Who Are Nat and Alex Wolff’s Parents? Inside the Family Behind ‘The Naked Brothers Band’

Before they became adult musicians, actors, and indie-pop brothers with a new album out, Nat and Alex Wolff were just two little kids making noise around the house and calling themselves The Naked Brothers Band.

Nat, born Nathaniel Marvin Wolff in 1994, and Alex, born Alexander Draper Wolff in 1997, first gained popularity through Nickelodeon’s The Naked Brothers Band. The movie debuted in 2005 before Nickelodeon turned it into a series that aired from 2007 to 2009. Their mother, Polly Draper, created the project, while their father, Michael Wolff, helped shape the music behind it.

Nat and Alex Wolff’s parents are actor, writer, producer, and director Polly Draper and jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader Michael Wolff. Their parents did not just support their careers from the sidelines; they helped build them.

According to IMDb, Polly is best known for starring in ABC’s Thirtysomething, but she also wrote and directed The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie. She later created the Nickelodeon series, served as head writer and showrunner, and helped turn her sons’ real childhood band experience into a hit TV concept. Polly once told The New York Times that The Naked Brothers Band had “a lot of irreverence and a lot of reality.”

Michael is an accomplished jazz musician who served as bandleader and musical director on The Arsenio Hall Show from 1989 to 1994. According to NYU Steinhardt, he has performed with and conducted more than 25 symphony orchestras worldwide and released more than a dozen recordings. He also worked as co-executive producer and music supervisor on The Naked Brothers Band and appeared on the show alongside Nat and Alex.

The name The Naked Brothers Band came from a childhood moment that the family took full advantage of. According to People, Nat and Alex were young when they climbed out of the bathtub and announced, “We’re the Naked Brothers Band.” Polly later used that spark for the movie and series.

Since then, the boys have not slowed down. Nat and Alex released their self-titled album, "Nat & Alex Wolff," on Jan. 16. The album includes tracks like “Tough,” “If You Never Left Me,” “Soft Kissing Hour,” “Backup Plan,” “Horse,” “Candy Speak,” and “Midnight Song.” Billie Eilish also sings on and produced “Soft Kissing Hour,” which came together during an impromptu home recording session with one microphone and a guitar. Rozzi Crane also appears on “If You Never Left Me.”

Nat told People the album reflects their adult perspective on their unusual childhood. “We are adults now, and we’ve come to a point where we’re able to look back at our childhood and our teenagehood and look back at all the lucky, beautiful moments, and all the pain and the trauma and the strangeness of what our childhood was,” Nat said.