Bob Dylan's Grandson Has Grown Up To Be Gorgeous
In most of our childhood homes, the shelves are lined with teenage sports trophies and family portraits with regrettable haircuts (will we ever forgive our mothers for that mullet? Probably not). For Levi Dylan, those shelves might also casually include a Grammy Award or two. The 20-something model's family has an impressive 12 wins (out of a whopping 44 nominations) among them, and that's probably one of the least shocking things about him. Levi is, after all, the son of Wallflowers front man Jakob Dylan and the grandson of the legendary folk singer Bob Dylan.
Considering his family lineage, Levi's musical career seemed like a foregone conclusion, but the rockstar son gracefully bowed out of the family business to forge his own path. Why? He told The Cut it was "too hard to make a living." Yes, it was too difficult to foster a lucrative career in the music industry even for the grandson of one of the most recognizable artists of all time.
Thankfully, with a face like Levi's, launching a career as a model and actor probably won't be nearly as difficult. He's already landed some major gigs, and it looks like this is just the beginning.
Three years was enough time in the music biz for Levi Dylan
Levi Dylan has a talent for performing, but you probably won't see him adding to his father's and grandfather's collection of a dozen Grammy Awards. According to Teen Vogue, he plays both guitar and bass, but quit the family business not long after he started. In 2017, the model told Interview that he "always had an interest in performing" and joined a band called Dreamers Dose. Though he claims they were "really good," he ended up quitting after three short years because, per an interview in VMan, "Nobody wants to listen to rock and roll anymore." (We're hoping he didn't repeat this sentiment to his pops and grandpops because his family legacy begs to differ.)
It seems like Levi was just finding his footing as an adult and exploring his passion when he decided to bow out of the music industry. In an interview with The Daily Front Row, the star claimed he just lost motivation, but it was fun while it lasted. "I stopped because I wasn't as interested as people thought I would be. I just grew out of it," Levi admitted. "The guys who I played with musically surpassed me and I stopped trying. We finished off with a big show in around 2013 with like 2,500 people, which was cool. I got a lot out of it, and I keep it with me."
Bob Dylan's grandson is a chip off the old block
Bob Dylan might have been the voice of a generation, but he notoriously shied away from the usual trappings of fame. According to VMan, the folk legend didn't even go to Stockholm to accept his Nobel Prize, which is just about the highest honor a person can receive. Instead, Patti Smith ended up performing his song "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" on his behalf.
Apparently, the times are not a-changing. It seems a certain shyness runs in the family's DNA and made its way all the way down to Levi Dylan. In a 2016 Teen Vogue profile, Levi's girlfriend Alana O'Herlihy claimed, "He doesn't talk a lot. He is a shy, reserved and very private person, and that makes it all the more striking when he does." Levi is so shy and quiet that his musical talents rarely leave the privacy of his own bedroom. The star told Interview that he plays guitar "by [his] lonesome, for fun" but always uses an acoustic so he doesn't bug his neighbors. Talk about a rockstar attitude. What will he do next? Bring over a bundt cake?
Alana O'Herlihy convinced Levi Dylan to pursue modeling
It wasn't very hard for Levi Dylan to find modeling success. Since he made his runway debut in Dolce & Gabbana's F/W 2017 show, the star has appeared in editorials for GQ Italia, L'Officiel Hommes España, and Wonderland. He also starred in campaigns for UNIQLO and DKNY, according to The Fashionisto, but by all accounts, it seems like the celebrity spawn just sort of fell into the fashion industry thanks to his photographer girlfriend Alana O'Herlihy.
In an interview with The Cut, Levi admitted that O'Herlihy helped him get his start as a model. "She kind of set me up, and from there it was sort of like dominoes," he said. Despite his obvious success — which includes a couple Fashion Week walks around the globe — the model marches down the runway to his own drum and only takes the projects he likes. Flatly put: most burgeoning models would jump at the chance to walk at fashion week, but Levi hopes to avoid it entirely.
"I don't think I'll ever do it again, but it was nice," he told The Daily Front Row, adding, "That walk is intense! You'd be surprised; it's a skill. Those guys are good at it — I was a little wobbly! But I do what feels right for me. A lot of it doesn't, and I don't have to do those things." We suppose that's the privilege of having a grandfather with an estimated $200 million net worth.
Social justice runs in Levi Dylan's blood
Bob Dylan is one of the most renowned protest singers in history. According to Dissent Magazine, the folk icon wrote about two dozen politically-charged songs — which mainly focused on the civil rights and antiwar movements — between 1961 and 1964. Most prominently, "Blowin' in the Wind" became a civil rights anthem after Peter, Paul, and Mary played it at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington (you probably know the march from that famous moment in history when Martin Luther King made his "I Have a Dream" speech).
Levi Dylan is undoubtedly following in his grandfather's footsteps, but he approaches his activism with a very mild manner. According to Interview, the model joined a protest march from Union Square to Trump Tower on the night after the 2016 presidential election. Levi ended up leaving the protest early because "the cars were gridlocked and people were banging on car windows. I thought it was rude. I felt bad about that, and I left."
This wasn't the only time Levi took action against the Trump administration. In a 2016 performance arts video, the model appeared alongside his girlfriend Alana O'Herlihy and boldly proclaimed, "It's disgusting. Can you imagine? Look at him. Just look at him. That's the guy representing our country. Is that the face of America?" Perhaps he's not as eloquent as his grandad, but there's no mistaking his point.
Bob Dylan's grandson took his lyrics literally
Though Levi Dylan rejected the touring lifestyle led by his father and grandfather, the model is still drifting around like a rolling stone. Interview magazine described him as "a nomad," and reported that he splits his time between his childhood hometown of Los Angeles and New York City. On top of that, it wouldn't be out of place to see him jetsetting overseas for a modeling gig.
Speaking with The Daily Front Row in 2016, Levi revealed the surprising reason he goes back and forth between The Big Apple and The City of Angels every couple of weeks. "As soon as I run out of money here, I go back to L.A," he said. "There's a lot of opportunity in both places, and a lot of great people who want to help me. I can use all the help I can get!" Yes, Levi is just like the rest of us struggling millennials.
It also seems like Levi is more comfortable in his hometown, however, where he still hangs out with his friends from high school (he attended New Roads School in Santa Monica, Calif.). When he's in the East Village, life is a little bit lonelier. He told The Daily Front Row that he mostly just hangs out with his girlfriend. "I don't need anybody else," he said. "We're both from L.A. I don't like going out with [New Yorkers] trying to tell me what and where everything is. I'd rather just find it myself, so we explore."
Milan Fashion Week wasn't exactly Levi Dylan's scene
Levi Dylan certainly looks like a supermodel, but whether or not he feels like a supermodel is totally up for debate. When the young star walked for Dolce & Gabbana during Milan Fashion Week in 2017, he felt out of place, which absolutely wasn't the case considering the whole show featured celebrity kids like (Jude Law and Sadie Frost's son) Rafferty Law, (Cindy Crawford's son) Presley Gerber, and (Pamela Anderson and Rocker Tommy Lee's son) Brandon Lee.
"The whole thing was really strange. I don't even know how I fit into the whole thing," he told VMan. "My room was next to Cameron Dallas', and I had a really hard time sleeping. Girls would stay outside his window from like 5AM to 3AM, take a two-hour break, then come back for more."
This isn't the first time Levi has expressed feeling like an outsider in the modeling industry. The star previously told The Cut that he actively avoids Fashion Week because he's not as tall most of the other models. Thus far, it doesn't seem like Levi's height has hurt his career, anyway. Six feet is plenty tall.
Please don't label Bob Dylan's grandson
Bob Dylan seemed to reject a lot of his successes. According to Dissent Magazine, the star was "never comfortable being confined by the 'protest' label," and also didn't really like being a celebrity. He reportedly even told famed protest singer Phil Ochs, "The stuff you're writing is bulls**t, because politics is bulls**t" as if that negates the folk singer's entire catalog of politically charged songs.
It seems like the folk legend's grandson holds the same sentiment. Levi Dylan doesn't want to be boxed into a label. "I get labeled as a model but, if I had it my way, I would hope nobody would ever call me that," he told VMan. Part of this could be because Levi doesn't actually see himself as a traditional model. He certainly doesn't appear to be actively pursuing gigs and rather takes things as they come. The model told The Daily Front Row, "I might not fit into the criteria [of a model] as well as [taller models] do, so I don't make it a huge part of my life. But when the opportunity presents itself, I find it interesting, and I like to do it."
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Levi was represented by Next Model Management, but as of 2019, People reported Levi has since signed with the famed agency Wilhelmina. It's safe to say his success is no accident, regardless of whether or not he's actively chasing the runway.
You can catch Levi Dylan at the thrift store
Like you'd expect from a celebrity kid with a fledgling modeling career, Levi Dylan has become somewhat of an unwitting fashion icon. In an interview with The Daily Front Row, the star described his style as "a lot of black clothing." He also doesn't really like to wear tennis shoes and prefers to wear boots. What's still unclear is if he owns any boots of Spanish leather. The one thing that makes the model's style unique is his penchant for a good thrift store run. Yes, Levi comes from a family lineage worth hundreds of millions, but he can still appreciate wearing something that's secondhand.
"I like to go to thrift stores to find cool stuff that nobody else has," he told The Daily Front Row. "I don't know what people did in the clothing before I wore it though — sometimes I think about that. Everything else is too expensive. But I love the way The Clash dressed, so maybe it's a mix of my personal taste and theirs. I'm somewhere in the middle."
Levi admitted his favorite thrift stores are Jet Rag in L.A. and Beacon's Closet in New York City. He also likes the punk emporium Search and Destroy. According to The Cut, he purchased a gas mask from the St. Marks Place mainstay in 2016 and planned to wear it to Fashion Week. That is, quite certainly, something nobody else has (unless, of course, that somebody is a doomsday prepper).
Bob Dylan's grandson isn't waiting around for Hollywood to call
Levi Dylan may be a successful model, but it looks like his heart is in Hollywood — just like his actor mama, Paige Dylan. According to VMan, as of 2017, the star was transitioning from the music industry into an acting career. At the time, he had an anonymous Netflix project and a movie in the works. Though he didn't give any additional details to VMan, it looks like the film might have been the rock-fueled dramedy Mighty Oak, where Dylan plays a lead singer who died in a car crash on the way to a gig. According to director Sean McNamara's website, the film was originally meant to be released in July 2019, but IMDb says it's still in post-production. According to Interview, Levi has also appeared in music videos for Steve Aioki and Moxie.
At the time of this writing, IMDb only lists two movies and a short under Levi's acting credits, but this could be because the star is choosing his projects wisely. He has no interest in fame for the sake of fame. "I don't have any interest in being in Warner Brothers' newest comedy if it's going to suck but still be a box office hit and make me famous," he told VMan. "I want to do things that are cool and that I can be proud of."
Levi Dylan wants to be a producer
Levi Dylan isn't limiting his involvement in film and TV to acting. The star is also on a hopeful producer. He told Interview that he has an "eye for what looks good," which is really the main thing a producer needs to be a good producer. It certainly helps to hang around a photographer girlfriend and spend significant amounts of time in a career rooted solely in aesthetics and expression. Basically, Levi is well-trained in the art of making things look good, but that doesn't speak to every aspect of his life.
The star opened up to The Daily Front Row about his collection of admittedly regrettable tattoos. As of 2016, the star had five or six, and thought they were all terrible. "I can't wait to get them off," he admitted, adding, "I'm hoping that at some point in the future I'll be able to walk into CVS and get tattoo removal cream. I think that's coming up, I really do, so I'm waiting for that."
At the time of this writing, it seems like tattoo removal cream technology just isn't there yet. Sadly, the kid is stuck with his ink unless he goes under a laser, but let's be honest: does a single celebrity kid make it to adulthood without at least one regrettable tattoo? Probably not!
Why wouldn't Levi Dylan throw painting in the mix?
Levi Dylan's got fashion, film, and music covered, but Bob Dylan's grandkid also rounds out his artistic skill set with fine art. The model-slash-actor is also a painter. At the time of his 2017 Interview profile, Levi admitted he had already painted for five hours that day, including "some skull-looking things" and "a syringe going into a skull." Dark. He also likes to draw faces, but his East Village apartment isn't really a great place for a studio. Instead, he tends to frequent Brooklyn, where you might just find one of his paintings if you're walking around. The star leaves the majority of his works out for friends and strangers to find almost like a modern Banksy if Banksy had just graduated from art school.
Levi also told The Daily Front Row that besides painting, one of his passions is visiting art galleries, particularly the ones owned by his friends. While he might have a favorite gallery, he does not have a favorite artist. "People like Jackson Pollock and Damien Hirst are good, but I don't have a favorite artist," he said. "I have white walls at home, which are very boring, so I bought a bunch of paint and started painting things on them."
Considering his DNA has been passed down from both Bob and Jakob Dylan, we're not really surprised this kid manages to excel at all aspects of the arts.