Who are Jeremy Allen White’s parents? He thanked them in Emmys acceptance speech

Just one week after Jeremy Allen White won a Golden Globe for best actor in a television series, he nabbed an Emmy for his work in "The Bear." During his speech, White thanked his parents for helping him get to where he is, and pointed directly at his father.

White has said that acting as a profession was something he was always cognizant of — largely because of his parents.

Both of White's parents did theater in New York, according to a November 2023 GQ UK profile of the actor. Growing up in Brooklyn, White trained as a dancer and was a certified "theater nerd" before he "stumbled" into an acting class.

Here's everything to know about White's parents, Eloise Zeigler and Richard White.

Eloise Zeigler

Zeigler — like her famous son — was an actor. In fact, she met her future husband after he attended one of her plays, according to GQ.

She attended the Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts and received her BFA in 1977, according to a alumni call board website.

White shared a rare picture of his mom to Instagram on Mother's Day in 2017.

"Still a mess sometimes, thank you for loving me the whole way through-Happy Mother’s Day," he captioned a baby picture of himself.

White also brought his mother as his date to the SAG Awards in February 2023, where he won outstanding performance by a male actor in a comedy series for "The Bear." The duo posed on the red carpet, White in a sleek tux and his mom in a navy dress.

But Zeigler was nervous going to the event, White later revealed to GQ, specifically because of one actor: Cate Blanchett.

“You’re not going to meet Cate Blanchett!" he told her.

Only they did, leading Zeigler to cry "real tears," White told the outlet, recalling that the "Tar" actor told his mom she was a fan of White's.

Blanchett also credited Zeigler for introducing her to White, telling GQ, "one can tell so much by meeting an actor’s family."

Richard White

Like White's mom, Richard White also acted in his 20s and 30s, trying to make it on Broadway. But when they welcomed their son, the new father opened a business filming depositions to support a family, according to a July 2022 GQ profile of "The Bear" actor.

White has said that he got his own start when he was 12 years old, after he “stumbled into an acting class,” he told Fault magazine in September 2022.

After his parents threw him into “anything physical,” he said he found he was able to focus his excesses of energy through performance.

“Acting was something I was always aware of, it was something both my parents did, when they were in their 20s and 30s. They met in NY doing theater, there was always a passion for theater, film, and the art of acting in our household growing up,” he said.

White also always keeps his dad close through a special piece of jewelry.

White revealed that a ring he wears was originally intended as a gift for his father. The silver ring, engraved with a "W" on it," unfortunately didn't fit, the actor told GQ for a "10 Things Jeremy Allen White Can’t Live Without" video last year.

"He's got really big fingers," White said. "So it became mine."

White also honors his father and his upbringing through a gold necklace he wears of a subway token.

"My father had a big jar of these growing up in our apartment, and now everybody in the family has one. My sister wears one around my neck, my mother, my wife does, she's also from New York. My dad has one."

The video was published in 2022, before White's split from his wife of three years, Addison Timlin.

Zeigler and Richard White are grandparents to the ex-couple's two daughters, Ezer and Dolores, who are both younger than 5 years old.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com