Reba McEntire's Grown Up Son Shares Her Most Notable Trait
There are plenty of celebrities whose kids are totally their clones, and then there are celebrities with kids who look absolutely nothing like them. Reba McEntire's son, Shelby Blackstock, mostly falls into the latter category, but he did inherit his mom's most notable trait. Blackstock has red in his beard, something he clearly got from his mother's side, since she's known for her fiery red locks (McEntire would look so different without her signature red hair!).
In a precious carousel of photos that Blackstock posted on Instagram for Mother's Day in 2025, his red beard was clearly on display. While the country star's hair was hidden underneath both a bandana and a hat in the first snapshot, her son's red coloring worked nicely for both of them. "Happy Mother's Day to the best there is. Your love, strength, and wisdom shaped me—and I'm forever thankful. Love you always," Blackstock gushed in the caption.
McEntire has a wonderful relationship with her son, who is her only biological child, while she also has five stepchildren from her two marriages. McEntire's relationship with Shelby's dad, Narvel Blackstock, may have been doomed from the start, but they have been buddies since Day One. Naturally, Instagram fans loved the Mother's Day message. "Aww. That's so sweet. For those of us who have been fans for over 30 years, her strength & wisdom helped a lot of us navigate through our lives," one commented. "[You] have the best mom," another added. "And your mamma raised [you] right."
Shelby Blackstock's hair isn't actually red
Interestingly, Shelby Blackstock didn't have red hair as a kid. In a throwback video Reba McEntire posted to Instagram in honor of her son's birthday, Shelby's hair was clearly brown. A light brown, close to reddish-brown, but brown nonetheless. Hilariously, their hair started to match more as the years went by. When Blackstock was little, he had curly locks, just like his mom. Now that he's an adult, he has more straight, no-nonsense hair, also like the Grammy winner. But while Blackstock's hair has never been red, the same can't be said for his beard.
During the Variety Power of Women Nashville event in May 2025, he was photographed on the red carpet alongside his famous mom, wife Marissa, and actor Rex Linn — who is currently dating McEntire. Blackstock's hair looked as dark as the backdrop behind him, but his beard was noticeably much lighter, again matching his mother's striking hair color.
The reason Blackstock's hair and beard hues don't match is likely due to the MC1R gene, which is a big deciding factor when it comes to whether someone has red hair or a red beard. If that gene mutates or has a type of variation, this creates more pheomelanin, which is a type of melanin pigment that can then lead to hair and/or beards with red hues.