Emmy Rossum

Emmanuelle Grey Rossum Esmail is an American actress and singer born on September 12, 1986, in New York City. She is best known for portraying Christine Daaé in the 2004 film adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera and for starring as Fiona Gallagher in the television drama series Shameless from 2011 to 2019. Over the course of her career, she has earned a Critics' Choice Award and a Saturn Award, as well as nominations for a Golden Globe Award and an Independent Spirit Award.

Rossum was raised in New York City by her mother, Cheryl Rossum, a single mother who worked as a corporate photographer. At seven years old, she joined the Metropolitan Opera Children's Chorus, performing in six languages across twenty operas over five years alongside singers such as Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti. She attended the Spence School before receiving her high school diploma at age fifteen through Stanford University's online extension program. She later enrolled at Columbia University, where she studied French, art history, and philosophy.

After making her television debut in 1997 on As the World Turns, Rossum made her feature film debut in the 2000 drama Songcatcher, earning an Independent Spirit Award nomination. She subsequently appeared in films such as Nola and Clint Eastwood's Mystic River in 2003. Rossum achieved wider recognition in 2004 with roles in the sci-fi disaster film The Day After Tomorrow and The Phantom of the Opera. Her performance as Christine Daaé earned her critical acclaim along with a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.

Following her breakthrough, Rossum appeared in the disaster film Poseidon in 2006 and made her stage debut as Juliet in a production of Romeo and Juliet that same year. Her subsequent film credits include Dragonball Evolution, Dare, Inside, Beautiful Creatures, Comet, You're Not You, Before I Disappear, and Cold Pursuit. In addition to her screen appearances, she has performed in Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including the 2024 staging of the play Walden.

On television, Rossum achieved widespread acclaim for playing Fiona Gallagher in Shameless across nine seasons, during which she also made her directorial debut. She later produced and starred in the 2022 limited series Angelyne, appeared in The Crowded Room, and took on a starring and executive producing role in the crime series Furious. Parallel to acting, Rossum released her debut pop album Inside Out in 2007, followed by the EP Carol of the Bells and her 2013 jazz-chart-topping album of covers, Sentimental Journey.

Rossum has also participated in various charitable initiatives, serving as a YouthAIDS ambassador, a spokesperson for breast cancer awareness, and a campaigner for environmental causes and animal adoption. She married writer and director Sam Esmail in May 2017, and the couple has two children.