[Lingster]

Then again, perhaps Hollywood is looking for someone to be the female equivalent of Arnold or a bigger version of Milla Jovovich or Linda Hamilton.

If she's 6'2", Sharapova's Hollywood options are severely limited.  Geena Davis is 6', and her height has surely been a big negative in her film career.  Davis is well-known for being both incredibly beautiful and talented, but she's got fewer film roles to her credit than other actresses who are her peers in those regards, for example (5'8") Cate Blanchett.  Davis has mostly been limited to parts played against unusually tall male actors (i.e. Chevy Chase, Jeff Goldblum, Ed Begley, Jr., Bill Murray) or in movies with lots of children (i.e. Stuart Little) or in movies without a lot of male characters (i.e. Thelma and Louise).  She's also done TV ad spots in the U.S., which is something most stars at her level don't do.

[Hunter S Creek]

If she's 6'2", Sharapova's Hollywood options are severely limited.  Geena Davis is 6', and her height has surely been a big negative in her film career.  Davis is well-known for being both incredibly beautiful and talented, but she's got fewer film roles to her credit than other actresses who are her peers in those regards, for example (5'8") Cate Blanchett.  Davis has mostly been limited to parts played against unusually tall male actors (i.e. Chevy Chase, Jeff Goldblum, Ed Begley, Jr., Bill Murray) or in movies with lots of children (i.e. Stuart Little) or in movies without a lot of male characters (i.e. Thelma and Louise).  She's also done TV ad spots in the U.S., which is something most stars at her level don't do.

All very true, Mighty Lingster.  I suppose that I should have made it clearer that my sentence regarding Miss Sharapova and Hollywood was merely wishful thinking on my part and not what I felt was an actual possibility.  🙂

Tschuss!
Hunter

[Mr Burroughs]

I got a kick out of this article on Sharapova's last growth spurt, from August of last year.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050810/asp/sports/story_5096603.asp

From Melbourne to Paris to Wimbledon, there was a recurring thought this year whenever Maria Sharapova walked into an interview room or strode onto a tennis court.

Had Sharapova gotten taller or was everyone else just shrinking?

The mystery was solved on Monday. Listed at 6 feet in the WTA Tour media guide, Sharapova said she was 6-2, having grown a few more centimetres, which may have contributed to her back problems in 2005.

Here's an interview from the same period.

http://www.mariaworld.net/int31805.htm

Q. You said you've gained a few pounds, but you also still seem to be getting taller. Do you feel yourself getting taller?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I actually do. I feel like I've grown a little bit. But, you know, what can you do?

Q. Does it affect anything on the court?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: On the court, no, not really. I think once you start growing, it's very important. Like I said, I had my back ?? my background was because of the growing and my shoulder. You just have to make sure those parts of your body are strong, your joints are strong.

Q. Your parents aren't particularly tall. Do you have any idea where you get your height from?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I have no idea. I've been asking. I haven't got a straight answer yet (smiling).

Q. No tall family relative?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, not that they've told me. I don't know who to talk to.

Q. Are you ready to go to 6'2"?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, I'm not going to admit it, even if I am.

There's actually a wealth of these articles out there, although I can't find a more recent one. Here's an old favorite from when Sharapova was 17.

http://www.tennisreporters.net/news_070304.html

Much of the reason why Sharapova rose slower than Hingis had to do with her growth spurt over the past two years, when she complained that she grew so tall so fast that she hadn't gotten used to pulling her large feet and tall frame around. In February after Anastasia Myskina had schooled her in the fourth round of the Australian Open, she talked about how weak she was physically. But she said she was willing to hit the weights and do as much off-court training as necessary to be able to last at the Slams.

"My body is still trying to get used to being my body," she told tennisreporters.net at the time. "At the beginning of last year I felt terrible because I had my growth spurt. I couldn't feel my body at all. Now I feel better moving, but I still have a lot of improvement to make. Physically, I'm still only at 20 percent of what I'm capable of. I'm getting stronger, but in the gym, I still can't even put up two plates!"

[Mr Burroughs]

Oh, man, I just found the motherlode. YouTube has a video of Sharapova on Regis and Kelly from 2/15. Whoever cut the video just used the parts that emphasize her size. I'll post the link, but here's a play-by-play.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=7VRX_tmdczw

Regis introduces Sharapova, who walks onto the set TOWERING over both Regis and Kelly. She has to bend about 30 degrees to greet them, then they all find their seats. Regis says, "I think Maria has grown a couple more inches since we had her!" Then she mentions she's almost 19, and the clip picks up later in the interview.

Regis opens up Sharapova's centerfold in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. They banter for a bit, then Regis says "It takes about eight pages to cover Maria's body." Kelly says "Can I ask you? What is your inseam?" Maria: "My inseam? Oh, I don't know." Regis mugs and asks why Kelly wants to know, and Kelly has Maria stand up next to her and points out that her (Kelly's) waist only comes up to Maria's crotch. Kelly Ripa is 5'4'', so do your own Incredible Growing Sharapova calculations.

YouTube also has a video of Sharapova's first appearence on the show in the summer of 2004, after Wimbledon, when she was around 5'11'' or 6''. You don't get to see her stand up next to the hosts, but you can tell she was smaller. In that interview, when she's sitting down, her eyes are level to Regis's forehead and her feet are dangling at the same level as the two hosts'. Now she's gotten so big that when she sits down, her dangling feet are out of the shot. After the break, the camera pulls back a little to get her huge body in the frame.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ScKZNSJ5NH4

[ratlaf]

is there any way to save the clips from youtube.com????????????????????????

[Mr Burroughs]

Here are screencaps from the Regis and Kelly appearances.

From 2004:

It's like she dropped into Wonderland and chugged Alice's first bottle.

[stimpy]

A little update:  The celebheights board has slowed down a bit, with the general consensus being she's stopped growing. (which makes sense, since she's 19…)  So it looks like we'll have to wait another generation to see a 7-foot tennis star/supermodel…  😉

But the good news:  Apparently, now that she's stopped growing, she plans to hit the weights hard.  So maybe she'll be growing in *other* ways…  😎

[Mr Burroughs]

Wow, thanks for posting that. Sharapova is amusingly shallow in that interview (how many times does she shill for that watch company?), but the scenes of her looming over the hosts and the growth question are great. I think she did grow another half-inch or inch after this interview … since the start of this year she's joked about being a full 6'2''.

How did they stage the chairs to make the host look her in the eye, anyway?

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