‘Shameless’: Why Did Fiona Leave & Emmy Rossum Never Return To The Show?

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Image Credit: Everett Collection Emmy Rossum played Fiona Gallagher on Shameless. Emmy near the amusement aft play 9. Fiona was written retired of the amusement aft play 9.

Emmy Rossum, 36, was a staple on Shameless before she made the large determination to permission the show. Emmy played Fiona Gallagher, the parent fig to her troubled family, for the archetypal 9 seasons of the deed Showtime series. The histrion near the amusement earlier the last 2 seasons, which wholly shocked fans. Fiona was a fan-favorite and the amusement wasn’t the aforesaid aft she left.

So, wherefore did Emmy really leave Shameless? Keep speechmaking to larn much astir the information down her game-changing exit from the series.

Emmy Rossum (Photo: Everett Collection)

Emmy Rossum Played Fiona Gallagher On Shameless

Emmy was 1 of the archetypal main formed members connected Shameless when the amusement premiered January 2011. The bid followed the poor, dysfunctional household beingness of Frank Gallagher (William H. Macy), and his six children: Fiona (Emmy), Lip (Jeremy Allen White), Ian (Cameron Monaghan), Debbie (Emma Kenney), Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) and Liam (Christian Isaiah). Fiona helps rise her younger siblings but deals with intoxicant addiction and cause abuse. For her show successful the show, Emmy was nominated for 2 Critics’ Choice Awards. The series itself won 4 Emmy Awards from 16 nominations passim its 11-season run.

Why Fiona Left The Show

Emmy Rossum arsenic Fiona successful ‘Shameless’ (Photo: Everett Collection)

Emmy made her last quality arsenic Fiona successful the play 9 finale which aired March 2019. Emmy announced she was leaving Shameless successful August 2018, 1 period earlier play 9 began airing. Fiona was written retired of the bid aft play 9, wherever she hits stone bottommost dealing with addiction and narration issues. Lip helps Fiona to get sober and commencement going to AA meeting. She gets a occupation astatine a convenience store again and learns she’s getting $100k from a existent property deal. She leaves fractional the wealth for her family, and takes the different fractional and moves retired of Chicago to commencement a caller life. Fiona does not look successful seasons 10 oregon 11.

Why Emmy Rossum Left The Show

Emmy confirmed her exit from Shameless on social media connected August 30, 2018. “The accidental to play Fiona has been a gift. There are fewer characters — pistillate oregon different — arsenic layered and dynamic. She is simply a parent lion, fierce, flawed and sexually liberated. She is injured, vulnerable, but volition ne'er springiness up,” Emmy wrote successful her lengthy announcement. “Quite simply, the past 8 years person been the champion of my life,” she besides said.

Emmy spoke to Entertainment Weekly about saying goodbye to the amusement that made her celebrated aft she broke the quality of her exit. “My Shameless household is truly my 2nd household and I’ve spent truthful overmuch clip with them — 10,000 hours — that it truly feels similar we’ve each grown up together. I started connected the amusement erstwhile I was 23 and present I’m not,” she said. “And it’s a wonderful, fantastic magnitude of clip and I consciousness incredibly arrogant of everything we person created. I’m conscionable filled with gratitude for everyone’s hard work.”

Emmy Rossum successful ‘Shameless’ (Photo: Everett Collection)

To this day, Emmy’s ne'er fixed an authoritative crushed wherefore she quit Shameless early. In 2016, Variety reported that Emmy was asking to marque much wealth for play 8, aft she was paid little than her co-star William H. Macy for the archetypal 7 seasons. Emmy reportedly wanted to commencement making much than William to marque up for the alleged past unequal pay. Emmy yet agreed to a woody to prima successful play 8 and play 9, but it’s believed further failed wage negotiations caused Emmy to permission the show.

Emmy moved onto caller projects aft exiting Shameless. She was the pb commencement and enforcement shaper of the 2022 Peacock miniseries Angelyne. She besides has a pb relation successful the caller Apple TV+ series The Crowded Room with Tom Holland and Amanda Seyfried. In her idiosyncratic life, Emmy and her husband Sam Esmail have welcomed 2 children together since she near Shameless.

The Show After Fiona

Shameless continued connected for 2 much seasons without Fiona. The amusement was dramatically antithetic successful her absence. In precocious 2021, months aft the amusement wrapped, Emmy’s erstwhile on-screen sister Emma Kenney called the histrion out connected the Call Her Daddy podcast. Emma said the amusement “became much of a affirmative place” aft Emmy was gone. “I’d spell to acceptable immoderate days and I’d beryllium precise anxious astir having a country with her due to the fact that if she had a atrocious day, she made it a atrocious time for everybody,” Emma said. But Emma did enactment that she has thing but emotion for Emmy now. “I’ve known her for truthful long. We haven’t spoken successful years. But that’s okay. I person a batch of emotion for her, and I anticipation she finds her happiness,” she said.

Emmy Rossum successful ‘Shameless’ (Photo: Everett Collection)

Fiona was really expected to beryllium successful the last occurrence but Emmy was unable to return owed to COVID-19 question restrictions. “Emmy and I had a batch of conversations astir it, trying to marque it work,” showrunner John Wells told EW successful April 2021. “She’s been successful New York with Sam, wherever they live, and close astir the clip wherever we were talking astir putting it each unneurotic was erstwhile the further lockdowns benignant of deed again, and it conscionable didn’t consciousness harmless oregon applicable for her to travel back. So I deliberation it’s with a large woody of regret that we couldn’t bash it but it’s conscionable much insignificant casualty of our twelvemonth of COVID.”

While Fiona couldn’t travel backmost for the last season, the Shameless boss inactive had an thought of what Fiona was up to. “I deliberation she’s down successful Florida,” John told The Hollywood Reporter aft the bid finale aired. “We joked successful the country that she ended up getting a occupation astatine Disney World, astir apt successful Epcot Center due to the fact that she would ne'er get a occupation connected the amended side. We had a batch of jokes for her but we ne'er really nailed it down. But she would person a beingness and beryllium pursuing her ain things. That’s however radical determination connected with their lives.”

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