Emmy Rossum has announced she’s leaving Shameless after eight years on the hit show.
The 31-year-old actress posted a lengthy message on Facebook explaining her decision to say goodbye to her character Fiona Gallagher.
She began the post on Thursday writing: ‘It’s a hard thing to put into words, feelings. But I’m going to try.
‘This business is always an adventure, full of travel and opportunities to tell stories. Usually as an actor, every few months, you travel to a new place, start a new project, build a new character, learn new rhythms, new inside jokes with your crew, make new friends,’
‘I know you will continue on without me’: Emmy Rossum is leaving Shameless after nine seasons with the show
Emmy explained that the sense of community and continuity the show gave her was something she never knew she craved.
‘There are these real connections, real friendships that bring us back season after season after season,’ she said.
‘See, in real life, unlike Fiona, I’m an only child. I never had a big family. Being ensconced in that messy Gallagher family love is something I’d always dreamed of. But even off set, it feels real. We’ve watched the kids grow up into the strong, talented, independent human beings that they are.
‘I taught Emma to shave her legs. I was there when Ethan learned to drive. Shanola and Jeremy and Joan and Bill danced at my wedding in New York last year. Our fearless leader John Wells thankfully held Sam and me up on those rickety chairs during the hora. I’ve spent the Jewish holy days in temple with David Nevins and his wonderful wife and kids. It really feels like a family,’ she wrote.
‘Hard to put into words’: Emmy shared this image of the cast along with her Facebook post on Thursday
‘I never had a big family’: Emmy gushed about the Emmy-winning show in her lengthy Facebook post
‘The opportunity to play Fiona has been a gift. There are few characters — female or otherwise — as layered and dynamic. She is a mother lion, fierce, flawed and sexually liberated. She is injured, vulnerable, but will never give up. She is living in an economic depression, but refuses to be depressed,’ she said.
‘She is resourceful. She is loyal. She is brave. I knew it the second I read the pilot script, this was different, this was special. I tirelessly prepped the audition with my coach Terry Knickerbocker. I walked to the appointment in the rain so I looked disheveled. During my third audition, when I got the part IN the room, I literally jumped up and down screaming in joyous relief and disbelief. Quite simply, the last eight years have been the best of my life.
Hit: Emmy, 31, has played Fiona Gallagher on the Showtime show since 2011
The actress concluded her post writing, ‘I know you will continue on without me, for now. There is much more Gallagher story to be told. I will always be rooting for my family. Try not to think of me as gone, just think of me as moving down the block.’
Shameless is currently filming its ninth season and will premiere on September 9 with the second half of the expanded season set to air in January 2019.
Emmy married her beau, Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail, in May 2017 in an intimate ceremony at Central Synagogue in New York City.
The news comes after it was announced that Friends alum Courteney Cox will be joining the show for season nine.
‘I knew it the second I read the pilot script, this was different, this was special.’ Emmy said of the show. She is pictured with co-star William H. Macy
The 54-year-old star will play ‘a famous actress’ that hires Lip – played by Jeremy Allen White – as a sober companion.
Katey Sagal of Sons of Anarchy fame will also be joining the series.
The 64-year-old actress will play Ingrid, who appears to catch the interest of William H. Macy’s character, Frank.
According to the outlet, she will play ‘a crazed pysch patient.’
On board: Courteney Cox is set to star in season 9 of the show which premieres on September 9