The glow-up is real for Vice President JD Vance — and it’s all thanks to that beard.
But Vance doesn’t always look like this. In fact, old photos from his pre-fame days showed him looking like a completely different person.
For instance, JD Vance’s high school yearbook pic, which made quite a buzz during President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, revealed a clean-cut, youthful version of the man now sporting a distinguished, full beard.
From JD Vance’s high school yearbook in Middletown, when he went as James Hamel. pic.twitter.com/2M0UKvwFyk
— Adam Wren (@adamwren) July 15, 2024
Flashback to 2017, when Vance showed up at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference with a laid-back, slightly messy ‘do — same style as today, just with a lot less effort and product.
A year later, Vance turned up at TechCrunch Disrupt SF looking tidier, with shorter sides and a neater cut — but still not quite rocking the sharp, sculpted look of today’s vice president.
Fast forward to 2025, and JD Vance isn’t rocking that baby face anymore. The VP’s got the full beard, the slick hair, and the polished D.C. look — a total transformation from the clean-cut kid we once knew. The beard alone adds a whole new level of swagger to his image. His gray hair also added to his more distinguished look.
Interestingly, Vance’s beard drew national attention even before he entered office. While running alongside Donald Trump, The Wall Street Journal highlighted that if elected, he’d break a century-old streak as the first president or vice president with facial hair.
Meanwhile, those within Trump’s administration were in strong favor of JD Vance’s beard.
“Without the beard, Vance looks like he’s 12,” an advisor to Trump told Bulwark in July 2024.
Trump himself echoed the same sentiment. During an interview, he told the press that Vance looked presidential with his beard.
“It looks good. He looks like a young Abraham Lincoln.”
Meanwhile, if there’s one thing that doesn’t seem to change in JD Vance’s looks, that’d be his darkly rimmed eyes. Many assumed he’s wearing eyeliner, which has people scratching their heads.
However, his wife, Usha Vance, has set the record straight after rumors of his “guyliner” became rampant.
“They’re all natural. I’ve always been jealous of those lashes,” Usha told Puck News (via Daily Mail).
Despite her claims, many are still convinced that JD Vance uses eyeliner. During the presidential debate in October 2024, viewers were divided over whether or not JD Vance was wearing eyeliner.
At the time, there were so much chatter about Vance’s supposed eyeliner that disgraced congressman George Santos had to step in and defend him.
“Vance does NOT use eye liner. I’ve met him in person before he was a senator and I can confirm he has long eyelashes and they cast a shadow on his waterline when is studios full of lights … Grow up people!” he tweeted.
In January 2025, during his inauguration as the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance’s eyeliner took center stage again.
“It’s an incredible honor to take the oath of office as the 50th Vice President of the United States. I look forward to working alongside President Trump to serve the American people. Let’s Make America Great Again!” he posted on Instagram.
But while his message was patriotic, fans were more distracted by his appearance, with many flooding the comments to ask if he was wearing eyeliner.
