All About Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli's Son Wolfgang Van Halen

Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli welcomed Wolfgang Van Halen in 1991

Wolfgang Van Halen is the only son of Van Halen frontman Eddie Van Halen and Golden Globe-winning actress Valerie Bertinelli.

The former couple, who were married from 1981 to 2007, welcomed him in 1991. On October 6, 2020, Van Halen died of throat cancer at the age of 65. Both Wolfgang and Bertinelli were with him.

“He was the best father I could have asked for,” the devoted son wrote on Twitter to announce his father’s death. “Every moment I shared with him on and off the stage was a gift. I am heartbroken and I don’t think I will ever recover from this loss.”

Wolfgang followed in his father’s footsteps and is a successful musician. He spent 14 years playing alongside his Hall of Fame rocker father in Van Halen, and now fronts Mammoth WVH, a rock band he formed in 2020. In 2022, he received his first Grammy nomination for his song “Distance.”

Although it may be in his genes to be a rock star, Wolfgang worked hard to forge his own path and get to where he is today.

“Everything I do in music is for [Eddie]so I’m just doing the best I can and trying to make him proud with everything I do,” he told PEOPLE at the 2022 Grammys.

Here’s everything you need to know about Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli’s son, Wolfgang Van Halen.

It was named after Mozart

Valerie Bertinelli’s Instagram

Van Halen and Bertinelli met backstage at a concert in 1980, when both were at the height of their careers. After getting married the following year, Bertinelli gave birth to Wolfgang on March 16, 1991, in Santa Monica.

His unique name was chosen as a nod to Van Halen’s favorite composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who remains a reference point for both father and son. When asked about his father’s legacy in November 2020, Wolfgang said Party tonight“I think he is the Mozart of our generation.”

He is a successful musician

Wolfgang Van Halen and Eddie Van Halen. Kevin Winter/BMA2015/Getty

A talented bassist, Wolfgang joined Van Halen at just 15 years old. He and his father shared the stage together from 2006 until 2020 when the group disbanded after Eddie’s death. In 2021, he accompanied Guns ‘N’ Roses on tour for several shows and released his debut self-titled album Mammoth WVH.

Wolfgang performed all the instrumental and vocal compositions for the album, and although he hires a live band during concerts, Mammoth WVH remains a very personal project for him. “This is something for me,” he told Overdrive. “It’s a sacred experience for me. It’s my project and an artistic outlet for me and my mental well-being.”

When it comes to live performances, Wolfgang often finds himself channeling his famous father’s moves. “Still, there were a handful of moments where I did something and then I realized, ‘Oh, Dad used to do that on stage all the time,’” he told PEOPLE in January 2022. “And I realized maybe the way he moved or the way he smiled when he played something, I was like, ‘Oh, f…, he’d do that all the time.’ ”

Wolfgang might imitate his father on stage, but he’s not interested in recording covers of classic Van Halen songs.

“[My dad is] the reason why I do what I do. I wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for him. I think just doing it is enough of a reference and recognition,” the rocker said during an interview with Audacy Check In. “I don’t have to play ‘Panama’ to respect him, you know what I mean? ”

While Wolfgang honors his father with his music, he also recognizes his mother with his art. He featured her in the music video for his single “I’m Alright”, which was released in August 2023. In the video, Bertinelli plays a grumpy woman who enters the Battle of the Bands competition.

He married Andria Allsop in October 2023

Photo by Christina Skari

Wolfgang and Andraia Allsop were married on October 15, 2023 at their home in Los Angeles. There were 90 guests in attendance, and the couple honored Wolfgang’s late father with an empty chair at the ceremony.

“Our goal was just to get all of our closest family and friends together,” Allsop told PEOPLE. “In the past years, not only with world tragedies, but also personal tragedies, it was not the easiest, but we wanted to create this wedding as a celebration not only of us getting married, but a celebration for the people we love.”

Wolfgang and the software engineer/photographer have been together since 2015. The musician eventually proposed in July 2022.

“She said yes!! ❤️❤️❤️,” Wolfgang captioned the photo of Allsop showing off his engagement ring. Bertinelli commented on the post, “How can I ❤️ this a million times? So happy!!!!!!!”

He wrote his Grammy-nominated song about his father

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Wolfgang’s debut single, “Distance”, was released in November 2020, shortly after Eddie’s death. The young artist also published an emotional music video, which includes home videos of the father-son duo. The song reached #1 on the MediaBase and BDS Active Radio Charts, and was later nominated for Best Rock Song at the 2022 Grammy Awards.

The song serves as a tribute to the late rock star and was written while Eddie was “still struggling with various health issues”.

“I imagined what my life would be like without him and how terribly I would miss him,” Wolfgang said in a statement at the time. “Although the song is incredibly personal, I think everyone can relate to the idea of ​​deep loss in their life.”

Wolfgang celebrated the song’s anniversary in November 2021, sharing an emotional post about its success on Instagram.

“It’s a special song for two very important reasons. It’s a song in memory of my Pop and our relationship, and it’s also Mammoth’s first release. It marks the beginning of a new chapter in my life in more ways than one,” he wrote. paths. “I could never have imagined the incredible outpouring of response from something so close to my heart. It blew me away.”

He added: “I hope you’re watching and I hope you’re still proud dad. I love you and miss you more than you can know ❤️.”

He helped convince his father to go to rehab

Wolfgang Van Halen’s Instagram

At the age of 16, Wolfgang has already experienced more than an ordinary teenager.

In 2007, the same year his band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Eddie struggled privately. He checked into rehab in March 2007 and told fans he was working on himself “so that in the future I can deliver the 110 percent that I feel I owe you and want to give you.”

Looking back on his experience, Wolfgang said Rolling stone that he played a key role in convincing his father to enter a facility. “That’s why I was there in the band in the first place,” he told the newspaper. “I wanted him to be as healthy as possible … so when the opportunity came, he said, ‘Fuck, yeah, whatever we do.’ ”

“I experienced a lot of life very quickly”, explained the young rocker, adding that “he had to mature very quickly in order to cope (…) with everything that was thrown at me early in life”.

He is very close to his mother

Kevin Mazur/Getty

Bertinelli and her son are very close. The actress, who goes by “@wolfiesmom” on Instagram and Twitter, calls Wolfgang “the joy of her life” and couldn’t be more proud of him.

“Aside from the fact that he’s incredibly talented, I’m most proud of his kindness and thoughtfulness,” the Food Network star told PEOPLE during a joint interview with Wolfgang published on June 10, 2021. “I think we both like to find humor in the absurd. This world is serious a crazy place and it’s easier to get through if you find it funny and absurd. Sometimes laughing is better than crying.”

Wolfgang added of their close relationship: “My girlfriend and I go to my mom’s house almost every day to see her and play with her cats, which we love.”

“I don’t think a lot of people understand how sarcastic our relationship is,” he continued. “One time she burned onion rings. And it’s like she’s on a cooking show, so I made fun of her for it. I asked her if I could post it. We fight GIFs on Twitter all the time. Sarcasm is a language, and that’s how we communicate!”

Bertinelli was one of her son’s companions at the 2022 Grammy Awards. Of his first nomination, the proud mom told PEOPLE on the red carpet, “There’s only one other person who would be more proud than me. And that’s pretty much impossible, but it would was Ed.”

In May 2023, Bertinelli posted on Instagram about an appearance on Wolfgang’s Sirius XM show, Top of the pack. She shared a picture of herself smiling while her son stands next to her and stares blankly into the camera. “Can’t you tell how much Wolfie loves it when I come on his show? 😂,” she wrote in the caption.

He named his band after Van Halen

Michael Buckner/Getty

Along with his first single, Wolfgang’s band name, Mammoth WVH, is also a tribute to his late father and his legacy.

Eddie and Alex Van Halen first started out as a trio with bassist Mark Stone under the name Mammoth before changing the band’s name to Van Halen.

“Growing up, whenever I have my own band, I want to call it Mammoth,” Wolfgang said Rolling stone. “I was nervous, I asked his permission. I said, ‘Hey dad, I got a question: Would it be cool if I named the band this?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, why worry about that?’ He was really delighted.”

In June 2023, Mammoth WVH released the song “Take a Bow”, which featured Wolfgang playing Eddie’s legendary Frankenstein guitar.

“It’s officially the longest song I’ve released to date, and I feel like the guitar solo is really special. I played the solo on an original Frankenstein guitar and through my dad’s original Marshall head and one of the original cabinets,” he told Guitar. com. “That’s exactly what he used on the earliest Van Halen records. It makes me happy to capture a piece of my dad’s history on this song forever.”

He still pays tribute to his father

Kevin Mazur/WireImage

In January 2024, Wolfgang celebrated Eddie’s 69th birthday.

“I wish you were here so I could give you a big hug, go out to dinner, celebrate with you and make a stupid joke about it being your 69th birthday,” he wrote on Instagram. “Just regular s—. I miss hearing you laugh. I miss laughing with you. It’s the little things.”

Wolfgang continued, “I’ll do my best to keep a smile on my face and think of you today. But then again, it’s not much different than any other day so far without you. I love you and miss you more than you ever could possibly knowing.”

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Source: HIS Education