Fact Check: The Internet Seems Convinced Jeremy Allen White and Gene Wilder Are Related

Claim:

Actors Jeremy Allen White and Gene Wilder are blood relatives.

Rating:

In 2023 eagle-eyed internet users found that the stars of "The Bear" and "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" shared a startling resemblance. TikTok videos and Reddit posts comparing the remarkably similar appearances of actors Jeremy Allen White and Gene Wilder, the latter of whom died in 2016, went viral. The posts also alleged a familial connection between the two.

Online ads spread the rumor with photos of the two actors and clickbait headlines such as, "[Photos] These Grandchildren Look Exactly Like Their Celebrity Grandparents," or the claim that Wilder was White's father.

(Screenshot via People.com)

There was no evidence to confirm a consanguineous connection between Wilder and White. We reached out to Wilder's nephew, filmmaker Jordan Walker-Pearlman, through his production company (Harlem, Hollywood), as well as representatives for White via his talent agency, to pose the question.

Walker-Pearlman, through a spokesperson for his production company, confirmed that Wilder and White were not related. As such we have updated our rating to False.

The spokesperson told us, "Jordan can confirm with you that as much as he admires the talent of Jeremy Allen White and believes Gene would have as well, and clearly sees the family resemblances, they are in fact not related."

Wilder— whose real name was Jerome Silberman — was known for his portrayal of Willy Wonka in the 1971 movie, "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," as well as roles in "Young Frankenstein" and "Blazing Saddles." While he adopted a stepdaughter during his second marriage in 1967, he died without any biological children, according to The Guardian and his IMDb profile. He was reportedly estranged from his stepdaughter later in life, according to The Guardian.

In a 2002 interview with Larry King, he discussed her: "I had a daughter and lost her a long while ago. That's too sad a story to go into." He added that he "lost" her when she was 22 or 23 years old.

However, Wilder has at least one nephew, Walker-Pearlman. When Wilder died in 2016, Walker-Pearlman announced the news in a statement for the public. In an interview with NPR around that time, Walker-Pearlman mentioned other relatives, a cousin and aunt of his, who were also in the company of Wilder when he died.

It is unknown, at present, whether Pearlman has biological children of his own, though there's no indication of a link between him and White.

White, a Brooklyn native, is known for his roles on television shows "Shameless" and "The Bear." He was born in 1991, and his mother, Eloise Zeigler, is of Ukrainian descent, according to his IMDb page.

Meanwhile, according to the New York Times and IMDb, Wilder's father was a Jewish immigrant from Russia, and his mother was reportedly of Russian descent.

In other words, not only is there no evidence of a familial connection between the two actors, Wilder and White seemingly do not share the same ancestry.

White is aware of the comparisons, though. In an August 2022 video interview with InStyle magazine, he mentioned the rumor — saying he agrees, "I look a lot like Gene Wilder" — though he did not outright deny or confirm its legitimacy. He said:

In a December 2023 interview with Seth Meyers, White also said. "I know that that's not my grandfather" when Meyers shared the same clickbait article with him.

There is no proof of a familial connection between the two actors — regardless of whether that hypothetical link was through marriage or blood. Wilder also had no biological children, and White, when publicly referencing the rumor, denied its legitimacy. Given that Wilder's nephew has also refuted the rumor, we rate this as "False."

Sources:

"Alum Call Board: January 2021." VCUarts, 13 Jan. 2021, https://arts.vcu.edu/community/news/alum-call-board-january-2021/. Accessed 2 Oct. 2023.

Evon, Dan. "Is Morgan Freeman Really Jimi Hendrix?" Snopes, 26 Sept. 2019, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/morgan-freeman-jimi-hendrix/. Accessed 2 Oct. 2023.

"Family: Wilder Passed to 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow.'" USA TODAY, https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2016/08/29/gene-wilder-death-statement/89556566/. Accessed 2 Oct. 2023.

"Gene Wilder | Actor, Writer, Director." IMDb, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000698/. Accessed 2 Oct. 2023.

"Gene Wilder Death: Star of Willy Wonka Dies Aged 83." BBC News, 1 Sept. 2016. www.bbc.com, https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-37248049. Accessed 2 Oct. 2023.

"Gene Wilder's Nephew Remembers Late Actor Who Starred In 'Willy Wonka.'" NPR, 29 Aug. 2016. NPR, https://www.npr.org/2016/08/29/491856240/gene-wilders-nephew-remembers-late-actor-who-starred-in-willy-wonka. Accessed 2 Oct. 2023.

"Interview With Gene Wilder." CNN.Com, May 2, 2002. https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/lkl/date/2002-05-02/segment/00. Accessed 2 Oct. 2023.

"Jeremy Allen White | Actor, Writer, Producer." IMDb, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2087739/. Accessed 2 Oct. 2023.

Jeremy Allen White on The Bear’s Crazy Christmas Episode, Going Out to Eat & Doing Wrestling Stunts. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVJx2q9j_6E. Accessed 22 Dec. 2023.

Lewis, Daniel. "Gene Wilder Dies at 83; Star of 'Willy Wonka' and 'Young Frankenstein.'" The New York Times, 29 Aug. 2016. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/30/movies/gene-wilder-dead.html. Accessed 2 Oct. 2023.

Sidahmed, Mazin. "Gene Wilder, Star of Willy Wonka and Mel Brooks Comedies, Dies Aged 83." The Guardian, 30 Aug. 2016. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/29/gene-wilder-death-willy-wonka-mel-brooks-comedy. Accessed 2 Oct. 2023.

"'The Bear's' Jeremy Allen White Has a Crush on Carmy, Too." GQ, 11 July 2022, https://www.gq.com/story/jeremy-allen-white-the-bear-profile. Accessed 2 Oct. 2023.