Measuring 5ft 5 ½ (166.4 cm) and known from the “Blurred Lines” music video and the 2014 movie adaptation of Gone Girl, Emily Ratajkowski is much shorter than most other models. She wears a size 9 (US) shoe, and her height is slightly above average for an American woman.
“I’m not a typical model. I know people are always like, ‘What do you mean?’ but I’m 5’7”, I’m four inches shorter than every girl on set, I have big boobs,” she said about her relatively short height in an interview with OfficeMagazine.
Emily Ratajkowski is the shortest in the image below, standing at 5 feet 5.5 inches (166.4 cm), while Karlie Kloss towers at 6 feet 1.5 inches (186.7 cm). Winnie Harlow, at 5 feet 8.25 inches (173.4 cm), and Natalia Vodianova, at 5 feet 8 inches (172.7 cm), fall between the two.
Karlie Kloss towers at 6ft 1 ½ (186.7 cm), while Winnie Harlow and Natalia Vodianova stand at 5ft 8 ¼ (173.4 cm) and 5ft 8 (172.7 cm), respectively, with Emily Ratajkowski being the shortest at 5ft 5 ½ (166.4 cm) (Credit: Jerome Domine / ABACA / INSTARimages)
Challenges Faced by Emily Ratajkowski in Her Modeling Career
Emily Ratajkowski faced challenges in her journey to becoming a successful model. In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, she discussed her high school years at San Dieguito Academy, where she didn’t have a niche and had never considered modeling as a career.
Initially, she pursued art at UCLA, specializing in mixed media, but her parents were concerned about her career prospects. Eventually, she dropped out of college when her modeling career took off.
Despite her initial success in modeling, Emily was rejected by New York agencies due to her height. At the time, agencies rarely made exceptions for shorter models.
The Influence of Katie Grand on Emily Ratajkowski’s Career
Katie Grand, founder of Love magazine, played a pivotal role in Ratajkowski’s career by featuring her in her first editorial spread in 2015.
“At the time, you’d only make one or two exceptions for a shorter model per show,” says Katie Grand. “It was always a bit archaic; for a very long time, it was ‘the model fits the clothes,’ rather than ‘the clothes fit the model.’”
Emily Ratajkowski wears a white dress and matching perforated Adidas Everyn sneakers in New York City on August 1, 2019 (Credit: WENN)
Identifying as “Polish-Israeli,” her maternal grandfather was a Polish Jewish immigrant, and one of her paternal grandparents was Polish. She also has Irish, German, English, and Welsh ancestry.
“In my 20s, a musician friend met and married a Polish artist, Natalia Witkowska. Natalia was the finest painter that I’ve ever known. We worked and had exhibitions together for a few years when she sent photographs of my work to a friend of hers in Warsaw. I had no idea that she had done this, but an invitation came for me to exhibit in 1981 (a very interesting time in Poland). I took the invitation as an adventure, but when I arrived, all of my father’s and grandparent’s ways came back to me. I felt a genuine connection. For the first time, I thought of myself as Polish – I still do. I’ve returned to Poland many times,” her artist father, John Ratajkowski, told The First News.
“People either think I have a crazy Polish accent or a British accent; then I say ‘gnarly’ and surprise everyone,” Emily joked about her accent in an interview with Vanity Fair.
Emily Ratajkowski wears a neon orange dress with a chainmail purse from Paco Rabanne and black strappy sandals for Gigi Hadid’s 27th birthday party at Zero Bond in New York City on April 23, 2022 (Credit: MEGA / WENN)
On February 23, 2018, Emily Ratajkowski announced that she married actor and producer Sebastian Bear-McClard. She filed for divorce in September 2022.
On Your Next Shoes, you can see Emily Ratajkowski boosting her height in heels by footwear designers such as Stuart Weitzman, Paris Texas, Miu Miu, Piferi, Giuseppe Zanotti, Balenciaga, Proenza Schouler, Celine, and Acne Studios.
Emily Ratajkowski steps out in sleek Celine heeled slide sandals, showcasing her minimal pedicure for an effortlessly chic look (Credit: John Eddy / INSTARimages)
Emily Ratajkowski showcases her feet in edgy black and gold lace-up gladiator sandals (Credit: Beretta / Sims / Startraksphoto)
Emily Ratajkowski shows off her feet in taupe suede sculptural Jacquemus sandals adorned with wooden bead details at the premiere of “In Darkness” at ArcLight Hollywood on May 23, 2018, in Los Angeles (Credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock)
Emily Ratajkowski Shines in Modesty at the 33rd Annual Breeder’s Cup World Championship
Emily Ratajkowski made a striking departure from her usual style at the 33rd Breeder’s Cup World Championship at Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, on November 5, 2016 (Credit: Nicky Nelson / WENN)
We’re all for women liberating themselves and feeling confident — don’t get us wrong — but we’re getting sick of those suggestive selfies on Instagram.
Emily Ratajkowski has always been incredibly comfortable with taking her clothes off for the camera, so it was refreshing to see her turn up at the 33rd annual Breeder’s Cup World Championship looking incredibly modest.
Emily Ratajkowski may have worn the Stuart Weitzman “Nudist” sandals, but her outfit was anything but (Credit: Nicky Nelson / WENN)
Emily ditched her usual low necklines and strategic cutouts for a white high-neck mini dress. While the dress still hugged her body pretty snugly, the modesty of her pristine white outfit did wonders for her.
Ironically, Emily paired her dress with Stuart Weitzman’s “Nudist” sandals.
Emily Ratajkowski opted for a white high-neck mini dress that eschewed her typical low necklines and strategic cutouts (Credit: Nicky Nelson / WENN)
Overall, we’re digging this less (exposed) is more look for Emily. She proves that you can definitely look sexy without shedding layers of clothing and that a little mystery can go a very long way.
Shop Emily’s Stuart Weitzman “Nudist” sandals at Amazon, Nordstrom, and Zappos.
Stuart Weitzman “Nudist” Dress Sandal, $172.43 – $435