Gertrude Astor, precisely 5ft 7 ½ (171.5 cm) tall, was an American character actress whose height became a defining aspect of her Hollywood career. In 1927, she candidly shared, "It's my height. I'm too tall. I'm five feet seven and a half inches tall. And that is just about three inches too tall to play with any star in the business. If I were a star there aren't two leading men I could get to play opposite me." This stature often overshadowed her ambitions for leading roles, positioning her as a tall, imposing presence in films like The Strong Man, The Cat and the Canary, The Women, Stage Struck, Sitting Pretty, and Synthetic Sin.
Starting as a trombonist in a women's band, Astor's height contributed to her memorable character parts in silent era cinema and beyond.