How did Jeremy Allen White, star of The Bear, become a Hollywood sex symbol?

By Nathan Merchadier.

Published on 10 January 2024. Updated on 25 June 2026.

Before becoming a Hollywood star, Jeremy Allen White, 35, grew up in a family immersed in the performing arts. His parents had both aspired to become actors, but were forced to change careers in order to support their family after the birth of their first child.

Passionate about sports and constantly pushing his limits, the young man quickly found his calling in dance. “If I could dance forever, that would be amazing,” he told Interview magazine in 2016. But it was ultimately the theatre that best captured his attention at the age of twelve… And we certainly aren’t complaining.

Jeremy Allen White’s debut in the film industry

Jeremy Allen White got his first major break when he was cast as Phillip “Lip” Gallagher in the hit series Shameless (2011–2021), a role he would inhabit for eleven years. Playing the brilliant eldest son of a struggling Irish Catholic family, whose battle with alcoholism becomes one of the show’s central storylines, proved to be an intense experience. “There was a point where I stopped feeling like an actor and started thinking that this was just what I did… It was psychologically difficult,” the actor told GQ in 2022.

The breakthrough of The Bear

Following his emotionally demanding turn in Shameless, Jeremy Allen White joined the cast of one of television’s biggest breakout hits in 2022. In the acclaimed culinary drama The Bear, the actor portrays a gifted chef forced to take over his family’s restaurant following his brother’s suicide.

This physically demanding role earned him one of the coveted trophies at the 81st Golden Globe Awards in 2024, among many other accolades.

Jeremy Allen White’s Calvin Klein campaign sets the internet ablaze

In January 2024, the New York-born actor set the internet alight with his Calvin Klein campaign. The collaboration was later expanded with a new series of images in August 2024. As a true love letter to his hometown, the rising Hollywood heartthrob appears at his most alluring, wearing nothing more than a pair of white boxer briefs against the soaring Manhattan skyline. Seen through the lens of photographer Mert Alas, he cemented his status as one of the year’s hottest actors.

Season 5 and final chapter of The Bear

On September 15th, 2024, at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, the New York-born actor added another accolade to his long list of achievements. His performance in the third season of The Bear (2024) earned him the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. The show itself also took home several major awards, including Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for Christopher Storer. With the release of season 4 in June 2025, Jeremy Allen White continued to deliver one remarkable performance after another.

A year later, audiences will no doubt bid an emotional farewell to the hot-headed, relentlessly driven chef Carmy Berzatto and to the rest of the kitchen crew. Coming out on Disney+ on June 26th, 2026, the fifth season is indeed the series’ final chapter, as actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who stars in this season, told Variety.

An actor drawn to challenges, from The Bear to Bruce Springsteen

In a very different role, Jeremy Allen White returned to the big screen as a member of the legendary Von Erich wrestling family in The Iron Claw (2024), alongside Zac Efron. In an interview with GQ, the American actor revealed that Efron had praised his performance. He also shared that he gained around 40 pounds of muscle to embody a professional wrestler.

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, a biopic about the charismatic Bruce Springsteen, is one of White’s latest thrilling projects. The film chronicles the making of Nebraska (1982), one of the American singer-songwriter’s most acclaimed albums, and saw the actor take up both singing and guitar for the role. Released on October 22nd, 2025, the film features Jeremy Allen White sporting blue jeans, a plaid shirt, leather jacket and boots — the quintessential look of the American icon he portrays on screen.

Jeremy Allen White, an unlikely star and sex symbol

The widespread acclaim and intense public fascination surrounding Jeremy Allen White in recent years have also led him to reflect on his unexpected status as a sex symbol. “I didn’t see it coming. It’s so weird — it was a huge surprise. It’s really not something we ever talked about in terms of the character. That being said, I do think chefs are sexy. I think being good at what you do is sexy,” the actor told the French media Brut.

His status as one of Hollywood’s most bankable leading men only grew stronger when fans learned of his romance with Spanish singer Rosalía, from whom he has since separated. Their low-key, yet captivating relationship only added to the actor’s growing aura.

Season 5 of The Bear, available on Disney+ on June 26th, 2026.