Is Jeremy Allen White Dating His The Bear Costar Molly Gordon? All About the Actress and Their Rumored Connection

Gordon was born on Dec. 6, 1994, and grew up in L.A. Her parents, Bryan Gordon and Jessie Nelson, are both directors in Hollywood. Nelson is also a writer and has worked on scripts for I Am Sam and Because I Said So, as well as the Broadway adaptation of the musical Waitress, while Bryan has directed episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Growing up surrounded by the arts, Gordon has often said that she never considered a career in anything else.

“I’ve always been like a little, annoying Shirley Temple — always moving and dancing around and wanting to make up stories,” she told Vogue in September 2023. “And I think because I’m an only child, my parents would bring me to dinner parties and I would always have a seat at the table.”

Gordon grew up with Ben Platt and Beanie Feldstein

Gordon and actor and singer Ben Platt are now inseparable, and that friendship started when they were both toddlers in community theater. They even had a failed relationship when they were kids.

“She definitely had a crush on me, she will admit,” he told Rolling Stone in July 2023. “And I thought I did too. Because when you’re a young gay kid, and you’re obsessed with your girl best friend, you’re like, ‘This must be what it means when you like someone.’ But ultimately, I was very gay.”

The two went on to work together on 2023’s Theater Camp, which was inspired by their shared experiences in similar environments.

At the same time, Gordon also was best friends with Beanie Feldstein, her Booksmart costar, growing up. Her, Feldstein, Platt and eventually Platt’s husband, actor Noah Galvin, formed their own unofficial Jewish-theater-kid group, she told Vulture in March 2021.

When they were teenagers, Gordon, Feldstein and Platt had a different group they called Theater Geeks of America and would perform for retirement communities. As they got older, their performances turned more professional as they collaborated on short films and web series together, adding Galvin into the mix.

She got her big break in Booksmart

After graduating high school, the Shiva Baby actress moved to New York to attend New York University but promptly dropped out after two weeks, instead choosing to take classes and waitress while she got her footing in the industry.

She landed her first big role on TNT’s Animal Kingdom after nearly a year of auditioning and quickly followed that in 2018’s Life of the Party, playing Melissa McCarthy’s daughter. However, her big break came in 2019 when she worked on two big-budget films: Booksmart and Good Boys.

In the former, she plays the high-achieving, sexually-confident Triple A — a role she felt she had nothing in common with. But Feldstein, who leads the movie, encouraged her to audition.

“The girls that they cast in those kinds of parts, I don’t look like at all. So I was like, ‘This doesn’t make any sense, but I want to be in this, in any shape or form,’ ” Gordon told Vulture. “I think that’s probably what ended up being good about it — she’s not played by a model who’s like, ‘I’m the hot girl.’ It’s played by me, with my saggy breasts.”

After that, roles began lining up quickly, as she made some guest appearances on The Bear creator Christopher Storer’s Ramy and Emma Seligman’s Shiva Baby.

She met White when she joined season 2 of The Bear

After working with Storer on Ramy, Gordon told the director that she desperately wanted to work with him again. Despite his assurance that they would, the actress had her doubts. “People always say that, and they never actually call you,” she told Harper’s Bazaar in July 2023.

However, her moment came when Storer approached her for the role of Claire, Carmy’s longtime childhood friend, whom he suddenly sees in a new light when she takes an interest in dating him.

“I texted him how incredible the show was, and I said I would die to be a part of it,” Gordon told the outlet. “I would play a napkin, I would play a cup, whatever. And he, I guess, had thought of me for this role.”

After Storer reached out, Gordon said she was thrilled to be a part of the show — and to play opposite of White.

“I didn’t even know what the character was or like anything about it, so learning that I was going to work opposite Jeremy was like, Jesus Christ,” she said.

She’s called White a “genuine, good” person

As much as White has lauded her performance, Gordon has also been vocal about her own appreciation of White as a costar and as a person. When she joined the set, Gordon already had a close relationship with Ayo Edebiri, who plays Sydney, Carmy’s co-owner, but she was intimidated at first to work with the Emmy Award-winning actor.

“Jeremy is such an open and such a kind and curious actor, he brought me into the fold in such a great way because I was definitely nervous to be a part of something that already had this crew,” she shared in a June 2024 interview with Awards Radar.

Above his commitment to his character, she added, he is also a “good person.”

“He’s such a genuinely good person,” she said. “He’s an actor that asks questions, which is unheard of. I think we are kind of opposites, in this way, and it was an opposites attract moment.”

They were spotted kissing in September 2024

Ten days after White took home the award for outstanding actor in a comedy series for his work on The Bear at the 2024 Emmy Awards, he was seen kissing Gordon during an outing in L.A. The costars had their arms wrapped around each other as they embraced and locked lips.

While some fans initially speculated that the two were shooting a scene for The Bear, TMZ reported that no cameras were filming during their outing. Though the pair seemed to be taking their on-screen romance into real life, it’s unclear how serious their relationship is at the moment as neither have commented on their PDA-filled outing.

However, a source told PEOPLE shortly after the spotting that the two had been exploring their romance for a few weeks.

“There were set rumors early on that they had intense chemistry even when not filming,” the source said. “They didn’t start hanging out romantically until a few weeks ago though.”

They added, “She spends time at his house. They go on lunch dates and seem to have a great time. They’re affectionate, often in deep conversations and seem curious to get to know each other better.”

The source also shared that though Gordon primarily resides in N.Y., she has been “spending a lot of time in L.A.,” where White lives when he’s “not working,” since his two daughters live there.

Just weeks later, White and Gordon were spotted out together again in New York City. They were photographed at restaurant Via Carota on Oct. 25, both dressed casually for the evening.