Bai was born in Huairou district, Beijing, and is of Manchu descent.[7] His family is of humble background.[8] At the early age, he started learning few musical instruments. He did his schooling from HongLuo Temple Middle School, where he would focus on music and sports, particularly basketball.[9] He joined piano classes and received 'Grade 10' proficiency certificate in 'Non Professional Artist Assessment' during national level competition.[10] He learnt to play guitar too.[11] He graduated from the Conservatory of Music at Capital Normal University (CNU), majoring in Recording Arts.[12] During the academic year, as an intern he would focus on his acting career.
Career
2014-2020: Beginnings
In 2014, Bai attended the Beijing Film Academy to improve his acting skills. After graduating he received minor roles in various series.[13] He made his debut in Back in Time series, an adaptation of the novel Cong Cong Na Nian by Jiu Yehui.[14] In 2015, he gained recognition for his performance as "Yu Chuyuan" in The Whirlwind Girl, a martial arts series based on novel by Ming Xiaoxi.[15]
In 2020, Bai debut as lead in the romance drama Irreplaceable Love.[20] He got his breakthrough when he played a young corporate intern in the critically acclaimed Chinese remake of South Korean series Misaeng, titled Ordinary Glory.[21][22] His series Target Person successfully scored 8.7 points in Douban and 9.3 the Zhihu.[23]
2021 onwards: rising popularity
In 2021, he starred in the sports drama Ping Pong as a table tennis player.[24] His popularity surged when he starred as "Xing Kelei" in the military romance drama You Are My Hero,[25] which ranked 1st and gained over 600M views on Tencent Video.[26]
In 2022, Bai starred in Reset as "Xiao Heyun", who is trapped in a time loop.[27] It exceeded 1.8B views on Tencent Video within a week,[28] trended on the Weibo search,[29] and earned him 1st rank in the "Character Index List" in drama category.[30] He starred in the historical series New Life Begins and Destined, both were internationally successful, and became fastest drama on IQIYI to reach the 10,000 popularity mark.[31] In 2024, his period drama Always On The Move, where he plays a railway police officer, broke prime time record, making it the most watched drama with 29.8 percent viewership on IQIYI.[32] He became only male actors to twice accomplish the fastest temperature milestone of 10,000 on IQIYI in recent years.[33] His upcoming series is The First Frost, an adaptation of the romantic novel by Zhu Yi.[34]
Bai wanted an independent development direction, hence not accepted talent agencies offers.[40] He chose to set up his own studio and gain a foothold in the entertainment industry. In 2017, he established his own agency named "Beijing Leben Film & Television Culture Media Co. Ltd", which involved in the production of many TV series.[41][42] In 2021, Bai along with designer Shangguan Zhe launched a joint merchandise 'GoodBai', and shoes ZE by Sankuanz.[43][44] On 5 January 2022, "Zhetinghao (Shanghai) Brand Management Co. Ltd" was established. In Shanghai, he opened his first café named 'GoodBai Café', following the successful launch of his merchandise brand.[45] In 2022, his clothing brand 'Goodbai' made debut in the list of "Top 10 Fashion Brand that Appeal Most to Chinese Consumer".[46]
In 2023, Bai attended Louis Vuitton’s SS22 Shanghai Spin-Off Shown as Asian Celebrity in Paris.[51][52] In August 2024, his merchandise brand 'GoodBai' collaborated with Levi's heritage, to produce the customized collections to popularise the product through experiential marketing.[53] In December 2024, he was announced as new brand ambassador for Salomon Group, a French sports brand.[54]
By December 2024, he has over 3.2M in Instagram and over 36M in Weibo.[59] He was ranked 2nd in “Top 5 Gen Z Celebrities”,[60] ranked 4th in “Top 5 Actors in Acting Skills”,[61] 11th in “Top 20 Rising Chinese Actors” and 6th in “Top 10 Celebrity Weibo Hot Searches”.[62] In 2024, he was ranked 18th in “20 Most Handsome Chinese Actors” and in "Most Famous and Popular Chinese Actor".[63][64] He is ranked 1st in 'Top 5 Asia Fashion IP and Influencers' and 2nd in 'Most Engaging Celebrity' on Douyin for the brand endorsements.[65]
^Chen, Shaojie (October 27, 2020). "《你是我的城池营垒》曝海报 马思纯白敬亭勾指相约" [You Are My City Camp” Poster Ma Si Chun Bai Jing Ting Hook Fingers to Meet]. Netease (in Chinese). Archived from the original on June 17, 2024. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
^"zh:《八零90》公布项目启动 行业破荒之作聚焦老年生活" [Eighty90 Announces Project Launch Industry-Breaking Work Focuses on Older Adults]. people.cn (in Chinese). December 17, 2018. Archived from the original on May 30, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
^Xu, Meilin (November 6, 2020). "zh:《我们的新时代》开机,谭松韵、白敬亭出演《因为有家》单元" ['Our New Era' opens with Tan Song Yun, Bai Jing Ting in 'Because of Family' unit]. The Beijing News (in Chinese). Archived from the original on June 17, 2024. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
^Zhang, He; Wu, Longzheng (June 5, 2021). "正午阳光新剧《开端》开机,白敬亭、赵今麦陷入时间循环" [Noon Sunshine's New Drama "The Beginning" Starts with Bai Jingting and Zhao Jinmai Stuck in a Time Loop]. The Beijing News (in Chinese). Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
^"白敬亭、田曦薇新剧《卿卿日常》11月10日开播" (in Chinese). The Beijing News. November 8, 2022. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
^Liu, Wei (February 21, 2024). "白敬亭、宋轶主演《长风渡》今晚登陆江苏卫视" [Bai Jingting and Song Yi star in "Chang Feng Du". It premieres tonight on Jiangsu TV.]. The Beijing News. Archived from the original on March 14, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
^Zhong, Jingwen (October 16, 2023). "电视剧《我的助理不简单》开播 王子文邓婕共赴反卷躺不平职场" [TV series "my assistant is not simple" opened Prince Wen Dengjie went to the anti-roll lying uneven workplace]. China Daily (in Chinese). Archived from the original on June 17, 2024. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
^Li, Jie (March 24, 2024). "网红IP《难哄》正式官宣:白敬亭、章若楠主演" [en:Internet-famous IP "Hard to Coax" Officially Announced: Starring Bai Jingting and Zhang Ruonan] (in Chinese). 红星新闻. Archived from the original on April 9, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024 – via Sina Corporation.