Date of Birth
12 September 1986, New York City, New York, USA
Birth Name
Emmanuelle Grey Rossum
Nickname
Em
Emmy Grey
Emmy Grey
Height
5' 8" (1.73 m)
Mini Biography
It would seem that
2004, the year of her 18th birthday, will be remembered as pivotal for Emmy
Rossum due to her appearance in two very different films, The Day After Tomorrow(2004) and The Phantom of the Opera (2004). Emmy's performance in the
latter film gained her a Golden Globe nomination, and should assure that she
will be a memorable presence in many films to come.
Being born and raised in New York City provided Emmy with the perfect place to start her professional career. After passing an audition at the Metropolitan Opera when she was 7 years old, she performed in more than 20 operas in six different languages at Lincoln Center, alongside such figures as Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti. She was directed by Franco Zeffirelli in "Carmen." She left the opera when she entered her teenage years, as she had grown too tall to perform as a child. Emmy also appeared in a Carnegie Hall presentation of "The Damnation of Faust." She graduated from the Spence School, a private institution in Manhattan, in 1996 and then earned a high school diploma when 15 years old by taking online extension courses offered by Stanford University (Education Program for Gifted Youth). She later enrolled at Columbia University and studied art history and French.
In a change of venue, Emmy created the role of Abigail Williams in the daytime soap opera "As the World Turns" (1956) in 1997 and branched out in performances in the made-for-television movies Genius (1999) (TV) and The Audrey Hepburn Story (2000) (TV), in which she played the title character as a young teenager. Other television work included "Snoops" (1999), "Law & Order" (1990), and "The Practice" (1997).
Emmy made her theatrical feature debut in the indie film Songcatcher (2000), with her good friend Rhoda Griffis, which won the Special Jury Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2000. Rossum received an Independent Spirit Award nomination in the category of Best Debut Performance for her performance as an Appalachian orphan. She played an aspiring songwriter (the title character) in the romantic comedy Nola (2003). Cast as the ill-fated daughter of a small-business owner in Clint Eastwood's Mystic River(2003), she projected an aura of innocence that made her character's tragic death memorable and heartbreaking. This was her first major studio film.
After six months of filming her role as the fresh-faced but highly intelligent teenage damsel in distress The Day After Tomorrow (2004) in Montreal, she returned to New York and screen-tested for the role of Christine in The Phantom of the Opera (2004) in full costume and makeup, and was finally selected for the part by Andrew Lloyd Webber after singing for him at his home. Although she was surprised to be chosen ahead of many better-known and older actresses considered for the part, the combination of her vulnerable, fragile beauty and fine, classically trained singing voice ultimately proved that she was perfectly cast. In preparation for the role, she took ballet classes for two months and started polishing her singing. Emmy has commented that, in her approach to acting, she draws heavily upon her own experiences, so she visited locations in Paris and conjured up what she terms "past memories" to draw upon in making her performance emotionally realistic. She stood on the roof of the Opéra Garnier, where Christine sings "All I Ask of You," and went underneath the opera house, where there is actually a gloomy, dark lake. She studied Degas's paintings of ballerinas in the Musée d'Orsay to learn how to stand like one.
Her next project Poseidon (2006) was a mainstream effort but since its release she has been more true to advice she obtained from Sean Pennwhen making Mystic River (2003) that she should be picky and only accept roles that are fun to do such as Dragonball: Evolution (2009).
Being born and raised in New York City provided Emmy with the perfect place to start her professional career. After passing an audition at the Metropolitan Opera when she was 7 years old, she performed in more than 20 operas in six different languages at Lincoln Center, alongside such figures as Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti. She was directed by Franco Zeffirelli in "Carmen." She left the opera when she entered her teenage years, as she had grown too tall to perform as a child. Emmy also appeared in a Carnegie Hall presentation of "The Damnation of Faust." She graduated from the Spence School, a private institution in Manhattan, in 1996 and then earned a high school diploma when 15 years old by taking online extension courses offered by Stanford University (Education Program for Gifted Youth). She later enrolled at Columbia University and studied art history and French.
In a change of venue, Emmy created the role of Abigail Williams in the daytime soap opera "As the World Turns" (1956) in 1997 and branched out in performances in the made-for-television movies Genius (1999) (TV) and The Audrey Hepburn Story (2000) (TV), in which she played the title character as a young teenager. Other television work included "Snoops" (1999), "Law & Order" (1990), and "The Practice" (1997).
Emmy made her theatrical feature debut in the indie film Songcatcher (2000), with her good friend Rhoda Griffis, which won the Special Jury Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2000. Rossum received an Independent Spirit Award nomination in the category of Best Debut Performance for her performance as an Appalachian orphan. She played an aspiring songwriter (the title character) in the romantic comedy Nola (2003). Cast as the ill-fated daughter of a small-business owner in Clint Eastwood's Mystic River(2003), she projected an aura of innocence that made her character's tragic death memorable and heartbreaking. This was her first major studio film.
After six months of filming her role as the fresh-faced but highly intelligent teenage damsel in distress The Day After Tomorrow (2004) in Montreal, she returned to New York and screen-tested for the role of Christine in The Phantom of the Opera (2004) in full costume and makeup, and was finally selected for the part by Andrew Lloyd Webber after singing for him at his home. Although she was surprised to be chosen ahead of many better-known and older actresses considered for the part, the combination of her vulnerable, fragile beauty and fine, classically trained singing voice ultimately proved that she was perfectly cast. In preparation for the role, she took ballet classes for two months and started polishing her singing. Emmy has commented that, in her approach to acting, she draws heavily upon her own experiences, so she visited locations in Paris and conjured up what she terms "past memories" to draw upon in making her performance emotionally realistic. She stood on the roof of the Opéra Garnier, where Christine sings "All I Ask of You," and went underneath the opera house, where there is actually a gloomy, dark lake. She studied Degas's paintings of ballerinas in the Musée d'Orsay to learn how to stand like one.
Her next project Poseidon (2006) was a mainstream effort but since its release she has been more true to advice she obtained from Sean Pennwhen making Mystic River (2003) that she should be picky and only accept roles that are fun to do such as Dragonball: Evolution (2009).
Trade Mark
Always kisses
someone at least once
Dies or has a near
death experience in each film
Trivia
Attended the Spence
School in Manhattan, an elite private girls' school that was also attended by Gwyneth Paltrow and Kerry
Washington.
Has appeared in 20
different operas singing in five languages.
Had never seen the
stage version of The Phantom of
the Opera (2004) prior to filming
the screen version.
Made her stage debut
at seven years of age (she sang "Happy Birthday" for her audition) at
the New York Metropolitan Opera. She made $5 a night singing with the
children's choir. According to her, "There were horses onstage that were
getting $150".
Her father is a
banker and her mother is a corporate photographer.
Took cooking classes
at Le Cordon Bleu in London.
In preparation for
her role in The Phantom of the
Opera (2004), she attended a
séance at the Spiritualist Association of Great Britian, where a medium talked
to her about her late grandmother.
Won Best Young
Actress in 2004 Critic's Choice Awards
She obtained her
high school diploma online via a Stanford University program.
Has celiac disease,
an autoimmune disease in which the body can't tolerate any foods containing
gluten or wheat.
Is an only child.
Her favorite actors
are Sean Penn (her Mystic
River (2003) co-star) and Miranda Richardson (her The
Phantom of the Opera (2004)
co-star).
Attending Columbia
University.
Hobbies include
reading, horseback riding, and ballet.
Her favorite book is John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and
Men".
Currently recording
a pop album for Geffen Records [April 2006]
Cousin is Cecilia
Becker, daughter of world-famous designer Vera
Wang.
Her favorite
designer is Ralph Lauren.
She is a fan of Audrey Hepburn.
Her favorite opera
is "Carmen".
Used to be a
vegetarian.
Is related to Vera Wang by marriage.
Studied acting with
Flo Salant Greenberg of the Actor's Workshop in New York City for several
years.
Is very close
friends with singer/actress Ashlee
Simpson.
Best friends with Leighton Meester, the actress and
budding singer.
Was ranked #48 on
Maxim magazine's Hot 100 of 2010 list.
