Who’s living the rockstar life? Who caught the acting bug?
And which one was accused of punching dad's lights out? In Dylan Lee and
Brandon Thomas’ life, nearly everything seems inspired by their famous parents.
While Brandon Thomas Lee and Dylan Jagger Lee spent their early childhood in Hollywood,
their parents decided to send them to a boarding high school in Vancouver Island,
Canada, where Pamela Anderson grew up. Brandon Thomas told Grazia Magazine,
"I left for boarding school in Vancouver when I was 13
and coming from L.A. It was a complete culture shock."
Their mother's hometown had more inclement weather than the sunny California beaches
they were used to, and their classmates were no longer other famous offspring.
Initially, they were reluctant to the idea of being uprooted. Dylan told Nylon,
"When I left, I was kicking and screaming. I hid from her for three hours before my plane ride."
But ultimately, they're thankful for the experience.
When they returned to their hometown of Hollywood after graduation, they realized just how much
of a positive effect getting away from L.A. had on them. Dylan told Interview Magazine,
"We came back to see our friends in completely different situations than when we left them.
L.A. can be amazing, but it can also be the worst."
In 2018, Tommy Lee took to social media to accuse Brandon of assaulting him.
In a now-deleted post on Instagram, Lee posted a photo of his swollen lip with a
caption that blamed his son for the injury. TMZ reported that Brandon had only defended himself,
but Tommy Lee disagreed, writing on Twitter,
"My fiancé and I were in bed when my son busted into the room and
assaulted me. I asked him to leave the house and he knocked me unconscious."
People magazine reported that the argument began over a tweet Lee had made about Brandon's mother,
Pamela Anderson. In a statement with the outlet, Brandon Thomas claimed
that his dad's drinking was to blame for the argument getting out of hand, saying,
"I wanted my dad's hopeful sobriety and recovery to be a private family matter
but, as a result of his accusations on social media, I feel forced to speak out."
"We're not really on speaking terms yet."
Tommy Lee was not happy about his son's claim and vehemently denied he was an alcoholic on Twitter.
Pamela Anderson chimed in on the social media feud. Siding with her son, she wrote,
"I pray Tommy gets the help he needs. His actions are desperate and humiliating.
He is a disaster spinning out of control and he is not acting like a father."
"They're both adults. Maybe Brandon more so."
Brandon Thomas Lee made his way into the reality television world when he appeared
on the reboot of the popular early 2000s reality show, The Hills: New Beginnings.
He saw the series as a way to establish himself as an individual. He told Interview Magazine,
"I've had a pretty crazy life, and I spent the majority of it hiding from the spotlight,
trying to be a normal kid. I used to resent all of this. But I've come to
a point in my life where I want to show people what I'm truly like."
"Know what? I think I'm ready to show kind of the world what I have going on and how hard I've been working and..."
His real passion is acting, so it may seem like an odd choice to come into the
spotlight via a reality show. But Brandon didn't see it as a problem. He told Elle,
"I think it's all in the work, you know? [...] It's a different era. A lot of
actors don't have this mystery around them anymore. [...] They share everything about
their lives on social media. How is The Hills any different? It's a big platform,
and I'm serious about building my platform as me, not my parents' kid."
He's been building up his acting resume over the past few years with roles in several films,
including Cosmic Sin, which is streaming on Netflix. He told W Magazine his career goal is,
quote, "to make art, to make people think, and to do great work with great people."
Unlike his brother, who caught the acting bug, Dylan Jagger Lee is
following in his father's footsteps and is actively pursuing a career in music.
He told W Magazine in 2017 that he was working to become a music producer and DJ, adding,
"That is my dream and I want it to become a reality. I work
everyday on my music and I hope that soon I can make it happen!"
Since then, he has formed two bands. In 2021, he parted ways with his first project, Midnight Kids
and shifted his focus to making music with Anton Khabbaz in their duo called Motel 7. His music can
be described as laid-back SoCal pop, a far cry from his dad's band, Mötley Crüe. In fact, he
didn't even clue Tommy Lee in on his music-making chops for a long time. In 2021, Dylan told WWD,
"He didn't even know I was in a band until four days ago. [...] I didn't
tell my parents or anything, I try to keep them as far out of it as possible."
Dylan plans to be making music in Motel 7 for a while. In a 2021 Q&A with Ones To Watch, he said,
"It just feels like we're forever growing and I feel like Motel 7
isn't going anywhere anytime soon, so people should just keep an eye out."
"My perfect day would probably be surf, model, music."
It's easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of partying, drugs,
and alcohol in Hollywood, especially when you're young and the son of celebrity parents.
Brandon Thomas Lee fell into this trap pretty quickly, telling News Corp Australia,
"It was really fun for a while then it goes from fun to, 'oh s---, what's happening?'"
It didn't take long for Brandon to realize that he wasn't happy with his life as a
full time partier and that alcohol was getting in the way of his ambitions.
He further explained to the Australian media outlet,
"I wasn't making the best decisions, I wanted to work so bad and all of these things were getting
in my head and stopping me from my goals. [...] And I'm such an ambitious person.
Usually, when anything gets in the way of my goals I just remove them from my life."
He decided to make a commitment to sobriety, and years later,
that decision has made him happier than ever. In 2019, he revealed to Interview Magazine,
"Being sober is the best thing that's ever happened to me. Three years ago, I was in one
of the darkest spots of my entire life. [...] Ever since I got sober, I just feel like everything's
gotten better for me. I've become a better actor. I've become a better worker. I've become a better
person. [...] My career has become so important to me that partying isn't worth it anymore."
"Acting is my number one priority in my life."
While Dylan Jagger Lee is an avid surfer, golf is Brandon Thomas Lee's hobby of choice.
So much so that he decided to turn his love of golf into a side business: a clothing line called
Swinger's Club. The line is a collaboration with Los Angeles brand Local Authority, a Malibu-based
company that has attracted quite a following among the rich and famous, according to WWD.
When Brandon Thomas launched the line, he wrote on Instagram,
"It's been a lot of hard work and even more fun to bring you Swingers Club x Local Authority.
I can't tell you what an honor it is to work with like minded people to bring a
product that I truly believe in to life. Golf is a huge part of my life and so is fashion.
Up until this point it's been a dream of mine to create a brand that reflects
my sense of style combined with a lifestyle I love and enjoy."
In November 2021, Brandon threw a launch party for the brand complete with mini golf, tequila,
and a celebrity guest list, People reported. The event briefly reunited his parents.
When it comes to Brandon Lee's romantic life, he has been linked to several other young Hollywood
luminaries. Brandon has previously dated actor Bella Thorne, Big Little Lies star Kathryn Newton,
model Daniella Beckerman and an influencer, Ashley Sky, who is featured on The Hills.
"And then Ashley shows up, and I'm all like, just giving her 100% of my attention."
By the time the reality show reboot aired, however, the couple had split,
and he wasn't thrilled about reliving their moments together. He told ET Canada,
"It's definitely hard to go through a relationship that is
actually great and then for things to happen,
and then to have to watch the good parts of a relationship that is over back is just weird."
As of February 2022, Brandon Thomas is dating Australian model and influencer,
Lily Easton. Of his dating life, he told Elle,
"One of the things I love about my mom is that she's a hopeless romantic.
I swear, I'm a hopeless romantic, too."
As for Dylan, he told W Magazine that their mother gave him this simple advice:
"Love will find you, rather than you searching for it."
His love life has been kept more private, but based on a bit of Instagram investigation,
he seems to be dating Paula Bruss, who according to her profile is an architectural designer.
On Dylan's birthday in late December 2021,
she posted on Instagram a collection of photos of him, captioned,
"My soulmate for all my lives to come. I love you. Happy birthday."
Not only are Brandon Thomas Lee and Dylan Jagger Lee brothers, but they're also close friends
and roommates. After all, when you've shared the unique exposure and bizarreness of having Pamela
Anderson and Tommy Lee as your parents, a bond is sure to form. Brandon told Town & Country,
"The relationship with my brother is really important to me. I'm the older
brother and I've always done everything first and made sure everything was ok."
In 2019, Interview Magazine revealed they shared a house. So what was it
like in their house? Well apparently, they disagreed on at least one thing:
cleanliness. Dylan Jagger said he was the clean one, and Brandon added,
"Dylan is always hassling me about not doing the dishes. He's f---ing crazy."
Despite being bros in every sense of the word, they do want to maintain separate
identities as opposed to being lumped together all the time. Dylan told Fashion Week Daily,
"We want to go our separate ways. [...] We want to
be known as Brandon and Dylan rather than 'the brothers.'"