May McAvoy, precisely 4ft 11 (149.9 cm) tall, was a petite silent film star whose tiny stature defined her unique on-screen image. She astutely compensated for her height with shoe lifts and extra-high heels, allowing the camera to make her appear perfectly proportioned alongside taller co-stars, as she noted in a 1926 interview: 'Yes, it is odd that I always seem of normal height. The camera does strange things to one.'
Best remembered for her iconic role in The Jazz Singer, where she coached Al Jolson for his film debut, McAvoy also shone in Ben-Hur (1925), The Lion and the Mouse, The Terror, and Three Women, her diminutive frame adding charm to her versatile performances.