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Did you feel like Elle Fanning had “short girl energy”? If you did, you are not alone. A lot of people assumed the Maleficent actor was between 5’3 and 5’5, which is about average for an American woman. As it turns out, she’s actually rather tall. That fact became apparent when she appeared at the Golden Globes with her boyfriend, Gus Wenner, who is substantially shorter than she is. So, how tall are the pair, and why did everyone think Fanning was on the shorter side?

How tall is Elle Fanning?

Elle Fanning and Gus Wenner looked like the perfect couple while walking the red carpet at the Golden Globes. They posed for photos and looked as comfortable with each other as you would expect for a long-term couple. Still, fans were taken aback by their heights. Fanning appeared to be much taller than people had assumed. Elle Fanning is reportedly around 5’9″ without heels.

It’s unclear exactly how tall Gus Wenner is, though he appears to be about 5’6 “based on photos of the pair together, both at the Golden Globes and in more casual settings. The couple has never discussed their height difference, and this appears to be the first time it has really come up. Wenner is the CEO of Rolling Stone. While a public figure, he’s not as public as his longtime love.

Why did everyone assume Elle Fanning was short?

Elle Fanning and Gus Wenner’s height difference caught fans by surprise, and not because they expected him to be taller. In fact, the main focus was more on Fanning’s height rather than the height difference between the pair. So, why did so many people assume she was far shorter than she is?

While some fans argue Fanning has “short girl energy,” others believe that her sister’s stature and the actors she has worked with have influenced how people perceive her height. Because Dakota Fanning is only 5’4, many fans assumed Elle was around the same height. Though if you look back, the signs were there all along that she was rather tall. Several pictures of the Fanning sisters together make it clear that one is absolutely much taller than the other.