16 Of The Tallest Women In The World (You Won't Believe Exist)

Isn't it funny that one of the tallest dudes in America seems to like short women? We're talking about Shaquille O'Neal, aka Shaq. His wife was barely more than five feet tall, and he was also known to date Hoopz from the reality dating show “Flavor of Love”… she is considered short as well at 5'2”.

Maybe Shaq - at a towering 7'1” tall - would be interested in a tall woman? Then he could see eye to eye with his gal pal.

Well, just in case someone who likes tall ladies doesn't know where to find them, we got 'em in one lovely list.

They're not all WNBA stars or international basketball players, although some do play the game. Some model, and one is currently being investigated for murdering her husband. Some are just regular women who try to live their lives without too much inconvenience or drama because of their extraordinary ability to reach things off the top shelves in grocery stores.

Some very tall women are absent from this list, as they have passed in recent years, including Malgorzata Dydek, who died earlier this year from a heart attack. She was 7'2”.

Malee Duangdee also passed this year at age 24… she was 6'10".

16 Heather Greene: 6'5”

She's tall even for a man, but she seems to take it in stride at 6'5”… and a half. Heather Greene actually works as a model on occasion. She's a buxom blond of German descent who has been able to use her celebrity as a very tall woman to land gigs as a model and in commercials. According to her website - www.heatherhaven.com - hobbies include: water sports, snow skiing, traveling, foreign culture, oil painting and interior design. “My all-time favorite pastime is lying on the beach, listening to the rolling surf and the occasional cry of a seagull passing by.” Unlike many of her tall peers, basketball was not her focus. Already at 15, she realized she was the tallest kid in her class and that it could be a positive attribute.

15 Carolyn Moos: 6'6”

This lady comes in at 6'6”. Carolyn Moos played for three different teams in the WNBA, including the Miami Sol, Minnesota Lynx and the Phoenix Mercury. And she has become a fitness trainer for people of all shapes and sizes, according to her website - www.carolynmoos.com. The statuesque Moos has a bachelor's degree from Stanford and earn a gold medal at the USA Jr.Olympics and also played for Brazil at one time.

In addition to being a personal trainer, she also teaches yoga, is a nutrition consultant and works with women regarding post-natal nutrition, and is a golf conditioning specialist. She is ACE Certified. Yes, she did play basketball, but her focus now is on helping people in a variety of ways through different classes that center on taking advantage of your physical assets.

14 Kara Liana Braxton: 6'6”

Formerly with the New York Liberty, Kara Liana Braxton stands at 6'6”. The Michigan-born b-ball player has a twin sister, Kim. While she started out in Michigan, when she was still a teen, the family moved to Oregon, and then she attended college at the University of Georgia, where she played all but her senior year. It seems the multi-talented player had some behavior issues that kept her from playing college ball during her senior year. However, The Detroit Shock drafted her in the first round in 2005 and she became the team's starring power forward and was named to the league's All Rookie team. She also played for Poland and kept active after her WNBA days were over by playing internationally. She has a son with NFL player Odell Thurman.

13 Sylvia Shaqueria Fowles: 6'6”

Another lady coming in at 6'6” is Sylvia Shaqueria Fowles, who plays for the Minnesota Lynx and was the MVP in the 2015 WNBA finals. At her towering height and at 200 pounds she's a stellar opponent on the b-ball court. She's still a starter and was just named to the WNBA All Star Game west squad. The game takes place July 22 in Seattle. Fowles is in the top five in the league in scoring (20.1, third), shooting (66.3 percent, first), rebounding (10, second) and blocks (1.9, third). She was the top vote-getter among her peers and the media among Western Conference frontcourt players. Fowles was part of the championship team in 2015, was the MCP and in 2016 she was named WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. She continues to be a force with the Minnesota Lynx.

12 Kara Wolters Drinan: 6'7”

She's nicknamed “Big Girl,” because she's solid as well as tall at 6'7”. Kara Wolters Drinan played b-ball in college as well as with the WNBA. But in early years, believe it or not, she was bullied because of her height and called the Jolly Green Giant. She found an outlet in basketball and received support from her family, including her dad who played in the NBA for the Seattle Supersonics. She won an NCAA championship playing with UConn, a gold medal with the U.S. Olympic team and a WNBA championship. She is married and works as a sports analyst in New York. She also works as a motivational speaker. Drinan was able to turn her height into an asset and turn it into a career, both on and off the court.

11 Katharen Ruth “Katie” Mattera: 6'7.5”

This blond babe played professional basketball with the WNBA. She stands at 6'7.5” and was originally drafted in 2005 by the Connecticut Sun, which traded her to the San Antonio Stars. In 2007, she was traded to the Detroit Shock, which was a good move, as she was raised in Michigan and became a fan favorite there. There must be something in the water in Michigan (not in Flint, though), since Mattera is the second tall lady on this list who came up in Michigan. Since retiring from the WNBA, Mattera became a college basketball coach.

She wears a size 17 shoe! Currently, the tall multi-award winning former college and pro basketball player coaches basketball at Cornerstone University in her hometown of Grand Rapids, MI.

10 Rita Miniva Besa: 6'8'

She was born in Africa with some sites claiming she was born in Zimbabwe while others say is from Nigeria, but she now lives in the U.S. At 6'8' tall, she would be considered above average in the NBA, so imagine how she would have fared in the WNBA. We couldn't find that she has ever played professionally or collegiately in the U.S. or abroad. However, we did find an entry on LinkedIn that appears to be her, showing that she lives and works in Chicago. It looks like she went to West Virginia University Institute of Technology and has focused her coursework and career in management. An interesting note: she worked as a research assistant at the renowned Brookfield Zoo. No giraffe jokes please.

9 Elizabeth “Liz” Cambage: 6'8”

Also at 6'8” is this Australian gal. She played for the Tulsa Shock, which drafted her in the first round (No. 2 pick) in 2011 as a teenager. She did not play college hoops but her skills were obvious. She played for a while in Tulsa but according to ESPN, didn't much like it, and ended up playing in China, where she averaged a whopping 36 points a game. There were rumors she would return to Tulsa, but it never happened. A highlight of her career was 2012 in London during the Olympics when she became the first women in competition to dunk the basketball, as she led the Australian Opals to a bronze medal. It looks like the last time she played professionally was in 2016 for the Chinese team Shanghai Dahua.

8 Lindsay Corine Taylor: 6'8”

Another woman at 6'8”, Lindsay Corine Taylor has had a long career as a professional basketball player. In addition to playing in the WNBA, she's played in the Turkish Women's Basketball League, the Ligue Feminine de Basketball, Polish Women's League, the WCBA (Women's Chinese Basketball League and with the Primeiro de Agosta, a team in a Angolia. The California native, who ended up playing for four WNBA teams, didn't even start playing sports until she was 15. Her college career took her to UC Santa Barbara, where she excelled and established several collegiate records there before being drafted in 2004 by the Houston Comets. After just a few years in the WNBA, she became quite active playing for international teams around the world. Injuries have kept her back on a few occasions.

7 Maria Stepanova: 6'8”

There's something about 6'8” when it comes to tall females, because here's another one. Maria Stepanova is Russian but played in the U.S. in WNBA as well with the Phoenix Mercury. This lady has big feet as well, as she wears a size 15 shoe. Stepanova was an eighth pick in the first round of the WNBA draft in 1198 by the Phoenix Mercury, where she played from 1998 until 2001, and then again in 2005. She also plated in Europe, where she was named three times as FIBA Women's Player of the Year. Stepanova played for her home country - Russia - at the Olympics in 2004 in Athens and in 2008 in Bejing. Her home country recently honored her as a Master of Sports of Russia and she also was awarded Medal of the Order for Merit to the Fatherland.

6 Brittney Griner: 6'8”

An American favorite is Brittney Griner, who also comes in at 6'8” and with an amazing arm span of a reported 86”. She wears a size 17 shoe, and has the distinction of being the first woman in NCAA history to block 500 shots and score 2,000 points. She plays center with the Phoenix Mercury. Unfortunately, the talented woman recently had to shut down her Twitter account after some Internet trolls went on her page to wish her “Happy Father's Day.” She has launched an anti-bullying project and authored a book (In My Skin: My Life On and Off the Basketball Court) as well. The highly decorated professional athlete (she's won an WNBA championship, college championship, world championship and numerous single player awards dating back to high school) has her own web page at www.brittneygriner.com.

5 Zheng Haixia: 6'8.5”

Recently retired from professional basketball is Zheng Haixia, who measures 6'8.5”. In addition to playing for the Chinese national team, she had a stint shooting hoops (and blocking shots!) with the Los Angeles Sparks. Remarkably, Haixia played in the Olympics for the Chinese for the first time when she was just 12. She also has the distinction of being the first Chinese player to play professionally in the U.S., man or woman. She wears a size 18 shoe and has earned a number of accolades, including a silver medal from the 1992 and 1994 Olympics, as well as medals in other international tournaments. Haixia came to the WNBA during its inaugural season with the Los Angeles Sparks, where she quickly became a fan favorite. Now at 50, she continues to be a popular coach at international basketball camps for both men and women.

4 Caroline Welz: 6'9"

This towering beauty comes in at 6'9"and like Heather Greene, she models. She is considered the tallest woman in Germany and some actually put her at 6'10”. In addition to modeling, she works as a tailor. Welz was born in Cologne, Germany, and is considered the tallest professional model in the world. The 31-year-old reportedly suffers from a hormonal disorder, but she doesn't let it stop her. Because her feet are quite large at size 15, she tends to have her footwear custom made. Being a tailor, the statuesque siren does have to design her own clothes, or at the very least, often alter clothes from retail stores. Despite her height, Welz does not play professional basketball and has had a successful career using her brain as well as her creativity.

3 Gitika Srivastava: 6'11”

This lady comes in at whopping 6'11”. She most likely got her height from her dad, who was an amazing 7'4”, and yes he played basketball. Her father is Pradeep Srivastava. Gitika has played b-ball, too, with the Indian National Women Basketball team, but she now focuses on running her own business… Navya Network, which deals with technology-related healthcare products. She is also a partner at KAHM Capital, which is an angel investment firm that deals with high tech start-ups. Her educational background is stellar, including stints ar MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), a highly touted school for techies, where she specialized in the Sloan School of Management. She also studied at and graduated from Harvard, where she earned a bachelor's degree in Computer Science.

2 Uljana Semjonova: 7'1”

Some of you may remember her from the Olympics, where she played for the Soviet Union and dominated the sport for nearly two decades. At 7'1” she could play in the NBA! She has been inducted into Women's Basketball Hall of Fame - the first non-American woman to receive the honor. During that time the Soviet Union did not lose an international game, according to Sports-Reference.co. Semjonova began playing for the national team in 1971, and with her on the team, went on to win Olympic gold medals in 1976 and 1980, and World Championships in 1971, 1975 and 1983.

She also helped the Soviets to European championships in 1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981 and 1983. Believe it or not, she was dropped from the Soviet team because she reportedly could no longer run up and down the court with her teammates.

1 Zainab Bibi: 7'2”

This Pakistani woman comes in at 7'2” and once lived in Great Britain. She sought asylum there in 2009 after claiming that her height made her a target in her homeland, and that even kids would throw stones at her. She went so far as to see she broke her wrist once when she was defending herself. Then in 2011, she was accused of killing and dismembering - and trying to cook - her husband. Neighbors smelled a horrible odor and called police. They reportedly found her trying to cook his limbs. However, she reportedly said she murdered her husband after she caught him trying to sleep with her daughter from another marriage, who was just 17 at the time. Her nephew was also arrested and charged and sentenced to life. However, Bibi only reportedly got 10 years.