Emmy Rossum

Rossum in 2011

Rossum's television debut was in August 1997, as the original Abigail Williams in the daytime soap opera As the World Turns. She also had a guest role as Caroline Beels in Snoops. Rossum was nominated for a Young Artist Award in 1999 for Best Performance in a TV movie for her work in the made-for-TV movie Genius. She then portrayed a young Audrey Hepburn in the ABC television film The Audrey Hepburn Story (2000).[24]

Rossum made her film debut at 13, in 2000's Songcatcher, as Deladis Slocumb, an Appalachian orphan. Debuting at the Sundance Film Festival, the film won the Special Jury Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance.[25] For her role, Rossum received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Debut Performance[26] and also had the opportunity to sing a duet with Dolly Parton on the Songcatcher soundtrack. Variety magazine named Rossum as "One of the Ten to Watch" in 2000.

In Nola (2003), Rossum played the title character, an aspiring songwriter. In her first major studio film, Clint Eastwood's Mystic River (2003), Rossum starred as Katie Markum, the ill-fated daughter of small-business owner Jimmy Markum, played by Sean Penn.

Rossum had a breakthrough role as Laura Chapman in the Roland Emmerich eco-disaster film The Day After Tomorrow (2004). She later returned to New York, where she was the last to audition, in full costume and make-up, for the role of Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera (2004), the onscreen adaptation of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical of the same name. After having nearly missed the audition due to a family engagement,[27] Rossum was asked to audition in person for Webber at his home in New York.[16] For her performance, Rossum received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress in a musical or comedy.[28] She also received a Critics' Choice Award for Best Young Actress, along with a Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor.

In 2006, Rossum appeared in Poseidon, Wolfgang Petersen's remake of the disaster film The Poseidon Adventure. She played Jennifer Ramsey, the daughter of Kurt Russell's character. Rossum described the character as being proactive and strong in all situations, rather than a damsel in distress.[29] Rossum also appeared as Juliet Capulet in a 2006 Williamstown Theatre Festival production of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.[30] In early 2009, Rossum appeared in a poorly received Dragonball Evolution. Her next big screen venture was the indie Dare[31] which was an official selection of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.[32] In November 2009, Rossum appeared in Broadway's 24 Hour Plays in which actors, writers, and directors collaborate to produce, and perform six one-act plays within 24 hours to benefit the Urban Arts Partnership. Rossum appeared in Warren Leight's "Daily Bread", directed by Lucie Tiberghien.[33]

In December 2009, Rossum joined the cast of the Showtime dramedy series Shameless, based on the British series of the same title. The series co-stars William H. Macy.[34] Rossum plays the oldest sister of a large, motherless family, functioning as a guardian/surrogate mother to her five younger siblings. The series has received consistent acclaim, with Rossum's performance being universally praised.[35] She made her directorial debut with episode four of season seven, "I Am a Storm."[2][36] In December 2016, Rossum was in a contract dispute with the show's producers over her desire for a salary equal to that of co-star Macy and back pay for the differential over seven seasons,[37] which was resolved later that month.[38] Following this news, Shameless was renewed for its eighth season beginning production in 2017.[39] In August 2018, Rossum announced her departure from Shameless after nine seasons.[40]

In mid-2011, Rossum starred in D. J. Caruso's social film, Inside; the online film aired in several segments, incorporating multiple social media platforms including Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. The following year, Rossum played Ridley, a siren Caster in Beautiful Creatures (2013), based on the young adult fantasy novel of the same name. Although the film was released to mixed reviews, Rossum's performance was praised by critics and fans. She also starred in the drama You're Not You as Bec, an inexperienced caregiver who looks after and befriends Kate (Hilary Swank), who suffers from the degenerative disease ALS. By June 2013, Rossum was cast as the female lead opposite Justin Long in the independent romantic comedy Comet, which was directed by Sam Esmail, to whom she later became engaged.[41] Afterward she appeared in the film Before I Disappear (2014), based on the Academy Award-winning short film Curfew.[42]

In 2019, it was announced that Rossum will star in Angelyne, a drama series created by her husband and longtime collaborator Sam Esmail, for Peacock, the new streaming service by NBC. The limited series is supposed to be her first lead role after Shameless and will be based on The Hollywood Reporter senior writer Gary Baum's investigative feature on the LA billboard model Angelyne.[43]

After her role in The Phantom of the Opera, Rossum was offered several deals to record classical albums, but refused, opting to create an album of contemporary, more mainstream music. She explained it by feeling frustrated because of the lack of "emotional honesty" in music played in radios.[14] Regarding the sound and style of her music, she said, "It's pop music, but not Britney Spears bubblegum pop. I want it to have a David Gray or Annie Lennox feel. I've been spending up to 12 hours a day in the studio."[14] Rossum cites Sarah McLachlan, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion and Faith Hill as some of her influences.[44] Rossum's album Inside Out was produced by Stuart Brawley. It was released on October 23, 2007, and peaked at 199 in the U.S. Billboard charts.[45] For the promotion of the record, Geffen Records featured the song, "Slow Me Down," as part of the second volume of Hollywood Records' Girl Next compilation album, which was released on July 10, 2007. Later that year, she was chosen as Yahoo's "Who's Next" artist of the month and a "One to Watch" by MSN. In December 2007, Rossum released three Christmas songs on the EP Carol of the Bells. It was also this year that Rossum sang the national anthem at the Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Infineon Raceway and performed at the first ever Perez Hilton Presents event at the El Rey Theatre in Hollywood. On October 27, 2007, Rossum again sang the national anthem at the New Jersey Devils's first home game of the 2007–08 NHL season, which was also the first game the team played in the newly constructed Prudential Center. She also performed at the Hollywood Christmas Celebration at the Grove in Los Angeles[46] and the Lighting of the Great Tree in Atlanta, Georgia.[47]

She joined Counting Crows, Augustana, and Michael Franti & Spearhead as a "special guest" for select performances of the "Traveling Circus and Medicine Show" tour in early 2009.[48]

In 2010, Rossum sang a song called "Cruel One" on singer Alex Band's debut solo album We've All Been There. On the track she sings with Band, and Chantal Kreviazuk.[49]

Rossum released the Warner Bros. Records album Sentimental Journey on January 29, 2013. Unlike Inside Out on which Rossum wrote the songs herself, the album is a collection of covers of songs from the 1920s to 1960s. Sentimental Journey peaked at 92 on the U.S. Billboard charts, and number one in Jazz Albums.[45][50]

Rossum describes herself as a lyric soprano, while saying her voice is still developing.[17][51] She continues to train vocally at ZajacStudio, a studio run by soprano Joann C. Zajac.[52]