The beard is officially the bald man’s best friend.
It takes an impressive bone structure to pull off a bald head without one, and the rich and famous are leading the way with the upside-down style.
Here are 25 bald celebrities with beards any of us would be proud of, starting with the actors…
Bald actors with beards
- Jason Alexander
The poster boy for balding men who keep what’s left of their hair fairly long, Jason has experimented with different beard styles down the years.
While he’s yet to shave the back and sides, the man who brought us George Costanza isn’t afraid to groom his facial hair. We’ve seen the neatly trimmed approach, the goatee, and the full bushy beard at various stages of his public life.
One episode of Seinfeld even saw George try and fail to grow a beard, unlike his real-life alter-ego who has no such trouble.
George tries (& fails) to grow a beard for his hipster gf. JERRY:”You look like an ugly 12 year old.” GEORGE:”You don’t think I know that?!”
— Modern Seinfeld (@SeinfeldToday) January 20, 2013
- Sean Connery
The original Bond was clean-shaven and debonair as the British secret agent, and while the handsome thespian lost his hair, he lost none of his trademark style in later life.
The Scot now sports a striking gray beard, which has been such a hit it even has its own Facebook fan page.
- Ben Kingsley
Another actor who has worn a variety of beard styles over the years, the bald Brit even paired thick facial hair with a turban for his role as a Sikh taxi driver in 2014’s Learning To Drive.
- Jonathan Banks
We’ll forgive Jonathan the undisputed worst beard ever seen on TV during his appearance on CSI Miami, not least because of his legendary Breaking Bad run.
Besides, he’s more than made up for it since with the gray goatee that was such a key part of Mike Ehrmantraut’s menacing look.
- Jason Statham
Clean shaven but already thin on top when he rose to fame as Bacon in 1998’s Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Statham soon embraced the stubble that would define his hard-man look.
Whether he’s performing death-defying stunts alongside The Rock in the Fast & Furious franchise or fighting giant prehistoric sharks in the underrated The Meg, Statham’s shaved-head-with-beard look remains a staple of his tough-guy image.
- Terry Crews
Terry Alan Crews may be a former Washington Redskins linebacker but he was born to play Captain Terrence “Terry” Vincent Jeffords in Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Jeffords’ goatee is a crucial element of the muscular but lovable authority figure’s clean-cut, professional image.
- Dwayne Johnson
Already in his second mention on this list, the former WWE Champion is one of the fortunate men who looks infinitely better bald.
The Rock sat on top of the mountain while rocking a bald head and goatee in the ring, and these days Dwayne can be seen sporting a gray, but unquestionably manly full beard.
- Billy Zane
The Titanic villain’s hair may be long-since departed but his beard is still ship-shape. Thick facial hair suits Billy, and his Twitter fan club has voiced their approval.
That beard pic.twitter.com/E6FDc5Gz53
— Billy Zane Fanclub (@billyzaneice) November 30, 2015
- Damon Wayans
Another goatee advocate, the comedian-turned-actor made a misstep when he started to go bald early in his career, choosing to cover up his thinning hair with a toupee.
He soon learned that bald is better, and started shaving on top to establish his famously smooth look.
- Bruce Willis
Another of Tinseltown’s tough guys, Bruce has had an interesting relationship with his baldness over the years.
The former Mr. Demi Moore has worn a hairpiece in many of his movies – I guess old habits Die Hard. He’s much more at one with his beard though, and has tried out a few different styles over the years.
- Taye Diggs
One of the most stylish men in Hollywood, Taye’s super-neat beard frames his winning smile. If I had teeth like his, I’d highlight them too.
Diggs says he went for the fully-shaved look as soon as he started receding. Some of us take some time to get used to the idea but given how great he always looks, there was no way the How Stella Got Her Groove Back star was going for the comb-over.
- Sir Patrick Stewart
When Star Trek: The Next Generation hit our screens, Stewart’s thoughtful and diplomatic Captain Picard couldn’t have been more different from William Shatner’s impulsive James T. Kirk.
It wasn’t just the characters that were opposites though, Shatner’s thick head of hair made way for Stewart’s clean-shaven dome. Then later in life, the knight of the realm grew out a dashing white beard to round off the quintessential classy English gent image.
If you’re thirsty for more baldies like Picard on film, check out this list of bald movie characters and this full rundown of bald actors.
Bald celebrities with beards
Actors aside, there are plenty of celebrities who have followed (and in some cases helped create) the bearded trend in recent years.
- Pitbull
Mr. Worldwide is arguably as famous for his image as he is for his music. The Fireball rapper, who pairs sharp suits with his trademark facial hair, doesn’t talk about going bald much but has previously convinced Hollywood friends like Jon Travolta to brave the shave.
- Shaquille O’Neal
Shaq is a big strong man with a big strong beard. Whether it’s a full beard or a goatee, the former L.A. Laker always has a great look, except maybe that one time he lost a bet and was forced to let his hairline grow out.
Shaq is one of many bald athletes, with sportsmen more likely to go back due to the stress produced in such a high-pressure environment, as well as inflated levels of testosterone.
- Common
The rap legend no doubt suits the bald look, but Common wasn’t so sure and admitted he tried to hold on to his hair when it started to thin out.
The combination of bald head with thick goatee has served him well over the years and Common graduated to a full beard in more recent years.
- Ron Howard
While the Happy Days star could have been included in the actors list, he undoubtedly did his best work as a director, winning Best Picture and Best Director Oscars for A Beautiful Mind in 2002.
Although bald, Howard wears the horseshoe hair pattern longer around the sides, pairing an exposed scalp with a ginger beard, and occasionally throwing on a baseball cap if there’s a breeze in the air.
Ginger people go bald at the same rate as those with black, brunette, or blonde hair, despite the myths thinking they are either more or less likely to lose their hair.
- Kobe Bryant
Our second ‘baller also went early with the bald look, having sported a shaved head in his rookie year in the NBA.
Sadly no longer with us, Kobe’s retirement gave him time to work on a new image, and thankfully we got to see beardy Bryant before he passed away.
Plenty more basketball stars rocked a shaved head over the years. Here’s my list of bald NBA players (there are more than you might think!)
- Billy Joel
The Piano Man started to lose his hair in his 50s, having been the proud owner of a full head of jet black hair in his heyday.
There’s a chance he regrets the mustache that adorned the cover of his debut album Cold Spring Harbour, but it was 1971 after all. He soon grew the beard out as most men in the 70s did, and he sported a gray goatee while still performing well into the 2010s.
- Louis C.K.
One of America’s funniest men, Louis refuses to shave what’s left of his long-since receded hair but to be honest, he just wouldn’t be the same without his unmistakable orange halo.
Another who usually opts for the goatee, he shaved for a role in 2009’s The Invention of Lying and in his own words, “My chin, and the one behind it, looked like a porn actor’s shaved balls.”
- ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin
The man who single-handedly made wrestling cool again in the 90s did so with a goatee beard and a bald head, despite being one-half of the tag team ‘The Hollywood Blondes’ in WCW earlier in his career.
And that’s the bottom line, ‘cos Stone Cold said so.
The grays
There’s something about a gray beard that adds a touch of class to any man’s image. A gray beard with a bald head may give away your age, but at least these guys are growing old gracefully.
- Billy Corgan
The Smashing Pumpkins frontman started his musical career with the typical long rock star locks, but by the time the band released the anthemic Bullet with Butterfly Wings his hair’s days were numbered.
After years of rocking his iconic hairless look, Billy has more recently been seen with a very distinguished salt-and-pepper beard.
- Pete Townshend
Turns out the former guitarist and songwriter from The Who didn’t die before he got old after all, and we’re all the richer for it.
After all, he may have lost his hair and most of his hearing, but Townshend’s gray beard is everything an aging rocker’s facial hair should be.
- Domenico Dolce
One half of the infamous designer duo Dolce & Gabbana, Domenico’s sense of style allows him to confidently step out in a more casual look than you’d expect of a fashion legend.
His signature bald head is paired with thick-rimmed glasses, capped off with a short gray beard to complete the look.
- Mike Tyson
Controversial boxing legend Tyson caused what was for him a relatively minor stir when he debuted his face tattoo back in 2003.
The extent of his baldness has long been debated, but in more recent years he’s taken the focus off the ink by growing out a silver beard that’s as impressive as his jab.
- Moby
As you’d expect of someone who is never one to swim with the stream, the story of Moby’s baldness is an unusual one.
The musician told The Guardian that he started to shave his head because he was dating a woman who liked the look, and by coincidence started losing his hair at the same time without even realizing it.
The thick gray beard followed much later but admittedly looks great with the glasses.
