Emmy Rossum
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
"My character is needy, sexy, and totally manipulated," says Rossum. "And, oh! I get to kiss Gerry Butler and Patrick Wilson!"---Rossum on playing the female lead in "Phantom of the Opera" Interview September 2003
"We were doing this scene in the morgue, and I'm lying on the table, my eyes closed, and the energy that was coming out of Sean was so powerful I started to cry. And Clint Eastwood says, 'Cut! Emmy, that was great, but you can't cry. You're dead.'"---Rossum on working with Sean Penn in "Mystic River Vanity Fair June 2004
Biography
Having starred in a number of operas and blockbuster films - all by the age of 18 - singer and actress Emmy Rossum emerged as a notable young talent capable of delivering quality performances on both the stage and the screen. Rossum's Hollywood career began by originating the role of Abigail Williams on the long-running daytime soap opera "As the World Turns" (CBS, 1956-2010) before making her film debut in "It Had to be You" (2000). Her breakthrough role came with the independently made drama "Songcatcher" (2000), which helped open the doors to a leading performance in the romantic comedy "Nola" (2003). She next portrayed the doomed daughter of a blue-collar father in "Mystic River" (2003), before putting her lungs to the test as the young soprano Christine Daaé in director Joel Schumacher's much-hyped adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera" (2004). Following a supporting role in the underwhelming disaster movie remake "Poseidon" (2006) and her failed pop album, "Inside Out" (2007), Rossum returned to prominence with a well-received role as the overwhelmed daughter of a genial alcoholic in the critically lauded series "Shameless" (Showtime, 2011- ), which recalled the promise she displayed earlier in her young career.
Born Sept. 12, 1986 in New York City, Rossum was raised by her banker father and her corporate photographer mother. Rossum developed a passion for music at the tender age of seven when she was chosen to join the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center as part of the Children's Chorus. It was here that she collaborated with the likes of such musical talents as Dimitri Hvorostovsky and Denyce Graves and made her singing debut in Tschaikovsky's 1995 production of "Queen of Spades." Rossum went on to appear in 20 different operas, including Tim Albery's production of Benjamin Britten's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and had the chance to perform at Carnegie Hall in 1997 in a presentation of Berlioz's "La Damnation de Faust." Trained in stagecraft and classical vocal technique, Rossum developed a keen sense for language and dialect while at the Met, which helped catapult her to a later career in TV and film. Unfortunately, the teen was enrolled at the prestigious all-girl Spence School in Manhattan, until administrators, upset with her frequent absences, delivered an ultimatum: forego all career opportunities in order to concentrate on schoolwork, or withdraw. She opted for the latter, leaving to pursue her acting career, and later graduated from high school after completing "virtual classes" sponsored online by Stanford University.
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," (NBC, 1990-2010) in 1997 and "The Practice" (ABC, 1997) in 2001. Her short, yet notable stints in episodic television opened doors to TV films, where she starred in "Genius" (Disney Channel, 1999) and charmed viewers and critics with her portrayal of the teenage Audrey Hepburn in the ABC Original Movie "The Audrey Hepburn Story" (2000). 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" (2004). 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" (2004). 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. Rossum equated herself marvelously in a winning performance that seemed beyond her years, providing the best moments in the entertaining but somewhat uneven adaptation. 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" (2006). At the same time she was trying to survive an overturned cruise ship, Rossum began recording an album of pop music for Geffen Records called Inside Out (2007), which peaked at No. 199 on the Billboard 200 and failed to crack 30,000 in sales when all was said and done. Back to what she did best, the actress returned to features with the little-seen comic book adaptation, "Dragonball Evolution" (2009) and the festival-bound teen drama "Dare" (2009). Rossum then landed a series regular role on the critically acclaimed hit "Shameless" (Showtime, 2011- ), 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.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1999
Originated the role of Abigail Williams on CBS daytime soap "As the World Turns"
2000
Portrayed the title character as a teenager in ABC biopic "The Audrey Hepburn Story"
2000
Made her feature film debut in the music drama "Songcatcher"
2003
Cast as a teenager in search of her father in romantic comedy "Nola"
2003
Played Sean Penn's daughter in Clint Eastwood's award-winning "Mystic River"
2004
Co-starred with Dennis Quaid and Jake Gylenhaal in blockbuster sci-fi actioner "The Day After Tomorrow"
2004
Was cast as Chistine in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera," a feature adaptation of long-running stage musical; received Golden Globe nomination for Best Lead Actress (Musical or Comedy)
2006
Was cast as Kurt Russell's daughter in director Wolfgang Petersen's remake of "The Poseidon Adventure"
2006
Played Juliet in Williamstown Theatre Festival production of "William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet"
2007
Released her debut album, <i>Inside Out</i>
2009
Co-starred in "Dragonball Evolution," a live-action film adaptation of Japanese Dragon Ball media franchise
2011
Began co-starring on Showtime's dysfunctional family drama "Shameless"
2013
Played manipulative siren Ridley Duchannes in feature adaptation of young adult fantasy novel "Beautiful Creatures"
2018
Made her return to features after four years with "A Futile and Stupid Gesture"
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
"My character is needy, sexy, and totally manipulated," says Rossum. "And, oh! I get to kiss Gerry Butler and Patrick Wilson!"---Rossum on playing the female lead in "Phantom of the Opera" Interview September 2003
"We were doing this scene in the morgue, and I'm lying on the table, my eyes closed, and the energy that was coming out of Sean was so powerful I started to cry. And Clint Eastwood says, 'Cut! Emmy, that was great, but you can't cry. You're dead.'"---Rossum on working with Sean Penn in "Mystic River Vanity Fair June 2004
