In recent years, Wolfgang Van Halen’s look has been a pretty uniform one, consisting of shoulder-length locks and a beard. However, on the off chance that he wanted to switch things up, Static Media’s photo editors have given us an exclusive peek at what that could look like. Spoiler alert: without a beard, Wolfgang is his mom’s doppelganger (but he looks a lot like his dad, too).
We’re not exaggerating when we say a beard-free Wolfgang is his mom’s double. If anyone had any questions as to who his mother was, one look at him without facial hair would be all it took to figure it out. Of course, Wolfgang and Valerie Bertinelli have a very close relationship, so most people do know they’re mother and son. Even so, seeing him solo and without the beard had us doing a serious double take.
Having said that, without facial hair, Wolfgang does also bear striking resemblance to his dad. That’s particularly true when it comes to older photos of Eddie Van Halen, when the rocker sported long hair, too. Not that Wolfgang isn’t well aware. As he shared in a 2021 interview with People, he could see how he looked like both Eddie and Bertinelli. That’s not to say he didn’t find the constant reminders from other people amusing, though. Quite the contrary, in his interview with the outlet, he cracked up over the regular comments he gets from those who have spotted the resemblances. “People are very quick to remind me that I look like both of my parents. Which, I have to tell them, it’s like, ‘Wow! Science! Who’d have guessed it?” he chuckled to the outlet. It’s a good thing, then, that Wolfgang’s relationship with his famous dad was just as tight as his bond with his mom.
Wolfgang also looks like a younger version of himself
Comparisons to his parents aside, it is worth noting that without a beard, Wolfgang Van Halen also looks a lot like … well, a younger Wolfgang Van Halen. Those who have been following his career for a while will likely remember when a baby-faced Wolfgang began touring with his dad’s band, and had a remarkably similar look. That is, shoulder-length hair but with no beard. Given that Wolfgang was just 16 at the time, it’s possible the lack of facial hair came down to his age.
Of course, as with most people, Wolfgang underwent a stunning transformation as he got older, experimenting with shorter hair and no beard, and shorter hair with a beard, before settling on his current look, which is really just a mature version of what Van Halen fans saw when he first hit the stage.
It’s possible Wolfgang’s return to his OG look was intentional. After all, he’s often spoken of wanting to distance himself from his dad, in particular. To Classic Rock, he mused, “I’m not a person to some people … I’m just an extension of the name.” Likewise, speaking to People, he’d acknowledged that few saw him as a musician in his own right, which he understood. Nevertheless, he pointed out, “I’m my own person … I’m not my dad.” Well, rocking the beard certainly does give some uniqueness to the rocker who looks so much like his famous ‘rents. And, something tells us his dad would be a-okay with him using it to distance himself. As Wolfgang told The Washington Post, Eddie Van Halen had always encouraged him to try do things differently, telling him, “Do your own s***. Stop pretending to be me.” We have no doubts Eddie would be very proud.
