Emmy Rossum is an American actress, television director, and singer-songwriter. She is known for her portrayal of Fiona Gallagher in the television series Shameless.

In 2007, Rossum released her debut album, Inside Out. She also released a Christmas EP the same year, titled Carol of the Bells. In 2013, she released a follow-up album called Sentimental Journey.

Rossum made her first TV appearance at age 11 as Abigail Williams on the longtime running daytime soap, “As the World Turns” and went on to make guest appearances on the highly-acclaimed dramas “Law and Order,” and “The Practice.” It was not long before big screen Hollywood came knocking. Rossum ventured into less conventional roles with her film debut as an Appalachian orphan in the 2000 indie feature, “Songcatcher.” The movie won the Special Grand Jury Prize for Outstanding Ensemble Performance at the Sundance Film Festival and her performance earned the youngster an Independent Spirit Award nomination in the category of Best Debut Performance. But her mainstream break came when she scored the supporting role of Sean Penn’s murdered daughter in the 2003 critically acclaimed “Mystic River.” Rossum segued easily from the Clint Eastwood-directed character piece to the special effects-laden, adrenaline-infused film, “The Day After Tomorrow.” In the apocalyptic hit, Rossum played Jake Gyllenhaal’s love interest, with both portraying young students trapped in NYC amidst disastrous global warming.

Rossum had garnered enough praise as the “next big thing,” that filmmaker Joel Schumacher and others involved could not help but take notice when casting his dream project – the highly anticipated film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera.” The stage musical’s creator, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, personally selected Rossum, who was only 16 at the time, to star as the beautiful opera singer who becomes the object of the Phantom’s obsession. At 18, she received her first Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical or Comedy for the film, along with the National Board of Review’s award for Best Female Breakthrough Performance of 2004 and the Broadcast Film Critics’ Association Award for Best Young Actress of 2004.

After the “Phantom” media blitz subsided, Rossum returned to the big budget blockbuster, appearing with an all-star cast in Wolfgang Petersen’s summer flick, “Poseidon.” At the same time, Rossum began recording an album of pop music for Geffen Records called Inside Out, which peaked at No. 199 on the Billboard 200.

Rossum then landed a series regular role on the critically acclaimed hit “Shameless,” playing the eldest daughter of a hopeless, but nonetheless harmless alcoholic (William H. Macy) who is forced to take on running the household – which includes taking care of her five younger siblings – while working a number of go-nowhere jobs.

In 2016, Rossum famously went head-to-head with the show’s producers over her salary, which forced the network, Showtime, to delay renewal of the eighth season. Rossum was the show’s female lead, but was paid less than her male counterpart, William H. Macy. In 2018, Rossum announced she was leaving the show, and since has become a strong equal pay advocate.

She is also very active in raising awareness for Youth AIDS, breast cancer, LGBT rights and the National Resources Defense Council.