Jeremy Allen White's Parents' Acting Careers Inspired Their Son's Success

So often, you hear stories of celebrities whose parents were nervous about the idea of their becoming actors. After all, it's a career without a lot of stability, and one that features far more failures than success stories. Occasionally, though, a major star has parents who understand the desire to perform, in part because they were once performers themselves.

That's exactly what happened for Jeremy Allen White, who was born to parents who were both former actors. Now that Jeremy's star is on the rise in a major way, many want to learn more about who his parents are and where he comes from.

Jeremy Allen White was born to Eloise Zeigler and Richard White. The two used to be actors, and they first met when Richard attended one of Eloise's plays on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Both of them were pursuing careers on Broadway when Jeremy was born, but Jeremy's dad also took a job recording depositions in order to pay the bills. Allen has said in interviews that there was always a passion for theater and the arts in his house growing up because of his parents' passions.

Jeremy eventually followed in his parents' footsteps and did theater in New York while he was still pretty young. He was raised in Brooklyn's Carroll Gardens, and he still lives in Brooklyn primarily to this day.

"I grew up in Brooklyn, we have family here. We try to come for the summers to see friends and family while here," he explained to Fault in 2022.

"I like those New York nights where the sun can go down but it’s still very hot," he continued. "Maybe I’ve over romanticized it a little bit, and it’s really miserable. But I like it here during the summer."

Jeremy has also said that his parents encouraged him to participate in physical activities when he was young. His favorite activity was dancing, but he also participated in soccer, lacrosse, and wrestling.

Though it's unclear where this information came from, the IMDb trivia page for the actor claims that Jeremy's "paternal grandmother was the daughter of Ukrainian immigrants. His other ancestry is mostly rooted in North Carolina, with English, German, Scottish, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, and distant Dutch descent."

Thanks to his culinary-school experience in preparation for The Bear, Jeremy has become pretty handy in the kitchen. Unfortunately, at least according to Jeremy, the same cannot be said of his parents.

"My parents are lovely, but they are not good in the kitchen," he said. "For me, the ultimate comfort was grilled cheese and tinned tomato soup. When I was sick, that was always a very comforting meal."

"I did Christmas Eve dinner, I did Christmas Day dinner for me and my family — all big meals," Jeremy told People of his cooking in 2022. "I love a Sunday roast. I love something really hearty, almost wintry comfort food. I'll do short ribs, roasted vegetables, some kind of potato. That's what I like to make and what I like to eat."