Emmy Rossum
Emmanuelle Grey "Emmy" Rossum (born
September 12,
1986) is a
Golden Globe-nominated
American actress and
singer. She is probably most well known for her leading roles in the films
The Day After Tomorrow and the 2004 version of
The Phantom of the OperaEarly life
Rossum was born in
New York City to a
Jewish American family;
her father is a banker and her mother is a corporate photographer. Her parents divorced when she was three years old and Rossum has not remained close to her father. At age seven, she joined the
Metropolitan Opera Children's Chorus.
Rossum was enrolled at the prestigious all-girl
Spence School in
Manhattan until administrators upset with her frequent absences delivered an ultimatum - forego all career opportunities in order to concentrate on schoolwork, or withdraw. She opted for the latter, and graduated from high school after completing "virtual classes" sponsored online by
Stanford University. She left the school to pursue an acting career.
Career
Rossum appeared in a number of productions as a child in the
Metropolitan Opera Children's Chorus, including
Tchaikovsky's
The Queen of Spades and the acclaimed
Franco Zeffirelli-directed
Carmen. She has sung with performers as diverse as tenor
Plácido Domingo and country singer
Dolly Parton. Her television appearances include
Law & Order (
1997),
As the World Turns (
1999), and
The Practice (
2001). She also portrayed the teenage
Audrey Hepburn in the made-for-television biopic
The Audrey Hepburn Story, starring
Jennifer Love Hewitt (
2000).
Rossum's films include
Songcatcher and
It Had to Be You (both in
2000),
Mystic River (
2003), and
The Day After Tomorrow and
The Phantom of the Opera (in which she played the role of Christine Daaé, opposite
Gerard Butler and
Patrick Wilson), both in
2004. Rossum had never seen the stage version of
The Phantom of the Opera prior to filming. She studied
Degas' paintings of ballerinas in the
Musee d'Orsay to learn how to stand like one for her role in the film. After the film was released, Rossum was offered to make a
classical music album by several companies, but declined, deciding instead to record an album of contemporary music, on which she has recently began production. Rossum describes the album as "pop music... but not bubblegum".
Rossum's latest role is in
Poseidon, a high-budget
disaster film in which she plays the daughter of
Kurt Russell's character. The film opened on
May 12,
2006 to mixed reviews and flopped at the box office. Rossum has expressed a desire to choose a "smaller" and "more intimate" film for her next project.
During the summer of 2006, she appeared as Juliet in a
Williamstown Theatre Festival production of
Romeo and Juliet to mediocre reviews.
Cinemania Magazine had reported in 2004 that star Emmy Rossum has been rumored to be playing supporting lead roles in the possible 2008 film,
Jurassic Park IV. But as of yet, it has not been confirmed.
Personal life
Rossum lives with her mother in
Manhattan. She dated David Wildenstein, a member of the French billionaire art-dealing Wildenstein family, from 2004 to 2005, but they have since broken up. Rossum has said that she would not date other celebrities, and prefers to keep her personal life away from the media spotlight, wishing to "fly under the radar" by living in her native New York City.
Rossum has elected not to attend college but has enrolled in some extension courses offered at
Columbia University. She has already completed a course in art history, being inspired by her study of Degas in
Paris.
Footnotes
Web sites
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Emmy Rossum Fan 
