen’s egg.
She died in 1904, aged 22, and went down in history as one of the tallest women ever.
8. Maria Fassnauer
Maria Fassnauer was an Italian woman who towered at 7 feet and 3 inches and was known as “The Giantess of Tirol”.
She was around 6 feet tall when she was 15, making her bigger than her peers. She, however, passed away at 38 years old.
9. Malgorzata Dydek
Malgorzata Dydek could be perhaps one of the tallest women to play professional basketball in the WNBA. She played for many teams like the Connecticut Sun and Utah Starzz.
Dydek was 7 feet and 2 inches tall. She, however, passed on in 2011, aged 37.
10. Zainab Bibi
Zainab Bibi is one of the tallest women ever to live and has faced some ups and downs for her height
At 7 feet, 2inches, Zainab felt like her extreme height made her a target in Pakistan, which led her to seek asylum in Britain. She, however, passed on in 2018 at the age of 46.
11. Ulijana Semjonova
From the 1970s to the 1980s, Ulijana was considered one of the phenomenal figures in women’s basketball globally.
The Latvian-born sportswoman was 7 feet tall and played basketball for the Soviet Union.
12. Trijntje Keever
Trijntje Keever lived in the 17th century and is considered the tallest woman ever to live, although these reports remain unverified.
Nicknamed De Groote Meid, she was around 8 feet 4 inches tall before her demise at 17. She was already over 6 feet tall at nine years old and started going to carnivals. She, unfortunately, died of cancer at age 17.
In 2016, some people recognized the 400th anniversary of the tallest woman who ever lived.
13. Ella Ewing
Ella Ewing was born in 1872 in Missouri and went down in history as the tallest woman of her era. She used her 7’4.5” structure to earn money as a sideshow attraction dubbed “The Missouri Giantess” and died in January 1913, aged 40.
However, it is believed that she would have reached around 8 feet by the time of her death.
14. Gitika Srivastava
Girika Srivastava is 6 feet 11 inches tall and played basketball for the Indian National Women Basketball team.
15. Caroline Welz
Caroline Welz is considered the tallest woman in Germany, standing at 6 feet 9 inches. She has been working as a model.
The dimension of stuff has been an interest of mine ever since I was a child. What I believe is most fascinating about the dimension of stuff is how extremely long, tall and wide some objects are both on earth and in the universe.