Emmy Rossum is a jack of all trades and has dived deeper into several facets of the industry. Alongside her stint as an actress, Rossum is also a producer, singer and songwriter. Her cinematic journey began at a young age when she started performing in the Metropolitan Opera. While she did have some well-acclaimed projects to her name, it was 2011’s Shameless, that gave her the much-needed push towards stardom.
In this, she played the lead Fiona Gallagher, that too for nine seasons, before she took a step back from the show in 2018. This was a huge disappointment for the fans, who were left completely shocked as to why she left the project so abruptly. Let’s take a closer look at these questions and understand why Emmy Rossum said goodbye to her iconic role.
How Did Fiona Gallagher Leave Shameless?
Taking up all the mom duties for her young siblings, Fiona Gallagher was the glue that held the entire Gallagher household together. She was smart and feisty, but she also struggled with several self-destructive issues of her own. After a rather difficult season eight, the ninth one saw the character leaving everything behind in South Side for good and turning a new chapter in her life.
Some of her financial difficulties were lifted, thanks to the $100,000 she got after her investment with Max Whitford in a retirement home. Further, she used half of this amount to ensure that her family would be taken care of when she was not around anymore.
And after a heartfelt goodbye to her family, even her drunk father Frank, she boards a plane to an undisclosed location. This also marked Emmy Rossum‘s last appearance on the show and the episode was titled Found.
Emmy Rossum Revealed Why She Said Goodbye to Shameless
Playing the same character for nine long seasons is not an easy feat. But Emmy Rossum played Fiona with such authenticity that her absence left a deep void in all Shameless fans’ hearts. This made sense given that she was the center of the show. But for Rossum it was time to move onto better opportunities and roles as she didn’t want to confine herself to a single character.
While she loved playing Fiona, the actress and in an interview with Entertainment Weekly detailed that it necessary to move onto the next chapter of her life. She also added:
I will never be saying goodbye to Fiona. Fiona is a part of me and has been like every character is a part of you and you are a little bit part of them. My Shameless family is really my second family and I’ve spent so much time with them — 10,000 hours — that it really feels like we’ve all grown up together. I started on the show when I was 23 and now I’m not. [Laughs.] And it’s a wonderful, wonderful amount of time and I feel incredibly proud of everything we have created. I’m just filled with gratitude for everyone’s hard work.
Apart from more opportunities, the actress also faced several scheduling conflicts during the ninth season. For instance, at the same time she also got on board Peacock miniseries Angelyne, as an actor as well as an executive producer. This caused schedule conflicts, and she ultimately decided to say goodbye to Shameless.
Even the showrunner John Wells had added in an interview with EW, that Rossum was thinking about quitting the show for a while. And that she made her final decision around the eighth or ninth episode of season nine.
While the writers were completely ready for the same and had a backup plan in mind, the showrunner had hoped she would change her mind. She obviously didn’t and they decided to wrap up her story in the series.
Emmy Rossum’s Fight for Equal Pay in Shameless
Rossum has not mentioned her salary being a factor in her decision to leave the show. But in 2016 she did go all out publicly to demand that she should more compensation than her co-star William H. Macy in the eighth season of the show. This was to make up for the years of pay inequality. However, she acknowledges that when she started the show, Macy was a much bigger actor than she was.
But as the show progressed and her role expanded, she sought fair compensation. After which in the same year Rossum and Warner Bros. reached an agreement that she shared via a Twitter post.
What has Emmy Rossum done after Shameless?
While the viewers missed watching Rossum as Fiona in Shameless, she did immediately transition to other roles to keep them entertained. For instance, after her stint in the show, she starred and produced the 2022 released Angelyne. This was well-received by the audience and also received three Emmy nominations.
She also participated in 2023’s The Crowded Room, alongside Tom Holland and Amanda Seyfried. It’s an Apple TV+ series and Rossum plays the role of Holland’s troubled mother Candy Sullivan. Interestingly, Shameless is based on a UK series of the same name, and in this, Fiona is played by actress Anne-Marie Duff (for two seasons). However, her character didn’t have the same lasting impact as that of Rossum’s.
You can watch Shameless on Netflix.
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