Michelle Monaghan Rejects Hollywood’s Height Norms for Actresses

Michelle Monaghan has drawn a line against outdated industry practices that once demanded female stars shrink themselves—literally—to fit male co-stars’ egos. The actress, fresh off her role as a CIA operative in Apple TV+’s ‘The Family Plan’, recounted decades of being asked to ditch her heels on set, a ritual she now refuses outright. This shift reflects broader changes in Hollywood, where women are increasingly calling out subtle biases that undermine their presence. Monaghan’s stance arrives amid a trilogy pitch for the action-comedy, signaling her rising clout in a genre long dominated by physical matchups.

Early in her career, Monaghan navigated these expectations without question. During the 2010 shoot for Sofia Coppola’s ‘Somewhere’, she shared a bed scene with Stephen Dorff, who stood shorter than her in heels. Production placed Dorff on an apple box to even the frame, while Monaghan was instructed to remove her shoes—a move she later termed a “classic Hollywood moment.” Such adjustments were routine, designed to preserve the illusion of male stature in romantic or intimate sequences. Actresses complied to avoid rocking the boat, fearing it could jeopardize future bookings.

Monaghan’s breakthrough came with 2005’s ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’, where she held her own opposite Robert Downey Jr. as a sharp-tongued aspiring actress. That role led to ‘Mission: Impossible III’ in 2006, pairing her with Tom Cruise in high-stakes espionage. Over 20 years, she reprised her ‘MI’ character three times, most recently in 2023’s ‘Dead Reckoning Part One’, grossing $567.5 million worldwide. These franchises honed her in physically demanding parts, from hand-to-hand combat to rooftop chases, building her reputation for blending vulnerability with grit. Yet, height hacks persisted across projects, including 2016’s ‘Patriots Day’, where she starred with Mark Wahlberg.

The turning point aligned with #MeToo’s ripple effects starting in 2017, which amplified scrutiny on set dynamics beyond harassment. Monaghan noted a cultural pivot: “There was a period where that was expected of actresses, but now I think they know better.” She enforces this by keeping her footwear on unless acoustics demand otherwise, prioritizing authenticity over artifice. This mirrors peers like Nicole Kidman, who once shortened her hemline for Tom Cruise in 1990’s ‘Days of Thunder’ but later embraced her 5-foot-11 frame unapologetically. Data from the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media shows female characters in top films average 5 percent less screen time when height disparities are “corrected” visually.

In ‘The Family Plan’, directed by Simon Cellan Jones, Monaghan’s character Jessie uncovers her husband’s secret assassin past, played by Mark Wahlberg at 5-foot-8 to her 5-foot-7. No boxes or barefoot mandates disrupted their chemistry, which critics praised for its equal-footing banter. The film debuted on Apple TV+ in December 2023, amassing 12 million views in its first week per Nielsen metrics. Paramount now eyes sequels, with Monaghan in talks for expanded arcs involving global threats and family stakes. Her recent ‘MI’ reunion at the 2023 premiere underscored enduring bonds, where Cruise lauded her as “the heart of the team.”

This evolution extends Monaghan’s advocacy, seen in her 2018 co-founding of A New Way of Life, aiding women exiting incarceration through housing and job training. She credits such work with bolstering her resolve against diminishment. “I’ve spent years building presence on screen; I’m not yielding inches anymore,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. As Hollywood grapples with inclusivity mandates from the 2020 Academy reforms, Monaghan embodies the pushback against relics like the height rule. Her trajectory—from indie darling to franchise anchor—proves stature matters, but so does standing tall.