LOVE FAME & WHAT I'VE LEARNED

How the Emmy-winning heartthrob got a second chance after enduring a devastating divorce and custody fight

The Bear's Jeremy Allen White

The last few years have been a roller coaster for Jeremy Allen White. The actor spent a decade doing underrated if excellent work on the lauded Showtime series Shameless until 2021. Then, in 2022, his popularity skyrocketed when he made his debut as The Bear's troubled tattooed chef Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto a character critics have branded "TV's greatest emotional villain" and the "next great sympathetic anti-hero." With every episode, shirtless jogging photo and Calvin Klein underwear ad that has emerged since, thirsty fans have lusted after the charismatic star of the FX on Hulu show, which on July 17 set a new record with 23 Emmy nods, the most ever by a comedy series for a sophomore season.

During the wild ride, Jeremy has learned a lot about fame and what's important. "If you don't have a foundation outside of your career," he said last year, "that can be a lonely existence." Nearly two years ago, his foundation crumbled. In September 2022, Jeremy and his wife of three years, Californication actress Addison Timwith whom he lin, 33 shares daughters Ezer, 5, and Dolores, 3 - secretly separated. She filed for divorce eight months later.