American actress, singer-songwriter, and filmmaker Emmy Rossum began her career at age 7 after passing an audition at the Metropolitan Opera. Since then, Rossum has transitioned to acting and filmmaking. The actress was born Emmanuelle Grey Rossum in New York City on September 12, 1986.
Emmy Rossum made her acting debut in 1997, with her earliest roles including originating the Abigail Williams character on CBS’s As the World Turns. She also appeared in an episode of Law & Order in 1997 and portrayed a young Audrey Hepburn in the 2000 TV movie The Audrey Hepburn Story. 2000 also became the year she made her feature debut. With an acting career of over 25 years, these have been Emmy Rossum’s most notable roles in movies and TV shows.
Mystic River
Although Emmy Rossum’s feature debut was in 2000, her first major studio movie is Clint Eastwood’s 2003 Mystic River. The movie was based on Dennis Lehane’s 2001 novel of the same name. Emmy Rossum was cast as Katherine “Katie” Markum, the daughter of Sean Penn’s character, James “Jimmy” Markum.
Although Rossum’s character dies in the movie, her death is the basis of the film’s plot. Mystic River also starred Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, and Laurence Fishburne. The neo-noir crime thriller was a critical and commercial success, grossing $156.6 million from a $25–30 million budget. Mystic River received six nominations at the 76th Academy Awards.
Watch Mystic River on Apple TV+
The Day After Tomorrow
Unarguably, the Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal-led movie The Day After Tomorrow was Emmy Rossum’s career’s breakthrough role. Rossum, who was 17 when the movie was released, was cast as Laura Chapman. Rossum’s character is introduced as Sam Hall’s (Jake Gyllenhaal) friend, academic decathlon teammate, and love interest. With Box Office earnings of $552.6 million from a $125 million production budget, The Day After Tomorrow was the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2004.
Watch The Day After Tomorrow on Apple TV+
The Phantom of the Opera
2004 was a turning point in Emmy Rossum’s career. Despite almost missing the audition, Rossum beat other notable actresses to land the role of Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera. The movie was directed by Joel Schumacher and was an adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s 1986 musical of the same name.
Emmy Rossum delivered a masterful performance as Christine Daaé, co-starring alongside Gerard Butler, Patrick Wilson, Miranda Richardson, Minnie Driver, and Ciarán Hinds. Although The Phantom of the Opera received mixed reviews, it performed moderately at the Box Office. It also received three nominations at the 77th Academy Awards.
Watch The Phantom of the Opera on Apple TV+
Shameless
In the mid to late 2000s, Emmy Rossum also starred in a supporting role as Kurt Russell’s character’s daughter, Jennifer Ramsey, in Wolfgang Petersen’s action disaster movie Poseidon. She also played a lead role in the critically panned and poorly received 2009 superhero movie Dragonball Evolution.
However, she shone brightly at the start of the 2010s with Showtime’s comedy-drama series Shameless. In the series, Rossum played the eldest Gallagher sibling, Fiona Gallagher. Joining the show in season 1, Emmy Rossum was one of its main cast, alongside William H. Macy and Jeremy Allen White. Rossum starred in Shameless from seasons 1 to 9, appearing in 110 episodes.
Angelyne
Emmy Rossum played an evil caster and Lena Duchannes’ (Alice Englert) cousin, Ridley Duchannes, in the 2013 commercial flop Beautiful Creatures. The next year, she co-led the 2014 drama You’re Not You, starring Hilary Swank and Josh Duhamel. Since the start of the 2020s, Emmy Rossum has focused on television, with her last movie project in 2019. Rossum led the cast of the Peacock’s 2022 drama miniseries Angelyne. The actress portrayed the eponymous character Angelyne, with the miniseries centered around uncovering the true identity of the famous 1980s American singer, actress, media personality, and model. The 5-episode Angelyne miniseries released on May 19, 2022, was a critical success.
The Crowded Room
With fewer roles in the past years, Emmy Rossum’s last screen project was in 2023. Rossum was cast as one of the main cast of Apple TV+’s psychological thriller miniseries The Crowded Room. The miniseries aired from June 9 to July 28, 2023, and received generally negative reviews. However, it makes the list as Rossum’s last screen credit. The Crowded Room featured a star-studded cast, including Tom Holland, Amanda Seyfried, Sasha Lane, and Will Chase. Interestingly, the then-36-year-old Emmy Rossum plays Tom Holland’s mother in The Crowded Room. While audiences anticipate Emmy Rossum’s next project, actress Ella Purnell has also had an impressive career in movies and TV shows.
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