Unlike the man himself, Tupac's height is something unremarkable. Being in the average range, he blended in just fine in his music videos and movies and his height is something that is not really discussed.
However, he did associate himself with taller people, which can sometimes make him look shorter than he really was, and this needs investigating further.
So What Was Tupac's Real Height?
Tupac was an average height man, who stood anywhere between 5'10" when first waking in the morning, dropping down to 5'9.25 before going to bed at night. Therefore the height he stood at the majority of the day was 5'9.5" (176.5 cm) tall.
Questionable Measurements
Tupac's height measurements greatly fluctuate and do not hold up in terms of validity.
Autopsy Report
Some autopsy reports state an accurate height, yet, Tupac's autopsy report stated he was of height 72 inches (6 feet). This is not even close to his real height and certainly brings a question to the validity of the report.
Also, the accuracy of height post mortem is dependent on the method used to measure the body, and how precise the data being reported is, which we are unaware of in Tupac's case.
Finally, given that there were other inaccuracies on this post-morten assessment, such as his weight as 215lbs when he was closer to 170lbs, we can not rely on this data as proof of his height.
Drivers License
Tupac's driver's license issued 4 months before his death stated he was 5'10". However, the height on a driver's license is generally self-reported, so we can say that Tupac claimed this as his height.
As most people will generally round height up rather than down, so this could have been a fairly honest claim, but again, not accurate.
When Arrested
Tupac's mugshot says he was 5'11", alongside his prison i.d. If accurately measured then this measurement was most likely taken in shoes, which were usually thicker styles, so he would have been closer to 5'9.5"- 5'10" when barefooted.
However, similar to James Brown's mugshot, an inaccurate measurement could have possibly been taken here. Based on the height of the person taking the measurement, for example, if they are considerably shorter and looking up at him taking the picture, the camera would not be level with his real height, and it is easy to take a taller picture when compared with his real height.
In other words, this is not reliable evidence of his height.
Height Comparisons
Tupac generally associated himself with famous people who were taller than him. Let's compare Tupac to some of his taller counterparts to help guestimate his height.
Suge Knight 6'2.5" (189.2 cm)
Tupac's height comes up to around in-between Suge's mouth and nose area, which looks to be around a 6.5 inch difference in height. This puts him at around the 5'10" range.
Mike Tyson 5'10.25 (178.4 cm)
After looking at photos when Tupac was standing next to Tyson, Tupac appears anywhere from half an inch to an inch shorter than him. This puts him clearly under 5'10", at around 5'9.5" tall.
Dr Dre 6" (182.9 cm)
Probably the easiest one to judge, and there looks to be around a 2-2.5 inch difference here, again putting Tupac in the 5'9.5-5'10" range.
So he gives the impression of a 5'9.5"-5'10" man when compared to his associates.
However, we need to take footwear into consideration. Tupac used to favor thick Timberland boots, such as the ones he wore to the Mike Tyson fight in Las Vegas on the night of the fatal shooting back in 1996.
He also favored Nike shoes and other footwear that would give a nice chunk of height. This would maybe add 1cm to half an inch onto his height when compared to who he was standing next to.
What Others Say
Frank Alexander (Tupac's Bodyguard) 5'10" (177.8 cm)
When asked how tall Tupac was in an interview, former bodyguard Frank Alexander stated that "Pac was 5'7". This is untrue, and he might have exaggerated this for comparison between them to make himself appear larger as a protective force.
What is also interesting is that Frank claimed his own height as 5 foot 11 inches, yet when you compare his pics with Tupac, they look very similar in height, and depending on footwear sometimes Tupac looked even taller!
In other words, Tupac was nowhere near 5'7" tall.
The Verdict
After trying to pinpoint Tupac's height as accurately as possible, I would say he used to wake up a comfortable 5'10", and go to bed at 5'9.25". Therefore a fair listing for Tupac's height is 5'9.5" (176.5 cm).
Heights Linked to Tupac Shakur
- Afeni Shakur, Mother, 5'4.5" (163.8 cm)
- Keisha Morris, Spouse (1995–1996), 5'2" (157.5 cm)
- Dr. Dre, Associate, 6" (182.9 cm)
- Suge Knight, Associate, 6'2.5" (189.2 cm)
- Snoop Dogg, Associate, 6'3.75" (192.4 cm)
- Biggie Smalls, Contemporary/Rival, 6'2.5" (189.2 cm)