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Emmanuelle Grey "Emmy" Rossum (born September 12, 1986) is a Golden Globe-nominated American actress and singer-songwriter. She has starred in films such as The Day After Tomorrow, Poseidon and The Phantom of the Opera.

Early life

Rossum was born in New York City, New York,¹ an only child²³ of Cheryl, a corporate photographer and a banker. Her family is Jewish.⁴ She is the niece of Vera Wang, whom she is related to by marriage. Her parents divorced when her mother was pregnant. Rossum was raised by her mother and has only met her father twice. Her song "Anymore," from her album Inside Out, is based on this experience.⁵

Upon singing "Happy Birthday" in 12 different keys,⁶ Rossum was welcomed to join the Metropolitan Opera Children's Chorus by chorus director Elena Doria.⁷ Over the course of five years, she sang onstage and had the chance to perform with other opera greats, such as Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti. For $5 a night, Rossum sang in five different languages, in 20 different operas, including La bohème, Turandot, a Carnegie Hall presentation of La damnation de Faust and A Midsummer Night's Dream.⁸ She also worked under the direction of Franco Zeffirelli in Carmen. Rossum joked in interviews that her vocal talent and affinity for music developed because her mother always listened to classical music and operas while she was pregnant with her.

By age 12, Rossum had grown too big for the children's costumes. An increasing interest in pursuing acting led to her hiring an agent, and subsequently, auditioning for many acting roles.

Career

Acting

The year 1997 saw Rossum's television debut with a guest appearance on Law & Order as Alison Martin. In 1999, she had a recurring role as the original Abigail Williams in the long-running 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 nomination in 1999 for Best Performance in a TV Movie for her work in the made-for-tv movie Genius. Following that movie, she portrayed a young Audrey Hepburn in the ABC TV movie The Audrey Hepburn Story (2000).

Rossum made her big screen debut 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. For her role, Rossum received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Debut Performance 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, who was an aspiring songwriter. In her first major studio film, Clint Eastwood's Mystic River, Rossum starred as Katie Markum, the ill-fated daughter of small-business owner Jimmy Markum, played by Sean Penn. As Katie, Rossum was said to have "projected an aura of innocence that made her character's tragic death memorable and heartbreaking."⁴

Following Mystic River, Rossum had a breakthrough role as Laura Chapman in the Roland Emmerich eco-disaster film The Day After Tomorrow, which showcases potential effects of global warming. She later returned to New York, where she was the last to audition, in full costume and make-up, for the coveted role of Christine Daae in the on-screen adaptation of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. Following an international search for talent, and having nearly missed the audition on account of a family engagement,⁹ Rossum was asked to audition in person for Webber at his home in New York. After seeing her audition, Webber felt she proved her ability to play the young opera singer who becomes the object of the phantom's obsessive love. For her role as Christine Daae, Rossum received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress in a musical or comedy. She is the youngest actress to ever be nominated for that particular award.¹⁰ She also received a Critics' Choice Award for Best Young Actress, along with a Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor and other awards.

In 2006, Rossum appeared in Poseidon - Wolfgang Petersen's high-budget remake of the disaster film The Poseidon Adventure. She played Jennifer Ramsey, the daughter of Kurt Russell's character, Robert Ramsey. As Jennifer, she is described as a 19-year-old heroine because she is not a damsel in distress, and is very proactive and strong in all situations.¹¹ Rossum also appeared as Juliet Capulet in a 2006 Williamstown Theatre Festival production of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.¹²

Rossum will appear in at least two films scheduled to be released in 2009, which are Dare¹³¹⁴ and Dragonball. In Dragonball, Rossum will play the role of Bulma.¹⁵

Recording

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. Rossum said, "I was inspired to cut this album because I'm so frustrated listening to the radio these days. There is so little emotional honesty."⁶ 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."⁶ Rossum cites Dolly Parton, Madonna, Cher and Barbra Streisand as some of her influences.

Rossum's album, entitled Inside Out, was produced by Stuart Brawley. It was released on October 23, 2007, and is also available on iTunes. Clips of her album are available on her MySpace page.¹⁶ 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.

On October 27, 2007, Rossum sang the national anthem at the New Jersey Devils' first home game of the 2007–08 NHL season, which was also the first game the team played in the newly-constructed Prudential Center.

On December 4, 2007, Rossum released three Christmas songs in her Carol of the Bells EP, available on iTunes and Amazon.com.

Rossum does not consider herself an opera singer, but she has described herself as a light lyric soprano, though she admits her voice is still developing.¹⁷

Personal life

Rossum attended Spence School in Manhattan at a young age. The school is an elite all-girls private school that Gwyneth Paltrow, Kerry Washington and Sally Pressman also attended.¹⁸ Rossum graduated from the school in 1996. She received her high school diploma at 15 years old via online extension courses offered by Stanford University's Education Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY).¹⁸ She currently attends Columbia University.¹⁹

Rossum is a YouthAIDS ambassador.¹⁰ She is also the official spokesperson for "PiNKiTUDE" - a campaign to help raise breast cancer awareness.²⁰

Rossum revealed to MTV News that she's allergic to wheat. MTV News gave her a cupcake on-camera to celebrate her 22nd birthday, but she was only able to eat the frosting.²¹

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

Won

Nominated

Discography

• Inside Out (Geffen Records, 2007)
• Carol of the Bells (Geffen Records, 2007)

Endorsements

• The Body Shop

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Emmy Rossum

• Official Site
• Emmy Rossum at the Internet Movie Database
• Emmy Rossum at MySpace
• Emmy Rossum at Allmovie
• Emmy Rossum at Rotten Tomatoes
• Emmy Rossum at People.com
• Emmy Rossum on Geffen Records
• Emmy Rossum's official channel at YouTube