Beatrice Arthur, standing at an exact 5ft 9 ½ (176.5 cm) in her stocking feet, commanded attention with her statuesque height that defined her iconic on-screen presence as a formidable, no-nonsense woman.
Best remembered for her towering role as the outspoken Maude Findlay in the groundbreaking sitcom Maude (1972-1978), where her 5ft 9 ½ frame amplified her character's bold authority, and as Dorothy Zbornak in The Golden Girls (1985-1992), Arthur's height enhanced her sharp-witted, dominant matriarch image.
A U.S. Marine Corps veteran—evident in her 1943 mugshot—Arthur later toured her one-woman show An Evening with Bea Arthur and made memorable TV guest appearances, her impressive 176.5 cm stature remaining a hallmark of her commanding career.