Over the past 11 seasons, we’ve watched the Gallaghers grow up before our eyes on ‘Shameless.’ As the final season continues, see your favorite ‘Shameless’ kids then and now.
Shameless kicked off its eleventh and final season on Dec. 6, giving us one last round with the Gallagher family. The show debuted back in 2011, and the Shameless kids instantly became near and dear to our hearts. There’s never been a dull moment at the Gallagher house, that’s for sure.
When the show premiered, many of the cast members were just kids. Emma Kenney and Ethan Cutkosky, a.k.a. Debbie and Carl Gallagher, were just 11 years old when the pilot aired on Jan. 9, 2011. Now they’re adults! See how all of the Shameless kids have grown up over the years.
Emmy Rossum
Emmy Rossum, 34, starred as Fiona Gallagher, the oldest Gallagher sibling, through season 9. Emmy was already one of Hollywood’s best young talents when she signed on to star in Shameless. She had starred in major movies like The Phantom of the Opera, The Day After Tomorrow, and more.
Emmy’s portrayal of Fiona remains one of the brightest spots of Shameless. She announced she was leaving the series in 2018. Emmy said her time on Shameless had been “the best of my life.”
Since leaving the series, Emmy has been busy filming the new TV series Angelyne, based on the L.A. icon. The series will premiere on Peacock and her husband, Sam Esmail, serves as an executive producer. Shameless fans are still holding out hope that Emmy will return for the final season of Shameless!
Jeremy Allen White
Jeremy Allen White, 29, has been on Shameless since day one. He plays fan-favorite Lip Gallagher, the whip-smart second oldest Gallagher kid. Lip’s made his fair share of mistakes over the years, but he loves his family hard.
In between filming seasons of Shameless, Jeremy has starred in films like After Everything, The Rental, Viena and the Fantomes, and more. He also appeared in several episodes of the Amazon Prime Video series Homecoming in 2018.
Jeremy married actress Addison Timlin in 2019. They have a daughter, Ezer, and are currently expecting their second child.
Cameron Monaghan
Cameron Monaghan, 27, has played middle child Ian Gallagher since season 1. Ian and Lip’s dynamic as brothers has been one of the highlights of the series, as has Ian’s relationship with Mickey Milkovich. Gallavich forever! In 2015, Cameron was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the Critics’ Choice TV Awards.
Cameron is one of the most talented young actors working today. He notably played the Joker-esque characters Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska in the TV series Gotham. He also voices the role of Cal Kestis in the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. The actor has a number of projects currently in the works, including My Love Affair with Marriage, The White Devil, Wake, and Deliberation.
Emma Kenney
Emma Kenney, 21, has played Debbie Gallagher, one of the middle Gallagher children, since she was 11 years old. Debbie has grown up before our eyes and gone from a young, scrappy kid to a powerful woman with a voice. Debbie is also a mom to the adorable Franny.
Debbie Gallagher isn’t the only major character Emma’s played on TV. She has also portrayed Harris Conner-Healy, Darlene and David’s daughter, on both Roseanne and The Conners. Emma is a series regular on both Shameless and The Conners.
Ethan Cutkosky
Ethan Cutkosky, 21, has starred as Carl Gallagher, the ultimate Gallagher troublemaker, since the beginning of the series. Like his co-stars, Ethan has grown up on Shameless, having started on the show when he was just 11 years old.
In addition to Shameless, Ethan guest-starred in an episode of Law & Order: SVU in 2013. He also played a young Tommy Egan in the Power series finale in 2020. He released the song “Comprehend” in Aug. 2020.
Christian Isaiah
Christian Isaiah, 12, joined Shameless at the beginning of season 8 and was the third iteration of Liam Gallagher. Prior to Christian joining the cast, the role of Liam had been played by sets of twins. Christian really helped establish the youngest Gallagher sibling. He was just 9 years old when he began playing Liam, and now Christian will be 13 on Dec. 15, 2020!
In addition to playing Liam, Christian played the younger version of Chadwick Boseman’s character in the 2019 film 21 Bridges. He also played a young Tupac Shakur in the 2018 miniseries Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G.