Know About ‘Shameless’ Star Emmy Rossum’s Ethnicity and Parents

Emmy Rossum has been vocal about her ethnicity and faith throughout her career.

She was born Emmanuelle Grey Rossum on September 12, 1986, in Sunset Park, New York. The veteran actress grew up in Manhattan and had a Jewish upbringing.

Here's what you should know about her ethnicity and her parents. 

Emmy Rossum's Ethnicity

Rossum possesses a mixed ethnicity, thanks to her parents' differing ethnic backgrounds. She is half Jewish and part of Northern European and British ancestry.

The 25-year-old grew up as the only child in a single-parent household, helmed by her mother, Cheryl Rossum. It is not sure if her mom was ever married to her dad, but it is public knowledge that her father worked as a banker in New York City. 

Rossum's father is a Protestant American of Northern European and especially British ancestry, while her mother is Russian-Jewish. Her mom grew up in Scarsdale, New York, in a Jewish family. 

Courtesy of her upbringing, she instilled Jewish ethics and morals in Rossum. And Rossum has proudly soaked up her Jewish heritage. 

Emmy Rossum is grateful for her mom, Cheryl Rossum. (Photo: Emmy Rossum's Instagram)

"That stays with me very strongly every day," Rossum told Shalom Life of the moralities she learned from her ethnic background. 

The Shameless actress mentioned she enjoyed having Shabbat dinner with her close friends, although it was not something she did with her mother every week. 

Rossum also gushed about her ethnicity and childhood in an interview with Venice magazine in February 2011. 

She noted that her mother was strict and didn't let her watch many movies. Instead, her mom would take her to the opera or ballet shows. 

"I had a funny upbringing," Rossum added, remembering how her parent's different ethnic backgrounds affected her childhood. 

She recounted her mother would travel a lot and hire baby sisters, who would usually be Irish Catholic. The babysitters would bribe her with treats and take her to Catholic churches.

"I've got guilt from every direction!" Rossum jokingly added at the end of the topic. 

Emmy Rossum on Jewish Stereotypes  

Despite having a mixed ethnic background, Rossum identifies as Jewish, and she claims her ethnicity has brought hurdles in her career in the film industry. 

In June 2020, Rossum took to Twitter to address the issue through several tweets. She stated out loud that many people, both from the industry and not, would be surprised to learn she was Jewish. 

In her own words, they usually would comment she didn't look like one. And after she offered no response, they would try to add that she looked different "in a good way."  

The stunning actress also pointed that she had received many auction feedback based on her appearance.

She explained they would say, "'too ethnic' 'just want someone more 'American' looking. We ideally want a blonde with blue eyes, someone that just looks nicer... etc." 

Referring to herself as a Caucasian woman, Rossum then empathized with the people of color. She shared she could only imagine the "impossible hurdles of getting a job as a person of color" in the entertainment industry. 

Rossum added she didn't know if she had experienced even the 1/1000th of the intolerance, bigotry, and pain that Black people were subjected to.