Jenna Elfman currently stars as Joyce Fisher on NBC's family comedy "Growing Up Fisher" with J.K. Simmons.

Elfman began her career as a professional dancer, appearing in music videos by Depeche Mode and Anthrax, and danced with Debbie Allen on the 1991 Academy Awards live broadcast, choreographed by Debbie Allen. She ultimately transitioned to acting, best known for her role as Dharma in the hit television series "Dharma and Greg," for which she garnered a Golden Globe Award, three Emmy Award nominations and two TV Guide Awards.

Last year, "1600 Penn" marked Elfman's return to situation comedy after critically-acclaimed guest appearances on "Shameless" and the final season of the award-winning drama "Damages," with Glenn Close and Rose Byrne. Other notable television credits include a recent guest appearance on "The Mindy Project," as well as appearances on "Two and a Half Men," "My Name is Earl," and "Royal Pains."

She appeared in the hit comedy feature film "Friends with Benefits," starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis, and her film credits also include "Keeping the Faith," opposite Ben Stiller and Edward Norton, the cult classic "Can't Hardly Wait," and Ron Howard's "Edtv," opposite Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. Elfman will be seen in the upcoming feature film "Big Stone Gap" with Patrick Wilson, Ashley Judd and Whoopi Goldberg and Jane Krakowski.

As a classically trained ballerina, Jenna has been enjoying being a guest judge on the hit dance competition show "So You Think You Can Dance". She is also proudly on the board of trustees of the Dizzy Feet Foundation, whose mission is to support, improve, and increase access to dance education in the United States.

Jenna was born and raised in Los Angeles, where she currently lives with her husband, Bodhi Elfman, and their two young sons.

Visit her website

July 26, 2017 1:00 PM by Julia Felsenthal

"I think it"s incredibly progressive to talk about race in relationships,” says the actress, comedian, podcast host, and former Daily Show correspondent Jessica Williams. "And I also think it"s really progressive not to address it at all.”

I"m sitting with the actress—in person, she"s arrestingly tall and pretty—in a midtown New York hotel room, discussing her latest project, Jim Strouse"s The Incredible Jessica James , available to stream on Friday via Netflix. Strouse wrote the film as a star vehicle for Williams (she also gets credit as an executive producer), after casting her in his 2015 comedy People Places Things . In the new film, she plays the titular character, a 25-year-old theater geek who runs a drama program for New York City public school kids and aspires to playwriting glory. When we meet her, she is smarting from a string of professional and personal disappointments (when she"s not fantasizing about outlandish ways her recent ex-boyfriend might drop dead, she"s papering the walls of her deep-outer-borough apartment with rejection letters from every major theater company in the Western world).

Then Jessica"s friend Tasha (Noël Wells) sets her up with Boone (Chris O"Dowd), a slightly older app developer who is himself reeling from a divorce. They go on a terrible first date that turns into a tentative, maybe-not-so-terrible romance. From this premise springs a quiet, goofy rom-com about learning to recognize the good things that are right in front of your nose.

The Incredible Jessica James distinguishes itself from your average rom-com in myriad ways. There"s a deliberate effort to flip the script on gender dynamics. There"s an appealing hyper-realism to Strouse"s depiction of Boone and Jessica"s awkward, ambivalent courtship. There"s Jessica herself: passionate, slightly clueless, unflappable in the face of rejection, so much so that her abundance of self-esteem can seem at times like millennial self-delusion or even clinical narcissism. (At other times it just seems really, really healthy —and the fact that it"s off-putting may reflect more poorly on the viewer than on the character.)

And then there"s what goes unspoken. Jessica and Boone are opposites: He"s as self-deprecating and gibbering as she is self-assured and unnervingly direct. But their most visible difference—she"s black, he"s white—is never even mentioned in passing. Race certainly crops up: "Look at me,” Jessica says at one point. "I"m tall. I"m pretty. I"m smart. I am a cocoa queen. Obviously I will have a lot of great loves in my life.” It just never crops up between these two characters. "What I loved about Jessica,” says Williams, "is that she"s a black woman, and that is part of her identity. But in this story, it"s relevant and also irrelevant .”

Jessica James premiered at Sundance, so the film was long in the can by the time its star made headlines at the festival, first for delivering a rousing speech at the Park City Women"s March ("Williams is my last name, but it is not my real name. It is my slave name. I am my ancestors" dream. They fought for me to be able to stand up here in the cold-ass snow in front of a bunch of white people wearing Uggs”); then for publicly tussling with Salma Hayek over matters of intersectional feminism at a lunch for women in Hollywood (Hayek"s position: reject victimhood; Williams"s position: for certain women—black and trans women in particular—"it"s not so simple”).

"Race affects everything that I do, and everything that I create speaks to intersectionality,” Williams explains when I ask whether the film"s handling of interracial dating connects to the point she was trying to make at Sundance. "It"s not a hat I can take on and off. It is a fact and it just exists. It"s interesting, because that means, in a way, even if you"re not trying to be political, you kind of are.”

Later, she adds: "In a way, that"s kind of what it can mean to be black.”

We spoke more about her feelings on that incident, about making The Incredible Jessica James , and about why Williams, who left The Daily Show just before the 2016 presidential election went into overdrive, felt it was high time to move on from the satirical news business.

I"m really tall , so I loved that this movie is about an unusually tall woman. You"re 6 feet tall in real life. Has your height shaped your comedy?

Definitely. Height has been very, very central to the development of my personality. I think when you"re a tall girl, you feel a little bit like an outcast. You have to go to the back of the photo. You"re taller than all the boys. I know I felt more like an outsider. And then as I got older I just got used to it. I got like: I don"t date under 6 feet. That"s my policy.

I"m a lot more comfortable with it. The thing that annoys me as a tall woman: Sometimes I"ll be out somewhere and guys who are just around 6 feet are like, "How tall are you? Let"s stand back to back!” It"s like: Why? It"s always some 5-[foot]-10-ass dude, trying to stand butt to butt with you, trying to see who"s taller. It"s like, okay, alright, I"m the physical incarnation of your failures.

Your character operates with this intense self-confidence. It raises the question: Is she some prototypically self-absorbed millennial? Or is she just a person with a really healthy sense of self that we"re not used to seeing onscreen? How did you read her?

I read her as all of those things, actually. I think there"s something to the millennial sentiment of being, like, I"m great. But I think there"s also something really amazing and powerful about being, like, Oh, hey, I"m awesome. It"s a fine line. But I think it"s possible to be both, to not be the most annoying person in the world, to still be very intriguing and fun to watch. I see Jessica James as very layered and dynamic. I feel complicated. My friends feel complicated. All the women in my life feel complicated. So I was really excited to play her for that specific reason.

In anticipation of meeting you, I was re-reading the story that came out about the Sundance lunch where you got into it with Salma Hayek. Did that experience teach you any lessons about Hollywood that you didn"t already know?

I think I took away a lot about me, actually. I was in a really vulnerable position in that room, and I really felt the need to express myself at this massive table. So I think after I felt sad about it, it was like, oh at the end of the day, it was a little bit brave of me to be able to say that. And what I loved most was the response that it got. I really felt like no matter what happened in that room, there were so many women and men who understood what I was talking about and were really supportive. So I did feel a little alone in that situation, but as soon as I was out of it, there was a lot of love.

You left The Daily Show at the beginning of last summer, arguably when things really started to go haywire with the 2016 election. Have there been moments since then when you"ve felt pangs of: I wish I could get back into the satirical news game?

I only think of that when I come across people I used to work with, because I miss them. I worked in the best office ever. But for the most part: hell no. I really like where I"m at right now. I left The Daily Show to go shoot this movie. I really loved the process of making the movie. I don"t have any regrets about the way I left, and when I left, and what I"m choosing to do. Because, f*ck this. I mean that in the most eloquent way possible: F*ck. This.

You mean politics?

Yeah. Yeah.

In the film there"s this scene where Jessica James meets the Tony-winning playwright Sarah Jones and asks her: How do you know when you"ve made it? I"ll ask you the same question: How do you know when you"ve made it? Is it when a director writes a movie for you?

I guess so! I think my answer"s more like Sarah"s, where it"s like: Oh sh*t? I"ve made it? There is no official making it. You"re just in the process of it. But yeah, I guess so. I think you kind of just reminded me. Damn, wow, thank you for the life class. It"s just sort of this process: sitting in this hotel, talking to f*cking Vogue about a movie I shot. It"s more about the process and not about the destin— ashe .

I hate to bring up a sore subject, but it was just announced that Comedy Central isn"t moving forward with the pilot you were developing with comedian Naomi Ekperigin. In this film you play a character who manages, no matter what, to put a happy face on disappointment. Do you deal as well as Jessica James does?

That"s not a sore subject and it was not a disappointment. But I have, however, had a lot of rejection in this industry. I feel like I just need to lick my wounds. I need to acknowledge it. Before, I would have compartmentalized everything in a box, just pushed it away, not thought about it, then have it fester for a long time until it finally breaks out of me in a nonhealthy way. I think now I"m trying to acknowledge whatever my disappointments are, why I"m sad, either go talk to my therapist or go work out or something, try to figure out why it didn"t work. And then pull myself up, dust my f*cking outfit off, and get out there. Just keep moving.

Here"s a really basic question: Did the existence of the Netflix show Jessica Jones ever make you think, Maybe we should rename this movie?

I think originally the character"s name was Jessica Jones. We were like, eh, it"s fine, let"s just go with it. When I do press, people are still like: "So, I love The Incredible Jessica Jones .” I"m like: "That"s our b! We did that!”

Spoiler alert: You appear in a pretty dirty sex scene with Chris O"Dowd. How"d you psych yourself up for that?

Oh my god, I was so freaked out. I"m not somebody who even likes to hold hands in public. I"m mortified. Just the idea of doing a scene like that in front of a bunch of crew. … It"s really hot. There"s cameras and a man holding a boom mike who"s ready to go home. It"s so intense. But at the end of the day it"s like, I"m working. I really was like, deep breath.

Was it toward the end of the shoot?

Nope. It wasn"t like the end of the month, or the end of the year, where I could be like: Good night! Never going to see you guys again. I had to see everyone bright and early the next morning, look "em dead in the face at [craft services].

This interview has been condensed and edited.

Read the original article

Joss Stone has been obsessed with soul music since she was a little girl. By the time she was in her early teens she had begun to intuitively hone her now trademark gravelly-but-lustrous vocals by singing along to Aretha’s Franklin’s Greatest Hits. She began pursuing a singing career at thirteen, securing a record deal at 15, and recording her star-making debut album, The Soul Sessions, which was released in 2003. 10 years on from those stunning debut sessions, Joss decided to bring things full circle and revisit where it all began - with her follow up to that multi million selling debut The Soul Sessions Volume 2.A stunning exercise in vocal poise, passion and power, the album was well received globally and charted in the Top 20 both in the UK and in the US, garnering some of the best her reviews for many years.

2014 will see her complete work on her seventh studio album and start out on her most ambitious project to date – the Total World Tour. Kicking off in April 2014 with gigs in Morocco, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, the Total World tour sees Joss embarking her most ambitious project to date – her aim is to play a concert in every country on the planet. In each country Joss aims to collaborate with local homegrown musicians, playing indigenous music as well as her own songs. Joss will also work with a variety of good causes and learn about important humanitarian and environmental issues throughout the trip. Each gig will vary in size from a stadium concert in Sydney to an acoustic jamming session on one of Burma’s unknown beaches.

Following her critically acclaimed arrival on the music scene in 2003 (which preceded the plethora of soul-inspired female artists that came along in her wake) things took off for Joss in an enormous way. Her second record, 2004’s Mind Body & Soulcapitalized on The Soul Sessions’ commercial momentum and critical adoration and earned Stone three Grammy nominations, including one for Best New Artist. It also spawned a self-penned UK Top 10 single, “You Had Me”, and earned her Two Brit Awards that same year. Her third album, 2007’s Introducing Joss Stone, was a more independent, less packaged effort, on which Joss further showcased her songwriting abilities, and revealed the singer had truly been embraced by the American audience when it crashed into the US charts at No.2, marking the highest debut ever for a female British solo artist on the Billboard charts. With over 12 million album sales to date and a wealth of experience under her belt, including recent collaborations on record with the likes of Dave Stewart and Mick Jagger (some of her most recent musical adventures), 2012 seemed the right time to return to the Soul Sessions template.

In her short young life and already long career, Joss has performed onstage with the likes of James Brown, Gladys Knight, Solomon Burke, Blondie, Smokey Robinson and Melissa Etheridge among many others. She’s contributed to albums by Jeff Beck and Ringo Starr, played the Super Bowl pre-game show, performed on the Grammy’s, - and indeed won a Grammy herself! In her twenty-five years she’s participated in more moments of absolute musical wonder than most people can hope for in an entire lifetime. And she’s approached it all with a sense of independence and joie de vivre. Stone has always been a bit of a rebel, whether she’s dancing barefoot onstage or dyeing her hair various colors or speaking out on issues she’s passionate about, part of what her fans love about her is that she’s a free-spirit, following her own instincts at all times.

The past few years have seen further albums: 2009’s ‘Color Me Free’ and 2011 saw two releases – Joss’ own debut album release on her label Stone’d Records, ‘LP1’, (written and recorded with Dave Stewart) and a collaboration project, ‘Superheavy’, with Mick Jagger, Dave Stewart, Damien Marley and AR Rahman, and latterly Soul Sessions 2.

Despite some of the dramas that have followed or beset Stone in her short life so far, it is her approach to music - intuitive and freeform – merged with the backdrop of nearly a decade of hard-earned experience in the industry – that characterises the Stone mindset. If she wants to do something badly enough she gets it done, no matter what the obstacles – but only if she’s having fun along the way.

And the upcoming Total World Tour should be certainly be fun, as well as challenging and - rather like her life and career so far – one hell of a ride! As Stone herself puts it “My mission is to explore and understand the universal language of music in every country on the planet. The tour will be tiring and tough and I know at times very emotional but it will be a truly amazing journey and of discovery and one hell of a ride.”

Visit her website

Julie Newmar, 5'11"

Julie emailed me in 2012: "Dear Joerg, Love your website, congratulations. In appreciation, a picture and quote from my new book:

“Tall girls, don’t slump.
Think of how many short guys out there
Would love to have your offspring.
Stand up for them.” 

Julie Newmar

About Julie

As an eleventh generation American and a Mayflower descendant, Julie Newmar has beauty, brains and a charming sense of humor. Born Julia Chalene Newmeyer in Los Angeles, her father, Donald, was an engineering professor, head of the Phys Ed. Department, and head football coach at LACC. He was on the L. A. Buccaneers Wonder Team. Her mother, Helen Jesmer, was a Ziegfeld Follies girl, said by Eddie Cantor to have the most beautiful legs in the Follies. From an early age, Julie studied classical piano, ballet, and every form of dance her mother would drive her to lessons for, graduating high school at 15, then spending a year in Europe with her mother and brother John. On her UCLA entrance exam, she scored a 99, staying only six weeks, switching to Universal Studios as choreographer, teacher, and dance double. Not yet 18, she was the original "Golden Girl," a statue-come-to-life dancing in "Serpent of the Nile," often times seen on MySpace, YouTube, and was one of the brides in the classic MGM musical "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers."

"Silk Stockings" was her first role on Broadway at 19. Then the very "Stupefyin’ Jones" in "Li’l Abner." She won a Tony for her first speaking role in the hit comedy "Marriage-Go-Round" (Claudette Colbert and Charles Boyer). A contract with 20th Century Fox provided Marilyn Monroe/Jayne Mansfield-type roles in "The Rookie," "The Maltese Bippy,"… In London, she played the ubiquitous love interest of Zero Mostel in the unfinished film "Monsieur Le Coq." She also toured in the National Company, opposite Joel Gray, in "Stop the World, I Want to Get Off." Her legs were insured for $10 million (except in the event of theft).

Making the transition to TV, Julie had many memorable song and dance routines (a Jonathan Winters Special, The Danny Kaye Show, Mike Douglas Show) but is best known for her comedic as well as supernatural roles. She was the complex and alluring motorcycle babe in two episodes of "Route 66" (a role created for her by Stirling Silliphant) and starred in a "Twilight Zone" episode as The Devil. She was claimed again by Jim Aubrey, President of CBS for the lead in "My Living Doll" as Rhoda the robot, still a cult sitcom favorite.

In 1966, urged by her brother at Harvard, she created the role of Catwoman in "Batman." Her sense of humor and physicality made her this show’s most popular villain. Similarly popular was her appearance as April the Laundress in "The Monkees Get Out More Dirt". On "Wide, Wide World of Sports," she made three parachute jumps. She was killed off in "Columbo" but slayed audiences as Lola in "Damn Yankees." She was given a chapter in the book "Mothers of Invention" for having created "Nudemar," a new design in pantyhose, appearing in People Magazine.

In the 1980s, Julie appeared in nine films of "presumptive" value while raising her son. A mother at 49 and divorced, she attended UCLA and took courses so she could more effectively run her own real estate business. In 1991, Julie took on the Rosalind Russel role in "The Women," then astonished Broadway in a revival of "Li’l Abner," 42 years after performing in the original production as Stupefyin’ Jones in the same costume. In her 60s, she became a modeling sensation in Paris for Thierry Mugler and appeared among the fashion world’s most gorgeous divas in George Michael’s music video "Too Funky."

Few women have had a movie named after them. Julie’s name literally became box office via "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar," a film from Stephen Spielberg’s company. Literary types from John D. MacDonald to Harlan Coben have written characters based on Julie or alluding to Julie’s "special… beautiful and animated… incomparable feminine" personality. She was persuaded by Adam West to re-make Catwoman in his "Return to the Batcave." She also appeared in her own "A&E Biography."

A feud over "quality of life" issues with neighbor Jim Belushi ended amicably in a historic and hysteric guest spot on his show, "According to Jim," which once again proved she’s as active and attractive as ever. Batman’s formidable feline, Belushi’s archly attractive enemy.

From the ‘60s into the 21st century, Julie is still fascinating. "Beauty is her business" as well as her passion for art and design and gardening, which have led to a rose, day lily, and an orchid named in her honor. Her magnificent gardens are first choice for L.A.’s top charity events. "Why not? I live in Paradise."

A book on the oft asked questions "How do you look the way you do?" The answers are few when it comes to makeup and exercise. "It’s the inner life that’s all important". Check it out on JulieNewmar.com – her 2011 book, "The Conscious Catwoman Explains Life on Earth". She is currently writing short stories, magazine pieces, as well as a bi-monthly memoir on the beatitudes of yes, consummate bliss.

Visit Julie Newmar's website

Dr. Kathlyn (Kara) Cooney is a professor of Egyptian Art and Architecture at UCLA. Specializing in craft production, coffin studies, and economies in the ancient world, Cooney received her PhD in Egyptology from Johns Hopkins University. In 2005, she was co-curator of Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Cooney produced a comparative archaeology television series with her husband, Neil Crawford, entitled Out of Egypt, which aired in 2009 on the Discovery Channel and is available online via Netflix and Amazon.

The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut's Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt is Cooney's first trade book, and it benefits from her immense knowledge of Egypt's ancient history to craft an illuminating biography of its least well-known female king. As an archaeologist who spent years at various excavations in Egypt, Cooney draws from the latest field research to fill in the gaps in the physical record of Hatshepsut. Published by Crown Publishing Group, the book releases on October 14, 2014.

Cooney's current research in coffin reuse, primarily focusing on the 20th Dynasty, is ongoing. Her research investigates the socioeconomic and political turmoil that have plagued the period, ultimately affecting funerary and burial practices in ancient Egypt. This project has taken her around the world over the span of five to six years to study and document more than 300 coffins in collections, including those in Cairo, London, Paris, Berlin, and Vatican City.

She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband and son.

Visit her website

Karlie Kloss is one of the top supermodels in the world

• She has been talking about fashion for women her height
• Karlie has given some of her top tips for tall girls

It is fair to say that most of the women in the world love shoes and some women have shoes with ridiculously big heels on them. However, there are plenty of tall women in the world who struggle with big heels on their shoes, as they all tower above many guys in the world and can sometimes feel awkward.

Well, the gorgeous Karlie Kloss is one of the top supermodels on the planet and she has had to deal with being a tall woman for many years now. Karlie has admitted that she prefers not to wear heels as she is very tall already, so she has given some of her top tips to the taller women in the world.

Kloss explained, "I feel like I can conquer the world in a pair of flats. I think I would look like a crazy woman walking around N.Y.C. in heels since I'm 6'1″ and 6'4″ in heels. Plus, I take the subway, so I'd stand out even more! I love being super-tall because I can wear flats on the red carpet. I'm also always running around in sneakers. I probably have at least 50 pairs. Like I love wearing high-waisted trousers to make my legs look even longer."

She added, "And I get to wear amazing gowns at a runway show that nobody else could pull off because it's so long. I definitely do not look good in something that's too short. Everything gets shorter on me! There are definitely upsides to it. If you're really tall, I think you should own it. I think it's great to find what makes you different and accentuate it, and use them to stand out even more."

So, there you have it. If you are a taller woman and are keen to try some things a bit different, then why not take these great tips from Karlie Kloss and adapt them for your own lifestyle.

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Katherine Webb, wife of former Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron, is set to appear on Good Morning America to talk about cyberbullying. Webb has experience when it comes to cyberbullying, after being targeted by "skinny-shamers" on the social-media site Instagram. Katherine Webb has been updating her Instagram account with pictures of herself, and the she is shocked by the negative responses she’s been getting that criticize her for being "too skinny."

After posting a picture of herself in a bikini, several of her followers left rude comments such as "someone please give her a sandwich" and "too skinny." As a response to her critics, Katherine Webb posted a screencap of the negative comments on her Instagram account and wrote, "To all of you who think I need to gain weight or eat more, I eat just fine. I am 5'11 so I have a lot more places to put my calories."

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Kayte Lauren Christensen (born November 16, 1980 in Lakeview, Oregon) is an American color commentator and former professional basketball player who has competed internationally and for the Phoenix Mercury, Houston Comets and Chicago Sky in the WNBA.

Christensen has served as a color commentator for ESPNU and was alongside play-by-play announcer Doug Sherman on the call of the 2011 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship game.

Kayte Lauren Christensen was born in Lakeview, Oregon to Randy and Cathy Christensen. She grew up on her family's ranch in the Modoc County ranching community of Likely, California, with two sisters and a younger brother.

Source: Wikipedia

Kayte herself writes: "From a 700 acre cattle ranch in the Northeastern corner of California to the Big Apple!! I've lived and worked all over the world and I have landed back in the Valley of the Sun in a dream job working for the Phoenix Suns. Follow me on my new adventure in my personal and professional life. Get a closer glimpse than ever at who I really am through my own words and experiences!! Who knows what I will do or say next!"

Visit her website

My 6'2 1/2" friend Kim Glass (who is also listed in the Famous Tall Ladies section) has just created a new website which includes a blog. Kim won an Olympic silver medal with the US ladies volleyball team in Beijing and is a great role model.

This was taken off her website because she can tell you about herself better than I ever could:

At the age of 17, Kim was the number 2 recruit in the country, and was named the 2001 Pennsylvania State Gatorade Player of the year. Kim attended the University of Arizona, where she became the 2002 National Freshman of the year, and became the first Wildcat to record 2,000 kills. She still holds the records for aces and kills, as well as many other records in categories amongst the now, Pac-12, (formerly the pac-10). In 2010, she was inducted into the University of Arizona Hall of Fame. In 2015 Kim was inducted into the Pac-12 All Century Team.

After leaving college, Kim played professionally for nine years, & lived in eight different countries, including Italy, Puerto Rico, Turkey, Russia, Czech Republic, Azerbaijan, China, & Brasil. Amidst her professional career, she competed in the 2008 Beijing Games as the youngest player on the team, and became a U.S. women’s Indoor Volleyball Olympic Silver Medalist.

Combating disc herniations and a desire to move on, she retired from volleyball in 2014. Intrigued with the body and her love for health & wellness, in addition to wanting to learn and educate people on how to prevent injuries, she made the transition into the fitness industry in 2015. Jump starting her personal training career w/ her Nasm certification at Equinox and being the “female in-house” trainer at Easton Gym Co. in Manhattan Beach, she relocated to Unbreakable Performance Center where she’s coached a wide range of clients from professional athletes to Hollywood elite. She often went on the road with her clients to ensure their fitness needs were being handled and to keep consistency in training.

In 2011, Kim was featured in the famed Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, as well as ESPN’s The Body Issue. She continues to work as a model within the fitness and fashion world.

In 2016, she joined the cast of MTV’s The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars, to help raise funds for Covenant House, a non-profit homeless youth shelter, in Los Angeles.

Kim is a trainer, model, television personality, motivational speaker, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. She strives to improve the lives of everyone she meets through her knowledge, experience, and her highly energetic approach to training and coaching.

Visit Kim's website, her Instagram page and read this excellent FHM piece

Olympienne Kimberly Glass is 6'2 1/2"

I'm pleased to report that I've received an email from Kimberly Glass. Kimberly is a member of the U.S. Women's Volleyball Team that won the Silver Medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She's got some exciting plans and I'm excited too because I think I / we can assist her. But let Kim tell you herself:

Hello, my name is Kimberly Glass. I am a U.S. Women's Indoor Volleyball Olympian. I found your site through Google, as I am researching Tall Women Clothing needs, to begin the makings of what I think will be a wonderful Boutique for TALL Women.

Here's a great article about Kim and Kim is part of the 2011 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Calendar (videos contain some semi nudity).

I am an Olympic Volleyball Athlete who is 6'2 1/2". I'm wearing a size 11 shoe. I look at my height as a blessing, not only because of my athletic abilities, but because I embrace my height, and hope to be able to be an inspiration for other tall women, ESPECIALLY YOUNG GIRLS, to embrace their height as well.

Growing up, it was difficult, the same stories as everyone else. I.e. hoping for a flood, so I had a reason to wear shorter pants, difficult to find appealing shoes, that didn't make my feet look like clown shoes. Boys who were way shorter than me, and didn't want to give me a chance. The constant stares, the repeated remarks...

But my mom always told me to stand tall, and never hunch. I think the best advice she gave me was when I told her people always stare at me, and probably saying negative things, and I began to get offended and defensive. She told me, that I'd be surprised at how many people are more in awe of my height, and the way I carried it, and that I should look at it in a different light. And as I did, I found that I got more positive comments than negative.

I love shoes, and I wear anything up to a 5 inch heel, sometimes more if they look good! Everytime I go out. Men always say, why do you wear heels when your already so tall, and I tell them something I heard one time, "I'm not going to compromise fashion to suit your ego!" I think that's a great line!

I hope more tall women, become more proud of their heights, and I think what you're doing with your website is absolutely awesome, SO POSITIVE, in letting young girls know that they aren't alone, it gets better, you're blessed, and LOVE IT.

Visit her website / blog

Kimora Lee Simmons (née Perkins; born May 4, 1975) is a former American fashion model. She created Baby Phat and was CEO/Creative Director through 2010.

In 2011, she was hired as president/Creative Director for JustFab.

Simmons was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Her Korean mother, Joanne Perkins, was adopted by an American serviceman during the Korean War and raised in the USA. She later worked as an administrator for Social Security. Kimora's father, Vernon Whitlock Jr., is African American, and worked as a Federal Marshal, an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigator, a bail bondsman, and later became a barber in St. Louis. He was sentenced to 24 years in prison when Kimora was in grade school for distribution of narcotics. Whitlock was released after three, after turning state's evidence against his supplier. Her parents split up and she was raised by her mother.

Growing up in the northern St. Louis suburb of Florissant, Missouri, Kimora was the target of schoolyard bullying and teasing, because of her height (she was 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall by the time she was 10 years old) and mixed ancestry.

To help her, Simmons's mother enrolled her in a modeling class when she was eleven years old. Two years later she was discovered by Marie-Christine Kollock (a representative for seminal Paris Agency Glamour) at a Model Search in Kansas City (organized by Kay Mitchell) and sent to Paris. Simmons is a graduate of Lutheran North High School in St. Louis, Missouri.

Source: Wikipedia

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Kristanna was born and raised at LoveApple Farm, her parent's former fruit farm in upstate New York. She attended both public and private schools, broadening the usual curriculum with lessons in dance, acting, and singing, to name but a few. She was an excellent student, diligent, and hardworking--just as she continues to be as an actress.

Her hobbies include hiking, skiing, swimming; most every outdoor sport. An accomplished equestrian, she has ridden across much of Hawaii, Ireland, and, her most recent trek, 300 miles over some of the roughest terrain in Namibia, Africa. Her motto has always been: "Believe in, and follow your dreams".

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Kristen Johnston's career includes theater, film and television. She won two Emmy® Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series playing Sally Solomon on the iconic television series "3rd Rock from the Sun." Now she leads a stellar cast (which includes Donald Faison, Wayne Knight, Kelly Stables and David Alan Basche) in TV Land's brand-new hit comedy "The Exes," which starts it's second season in June.

Other television shows include "ER," "Ugly Betty," and "Bored To Death," not to mention her unforgettable portrayal of Lexi Featherstone, the party girl who falls to her death on "Sex and the City."

Johnston made her screen debut in the short film "The Debt," which won a number of awards at international film festivals including the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. She's gone on to co-star in such films as "The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas," "Strangers with Candy," "Music & Lyrics," and "Bride Wars," as well as Amy Heckerling's upcoming "Vamps." This spring, she can be seen in "L!fe Happens," alongside Krysten Ritter and Kate Bosworth.

She's also had a long and celebrated theater career. Recently, she was nominated for a 2010 Drama Desk Award (outstanding lead actress in a play) for her performance as 'Lily Darnley' in the hit production of "So Help Me God!". Her other theater credits include "Love Song" on the West End, "The Women" on Broadway, "Baltimore Waltz" and "Aunt Dan and Lemon" as well as "Much Ado About Nothing," "Twelfth Night," and "The Skin Of Our Teeth" at the Public Theater in Central Park. Johnston's been a long-time member of The Atlantic Theater Company, where she starred in "The Lights" by Howard Korder at Lincoln Center (Drama Desk Award - nomination best supporting actress) and "Scarcity" by Lucy Thurber.

Kristen teaches acting at NYU (the Atlantic Acting School), and with MCC's youth outreach program. She is also co-founder and executive director of SLAM, a board of New Yorkers dedicated to seeing that NYC gets its first sober high school. For more information, visit slamnyc.org

Her first book, "GUTS, the endless follies and tiny triumphs of a giant disaster" (Gallery books at Simon & Schuster) will hit bookstores on March 13th, 2012.

She currently resides in New York City with her dog, Pinky.

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Memphis, Tennessee was home until Leslie's dad took a job in Los Angeles at Stevie Wonder's radio station, KJLH, as a electronic engineer."I went to high school in Lynwood. I played basketball to please my dad. I also got free shoes and could miss class. When they told me I could get a scholarship to college I said cool. Where am I going."

College first took Leslie to Chapman in the OC on a basketball scholarship. Leslie's coach left Chapman and asked her to join him at Colorado State University. Leslie didn't care what college she was going to. Anything to get out of the house. Leslie wanted to be able to go to the refrigerator and eat whenever and whatever she wanted.

"I've always been crazy. I never knew I was funny. I just thought I was insane."

Leslie's first time on stage was at Colorado State. The school paper was at her performance. She won the "Funniest Person on Campus" and thought she was going to become a star. Leslie returned to Los Angeles and got up at the World Famous Comedy Store and bombed like a 747. Next stop: Outside where she threw up.

"You're throwing up those bad ass jokes," the host told her.

Unfazed by this experience, Leslie opened up for Jamie Foxx and the DJ scratched a song through her whole set. As she watched Jamie, she realized, she didn't have anything to talk about except going to Church and her uncle who stuttered. The audience booed her. Her friends were ready to fight the audience.

Leslie vowed she would never step on stage again until she was ready, but it hurt her more not to go up than to go up. While attending college, she'd been a cook, waitress, cashier, justice of the peace (Sworn in as the assistant to the judge, she married people who got Annulments) sold perfume, conducted surveys and answered phones as a receptionist and was even an interpreter who could not speak another language. None of it worked. Comedy was calling out to her!

By day Leslie worked at UPS, by night she performed at the comedy spots around Los Angeles

"You'd better not call my line with an attitude. I'd send your package to Cairo!"

With her theatre background at CSU coupled with her natural talents and her love of performing, Leslie started getting opportunities to appear in various features, commercials, and television sitcoms some of which are, In the House, Coach, Snap Judgment, For the Love of the Game, Malcolm and Eddie, and Girlfriends.

"When I started out, I just wanted to go into a club and hold my own. There were only a few women out. I wanted to be that one woman who would come out and everyone would love. I was part of the Grunt crew. I tried to go up everywhere and we were horrible. When I was coming up, Guy Torre would have to see you 3 times before you could get up at the Comedy Store. He wanted you to rip too."

Finally Leslie made it to "Just for Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival" and landed a role in Martin Lawrence's comedy, National Security. From Comedy Central's Premium Blend to a regular on BET's The Way We Do It, she's performed during the Aspen Comedy Festival, and won the national and regional Bacardi By Night Comedy Tour. She's been featured on Comedy Central's Laffapalooza – Urban Comedy Arts Festival. Last month, Leslie completed yet another movie for Coke Daniels, Gangsta Rap, and, on July 4, 2006, Master P's Repos debuted on DVD.

Leslie performs her wild and crazy standup for comedy clubs and television audiences both nationwide and internationally with appearances on Showtime at the Apollo, BET's Comicview, the international hot television show Comedy Factor and HBO's Def Comedy Jam 2006. VIBE magazine featured her with a five-page article and photo spread. Her extensive physical training in collegiate basketball, running, swimming and volleyball play major roles in Leslie's comedy antics.

"Comedy is in my blood. You have to want to be a comic. I hate it when people say I'm going to try it out. People don't say, I'm going to try and be a doctor. You can get killed that way. . . I say, your life comes back around. I finally reached one of my goals. Def Comedy Jam 2006. Now I'm on my way. I feel incredible."

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Lindsay Kay Hayward is 6'8 1/4" and now officially the World's Tallest Actress.

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Lindsay Kay Hayward had one specific person in mind during her ambulance ride to the hospital after a health scare... fellow giant Shaquille O'Neal!

We got the "My Giant Life" star and 6'9" pro wrestler Friday in Vegas after she was hospitalized last week -- for what she thought was a blood clot in her lung -- and she's got a funny way of remembering her time on the stretcher.

Good to see Shaq helped Lindsay stay positive in what could have been a serious problem. Big folks gotta stick together... in sickness and in health.

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When the "face" of your sport is a Wilhelmina model, you know you're off to a good start. But Lisa Leslie, the most-recognized player in the WNBA and Team USA brought considerably more than a stunning visage and statuesque body to the court. She was the most dominant player in the women's game.While at Morningside High School in Inglewood, CA, she led the team to two state championships. In college at the University of Southern California, she was the all time Pac-10 leader in points, rebounds, and blocked shots. After college, Leslie launched her modeling career, signing with the prestigious Wilhelmina Agency in 1996.

She was a member of the gold-winning U.S. Olympic teams in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008. She is the first team sport athlete to win four consecutive Olympic Gold Medals.

In 2001, Leslie was the first WNBA player to win the regular season MVP, the All-Star Game MVP and the playoff MVP in the same season. That year, she also led the Los Angeles Sparks to their first WNBA Championship. In 2002, she became the WNBA all-time leading scorer and was named MVP of the regular season for the second year in a row. She led the Los Angeles Sparks to back-to-back Championships. She would go on to win her third MVP trophy of the WNBA in 2006. Leslie is the first woman to slam-dunk in a professional game.

Lisa Leslie sat out the 2007 WNBA season as she and her husband, Michael Lockwood welcomed baby Lauren into the world. She joined the U.S. team that spring and won her fourth Olympic Gold Medal as she retired from the Olympics. In 2009, Lisa Leslie announced her retirement from the WNBA as she played her last season in front of her family, friends and fans!

In Lisa's off-season she became an author, and released her book, "Don't Let the Lipstick Fool You". In her own words, she points the spotlight onto her remarkable life off the court, where being a confident champion was not always simple.

She became a commentator for ESPN in 2004, covering the NCAA Women's Tournament and has not looked back. She is now an in-studio sports analyst for ABC, Turner, Fox Sports Net and will cover the 2012 Olympics for NBC.

In August 2011, Lisa Leslie became Co-Owner of the Los Angeles Sparks – a professional franchise in the WNBA. She also Launched the Lisa Leslie Basketball & Leadership Academy.

Lisa and Michael are parents to Lauren and MJ. As a wife, mom, author, sports analyst, motivational speaker and entrepreneur you can see Lisa Leslie does it all.

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Liz Mikel

Liz has been performing since an early age. A Texas native, she has had the opportunity to grace stages locally, nationally, and abroad. Her love of dance, music and theater has endeared Ms. Mikel to audience members of all ages.

An all-around entertainer, she was trained from age 6 in dance by Ann Williams, founder of The Dallas Black Dance Theater. And she also studied under the illustrious Curtis King, founder and Director of The Black Academy of Arts and Letters.

She has toured nationally and has performed at Regional theaters across the country, including most recently, The Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Mass.

Liz is known to Dallas Metroplex audiences having performed at;The Dallas Theater Center, Theatre Three, The Dallas Children's Theater, WaterTower Theater, Casa Manana, The Majestic Theater, Jubilee Theater as well as other venues.

In October 2005, Liz played the part of Mabel –The First Lady, thrilling audiences in the musical "CROWNS" written and directed by award winning actress, Regina Taylor, at The Dallas Theater Center.

She has appeared in over 20 productions at DTC since 1990. And in December, she completed her 14th year in its annual production of A Christmas Carol, where she portrayed several characters, including The Ghost of Christmas Present.

She was a company member of Vivid Theater Ensemble, a professional African American acting company founded by her mentor, Akin Babatunde'. And in 2004, she accompanied Mr. Babatunde' and Co-playwright and producer, Alan Govenar to Geneva, Switzerland; Paris, France and New York to perform the musical Blind Lemon Blues.

As well as stage, Liz has appeared in films and commercials and she has done numerous voice-overs. She's also performed locally on Good Morning Texas, Insights, Metro, and Good Day Dallas.

Liz has opened for nationally renowned recording artists Erykah Badu, Branford Marsalis and Isaac Hayes. And was featured vocalist for the Dallas Museum of Art's presentation of Duke Ellington's "Sacred Concert".

She has received the Dallas Theatre League's Leon Rabin Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Musical 1998; The Sankofa Award, for her dedication to the Arts in the Community;The Dallas Theater Critics Forum Award 2004 for Ain't Misbehavin. Liz was named Best Actress 2004 by D Magazine in their annual Best of Big D issue. And recently, she was featured as Queen of the Arts-The Face of Black Theater in Dallas byThe Dallas Weekly, March, 2006.

Ms. Liz's dream of being a performer would not have been possible without the love and support of her family. Mother, Dr. Versia Lindsay Lacy; daughters, Lindsay, Corienne, and Vershea; and siblings, Brenda McKinney & Keith Lacy. "Thanks for your constant love, support and encouragement...I Love you all!"

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By Dorothy Crouch | Thursday, March 15, 2018

When women who measure at least 5 feet 9 inches tall shop for denim, they are often left feeling as though styles such as flares or skinny jeans will end up resembling cropped gauchos or capris.

Standing at 5 feet 11 inches, former model and actress Kathryn Brolin decided it was time to launch Midheaven Denim to provide solutions for other tall women who want to find their ideal denim.

"Midheaven targets tall women like me who are looking for inseams a bit longer than what is usually found out there, but we’ve been so pleased to see that women of even average heights are ordering and absolutely loving their Midheavens. So, they've been rolling, they’ve been hemming, they’ve been self-altering their jeans."

With a soft launch of four styles in January, Brolin is aiming to introduce her entire line this April. Manufactured in downtown Los Angeles with a team of 25 sewers, the denim brand sources its fabric from Italy, a region close to Brolin's heart because she studied at the Santa Reparata International School of Art in Florence. The importance of finding a responsibly sourced fabric produced sustainably was important during the research-and-development process for Midheaven.

"The factory is literally located in a national park, so they have a bunch of different guidelines that they have to follow in terms of waste management and all of their production tactics. They use cotton that is sourced from the Better Cotton Initiative," said Brolin, who is married to actor Josh Brolin.

While the brand will offer sizes 24 through 33, with inseams that measure 33, 34, 35, 36 and 38 inches, there is a conscientious effort to accommodate women who have tall but also curvy bodies. In addition to choosing a soft fabric that will stretch with the body, but not lose its shape, Brolin would like to plan a plus-size capsule collection in 2019.

"It’s so incredibly soft. The fabric stretches, but it also has amazing recovery, so women with hips and booties, they try these jeans on and they notice it will stretch with their curves," she said. "It’s a very giving fabric."

Even though Midheaven’s fabric is sourced in a town near Milan, Brolin wanted to keep production stateside in Los Angeles. It took her one year to find the perfect group of professionals, which led her to try working with different people in the industry, but never finding the perfect fit until piecing together her current team.

"As the owner of a small business, especially one that is just starting out, many factory owners - at least in this town - don’t want to work with you due to the minimal value and volume of the goods that you are producing,” Brolin explained.

Despite this challenge, she is extremely happy with the devoted production team that cares about manufacturing Midheaven’s designs to her exact specifications. As a town that has been central to the production of many successful premium denim labels, Los Angeles is a city with extraordinary resources for a new launch, but Brolin also looked beyond her own needs when choosing this city.

"It's much more expensive to produce in the states, I get that, but there are so many talented garment production workers in this city that it felt odd to take this job opportunity away from them in order to take it to another place where I might make more money," she said.

Taking the first steps into the niche category of manufacturing jeans for tall women is a venture that Brolin recognizes will attract a specific consumer, but that is the clientele she wants to reach during her launch.

"I envision Midheaven as a full, well-rounded brand, but what is most important to me is to grab that customer who is really interested in finding denim that is long enough for them because it has been something that I have been looking for my entire life," Brolin explained.

Though she envisions Midheaven evolving into a lifestyle brand that includes pieces that fall within the athletic and sleepwear categories, Brolin’s intentions for her growth are clear and rooted in becoming a trusted premium-denim resource.

"Because we are starting small, with the intention of growing organically, we don’t want to offer too many things at the start for fear that our brand would get diluted," she said. "We want to be known as a denim brand first and foremost."

Once Midheaven launches exclusively at www.midheavendenim.com, styles will range in price from $189 to $280 retail.

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