Ever stand next to a TV and realize the person on the screen looks nothing like they do in person? It’s a weird phenomenon. For years, people have looked at the guy behind the podium on The Price Is Right and wondered about the logistics of his frame. Specifically, how tall is Drew Carey, and why does he look so much different than he did during the buzz-cut-and-Cleveland days?
Honestly, the camera is a liar. It adds weight, it subtracts height, and it messes with your perception of scale. If you’re looking for the short answer: Drew Carey is 5 feet 10 inches tall. But there is a lot more to it than just a number on a tape measure. You’ve got the Marine Corps background, the dramatic 80-pound weight loss, and the fact that his posture has changed as he’s aged into his late 60s. He’s not a giant, but he isn’t exactly "short" either. He’s basically the definition of the American "everyman" height.
The Reality of Drew Carey's Height
When you see him standing next to contestants on The Price Is Right, his height can seem like a moving target. Some days he looks like the tallest guy in the room. Other days, a particularly enthusiastic college student from the front row makes him look tiny.
At 5'10" (about 178 cm), Drew sits right at the average for an American male.
His build makes a huge difference in how we perceive that height. Back in the Whose Line Is It Anyway? era, Drew carried a lot more weight. When you’re wider, you often look shorter. It’s a visual trick. Since he dropped about 80 pounds and reversed his Type 2 diabetes, he looks leaner and, by extension, taller.
The Marine Corps Influence
It's easy to forget that Drew Carey was a Sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. He served for six years. That military background usually leaves a mark on a person’s stature. Even now, at 67 years old, he tends to stand with a certain "shoulders back" discipline that you don't always see in Hollywood types.
That "Marine posture" adds an illusory inch or two. If he slouched like a typical sitcom writer, he’d probably look 5'8".
💡 You might also like: Sophia Loren in Bathing Suit: Why the Icon’s Style Still Wins
Why Everyone Asks About the Weight Loss Instead
The reason the question of how tall is Drew Carey usually comes up is that his silhouette changed so radically around 2010. You remember the old Drew. The thick-rimmed glasses, the crew cut, and the oversized suits.
Then, suddenly, he was svelte.
He didn't use a miracle pill or Ozempic (which wasn't a thing back then). He did it the hard way. Basically, he got tired of being "sick and tired." His doctor told him his life was going to be significantly shorter if he didn't change. So, he cut the carbs. No bread. No crackers. No pizza. He once told People magazine that he’d go to a diner after filming, eat a plate of pasta, a cupcake, and drink a bunch of Pepsi. That stopped.
He replaced the Doritos with:
- Lean proteins like chicken and fish.
- Massive amounts of vegetables.
- At least 45 minutes of cardio several times a week.
- Tons of water (and very little alcohol).
The result was a 1,000-pound loss... over his whole life. That’s his joke, anyway. He says he’s lost and gained the same weight so many times it adds up to a thousand. But the 80 pounds he kept off since 2010 is the real victory. When you lose that much weight, your height becomes more prominent. You aren't "the big guy" anymore; you're just "the guy."
Comparing Drew to Other Stars
To get a better sense of his 5'10" frame, it helps to see who he stands next to.
- Ryan Stiles: Ryan is a towering 6'6". Standing next to him on Whose Line, Drew looked like a hobbit. This is where a lot of the "Drew is short" rumors started.
- Bob Barker: The legend himself was about 6'1". When Drew took over The Price Is Right, he was visibly shorter than Bob, which probably messed with the audience’s internal calibration.
- Mimi (Kathy Kinney): On The Drew Carey Show, Kathy Kinney was roughly 5'4". When they squared off, Drew clearly had the height advantage, but the crazy makeup usually took all the attention.
The Health Mystery: Did He Shrink?
There is a common theory that people shrink as they get older. It’s not a theory, actually; it’s biology. Spinal discs compress. By the time someone hits 67, like Drew is now in 2026, they might lose a fraction of an inch.
However, Drew seems to have countered this with his fitness routine. He’s obsessed with soccer (he’s a part-owner of the Seattle Sounders) and is often seen on the sidelines. Being active keeps the core strong, which keeps the spine from collapsing into that "old man" slouch.
💡 You might also like: Celebrities Born June 17: Why This Date Produces So Many Icons
Does it matter?
Probably not to him. He’s worth an estimated $165 million and has one of the most stable jobs in television history. Whether he's 5'10" or 5'9" on a humid day, he’s still the guy who gets to hand out jet skis and new cars for a living.
What You Can Learn from Drew’s Journey
If you’re looking at Drew Carey and thinking about your own stats—whether it's height or weight—there are a few takeaways that aren't just Hollywood fluff.
- Posture is everything. If you want to look taller, stop looking at your phone. Drew’s Marine stance makes him look more commanding than his 5'10" frame suggests.
- Weight masks height. If you’re carrying extra pounds, you will look "compressed." Leaner bodies always appear more elongated.
- Health over vanity. Drew didn’t lose weight to look like a model. He did it because he had Type 2 diabetes and didn't want to die. The fact that he looks better in a suit now is just a side effect.
Your Next Steps
If you're curious about celebrity heights because you're trying to gauge your own fitness goals, don't focus on the 5'10" number. Instead, look at the maintenance. Carey has kept his weight in check for over 15 years. That’s the real feat. Start by auditing your "post-work ritual"—if it involves a plate of pasta and a cupcake like Drew’s old routine, that's where the change happens. Take a 45-minute walk today. It won't make you taller, but it’ll make you feel like you’re standing a lot straighter.