What The Shameless Cast Looks Like Today

They were wild, they were tough, they were uncompromising — the Gallagher clan of "Shameless" fame were walking hard luck stories, but they never failed to make audiences laugh and wince as their long, winding story played out. Their tale is ultimately the story of generational poverty as experienced by a host of sometimes-brilliant kids who try to escape their means. They succeed, they fail, they love and fight with one another, but the ride remains an entertaining one for the viewer. 

The large ensemble cast that made up the series was comprised both of fresh faces just joining the Hollywood game and veterans with a lot of experience behind them. While some of them didn't stick around for the entire ride, each of the actors listed below was important to "Shameless" at large and a memorable part of its landscape. Here's what these actors look like today and what each of them are up to these days.

Emmy Rossum headed up the show as gritty eldest daughter Fiona Gallagher. One part wild child, one part responsible adult acting as a surrogate parent to her flock of siblings, Fiona would do anything to keep her family safe. She would also do anything to climb out of poverty or find true love. Fiona's such a spitfire that there's a reason why the phrase "go Fiona on them" is legendary among her family.

Rossum had a lengthy resume before boarding "Shameless." She was best known at the time for her work as Christine Daae in the 2004 version of "Phantom of the Opera," where she did her own singing. She also appeared in "The Day After" and "Mystic River." Rossum left "Shameless" after Season 9 due to a pay dispute, and Fiona was written off. The storyline had her moving away from her family to start a new life. In the real world, Rossum took on an even more active role in her projects. She starred in and co-produced a take on the life story of 1980s singer Angelyne for a Peacock limited series and played Candy in "The Crowded Room" for Apple TV+.

He's louche, he's dissipated, he's crude, and he's rude. Frank Gallagher is the only man in the world who can take an enormous licking and keep on ticking to horrify and anger his children. He's had liver failure, he's been beaten, he's had criminals after him — yet at the end of the day, it's COVID-19 that takes Frank out. With a laundry list of lovers behind him and a whole lot of booze in his gut, Frank is obsessed with getting rich quickly and letting the good times roll — with his family becoming a casualty in the process.

Well-lauded before landing the role of Frank the Plank, William H. Macy had a major career for himself as a character actor. He first grabbed national attention in "Fargo" as the cowardly but murderous Jerry Lundergaard. Roles in "Ghosts of Mississippi," "Boogie Nights," "Pleasantville," "Air Force One," "Magnolia," and "Mystery Men" ensued. He also held down the role of Dr. David Morgenstern for 31 episodes of "ER." After "Shameless" wrapped, Macy appeared in the Hulu miniseries "The Dropout," the podcast "Supreme: The Battle for Roe," "Ricky Stanicky," and "Battle for the Planet of the Apes." 

Phillip "Lip" Gallagher might be the smartest member of his entire family. Excelling at school, he's on track for a college scholarship when bad habits and bad ideas threaten his nascent future. Battling alcoholism and coping with the possibility of the total failure of his dreams, Lip eventually has to choose between forming a family in his old neighborhood or reaching for the stars elsewhere.

No other actor from the "Shameless" cast has gained as much post-show acclaim as Jeremy Allen White. Before and during the show he took on the usual gauntlet of parts teenage actors are subjected to, including stints in the "Law & Order" universe and an appearance in the notorious bomb "Movie 43." But since then, he snagged two Emmys for his leading role in Hulu's "The Bear." White has also gained big screen plaudits for his performance as tortured wrestler Kerry Von Erich in "The Iron Claw." Currently, White is in the process of filming another biopic — this one's about Bruce Springsteen, and it's entitled "Deliver Me from Nowhere."

Debbie Gallagher is a tough girl dynamo very much in the same mold as her sister, Fiona. Boxing and welding her way through the world, Debbie shocks the family by becoming a teen mom and dating a criminal, among other wild social faux pas. When compared to her siblings, Debbie has the hardest time getting out of her own way, and often ends up acting out as a result. Amidst all of that violence is a loyal and caring sister who often pushes things to — and well beyond — the limit. 

The woman behind those punches, Emma Kenney, started playing Debbie at only 11 years old. Most of her resume before that date is comprised of pure kiddie fare, like "Day Camp" and "Green Apples." After finishing off Debbie's journey, Kenney ended up playing another rebellious young lady — Harris Conner-Healy on "The Conners," which is poised to wrap with its final season in 2025.

Ian Gallagher is the kid who has the wildest journey on "Shameless." In the space of 127 episodes, he comes out, falls in love with his former bully Mickey Milkovich (Noel Fisher), then marries and starts a family with him. He also copes with inheriting bipolar disorder from his mother, starts his own cult, and works as a paramedic. It's an up-and-down rollercoaster that earned him the respect of the audience, which came to fervently love the popular but chronically toxic Gallavichs (as Ian and Mickey are referred to among fans). 

Cameron Monaghan was another well-seasoned kid actor when he picked up the part of Ian. He already had a six-episode stint on "Malcolm in the Middle" under his belt and played Kevin in "Click" as well as Winthrop Paroo in the ABC TV movie version of "The Music Man." He was Corey in the short-lived series "Corey and Lucas for the Win," and James in "Amityville: the Awakening." With "Shameless" in his rear-view mirror, Monaghan has appeared in the film "Shattered," and in "Paradise Highway" as Sterling. In addition to his work on "Shameless," he's best known for playing the Joker on "Gotham" and voicing Cal Kestis in the "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" video game.

The second youngest Gallagher Carl sets himself apart from the pack by loving weapons and explosives. His natural adoration for hooliganism ends up resolving itself when Carl is sent to military school on a court order. He thrives there, first becoming a cadet and upon his release, a police officer. Only in the world of the Gallaghers can one go from cracking safes to safeguarding them.

Ethan Cutkosky started out with an uncredited appearance in "Fred Claus," and soon afterward found himself playing Carl. During the run of the show, he appeared in "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and in "The Unborn." Cutkosky has been diversifying his interests since "Shameless" went off the air. He launched a clothing line called Khaotic Kollective in 2018, and also started up a music career in 2021. His first single is entitled "Erase Me." But he hasn't completely given up the acting game, guest starring on an episode of "The Conners" and appearing in the film "Alex/October." 

The youngest Gallagher as well as the wisest, Liam Gallagher seems set for an interesting future. Caught between a promising spot at a fancy private school that he and Frank have conned their way into and assisting Frank in his latest scheme, Liam has to decide whether he wants a future for himself or if he'll be content following in the old man's footsteps. With the fond influence of his family behind him and the help of people like Fiona, how can he avoid succeeding?

Christian Isaiah started work in 2015, with roles in "Married," "Teachers," and in various commercials. While Liam is the part he's most known for at the moment, he continues to add fresh roles to his resume. He played the child version of Tupac Shakur in "Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G." and most recently appeared in an episode of "All American: Homecoming." He's also a regular voice in the podcast drama "Borrasaca."

How would the Gallaghers manage to survive without V in their corner? Veronica "V" Ball is a bulwark for the Gallagher family, as well as being Fiona's best friend. Co-owner of The Alibi, a bar that Frank and the rest of the family frequents, Veronica tends to her growing family with Kev (Steve Howey) and maintains an active romantic life with him while raising their twins and looking for a leg up in the world. 

Shanola Hampton actually worked with Howey before joining up with "Shameless" — she appeared in the WB sitcom "Reba," in which he co-starred. That eventually led to them becoming best friends in real life. She also appeared regularly in the series "Related," and on six episodes of "Miami Medical" before becoming V. She now heads up her own thriller, "Found." The NBC procedural recently started its second season and sees Hampton as Gabi Mosley, head of a crisis management team who specializes in rescuing overlooked kidnapping victims. But Gabi has a dark secret of her own related to her childhood abduction — she's holding the man who took her, Hugh "Sir" Evans (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) prisoner in her own basement.

Steve Howey was already a well-known face in the television world when he started playing Kevin Ball in "Shameless." His roots were planted in the WB sitcom "Reba," where he played the titular character's (Reba McEntire) dimwitted son-in-law, Van. As Kev, he got to explore an entirely different side of acting — including full-frontal nudity, which he admitted he found liberating. Kev went from brawling in The Alibi to coping with his messy romantic life with V. He ends up a happy homeowner and dad, but that's definitely not where his story starts.

Before "Shameless," he mainly played high school and college-aged characters in shows like "ER" and "The Drew Carey Show." While appearing in "Reba," Howey popped up in "DOA: Dead or Alive" as Weatherby. Between "Reba" and "Shameless," he appeared in "Bride Wars," "Still Waiting...," and the short-lived NBC sitcom "CTRL." He also led the direct-to-video parody film "Stan Helsing" and recurred three times on "Sons of Anarchy." After "Shameless," he portrayed Harry Tasker in NBC's season-long TV take on "True Lies." His latest guest-starring role was in "Brilliant Minds" as a missing member of a biker gang.

Mickey Milkovich isn't your typical romantic lead. Trafficking in gang violence and part of a large and abusive family, he seems more likely to break a bottle over someone's head rather than entering into wedded bliss. But he and Ian Gallagher still manage to find real love and make it out of the neighborhood — after they share a jail cell, that is.

Noel Fisher had a solid career behind him as a teen actor. He even had a role in the infamous "Freddy Got Fingered" and was Troy in "Max Keebler's Big Move." After appearing in the short-lived "You, Me and the Kids," he took on his first major role as eldest son Cale Molloy in the early FX drama "The Riches." Fisher briefly left Shameless for a couple of seasons before returning as a regular in the wake of Emmy Rossum's departure. During that break, he played Ellison Mounts in History's "Hatfields & McCoys" miniseries and Vladimir in "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2." He was seen in National Geographic Channel's "The Long Walk Home" and played prison guard Dennis in "Castle Rock." 

Fisher is also yet another "Shameless" alumnus who appeared on "The Conners." He's played Ed Conner Jr. three times on the series. Post-"Shameless," he's only taken on one role so far — that of Zack Miller in "The Calling." But he also maintained and continues to maintain a healthy acting career as a voiceover artist, playing Toad in "X-Men: Evolution" and Michelangelo in Michael Bay's series of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" films.

Fiona Gallagher goes through a lot of romantic options during her time on "Shameless," but no one bedevils her more than Jimmy Lishman. Or is it Steve Wilton? The guy who seems to be Fiona's prince charming turns out to be the kind of guy who cheats on her and lies about his identity.

Justin Chatwin appeared in a wide variety of shows and motion pictures before his three season-long run on "Shameless." While he started out with small parts in syndicated shows, like the series version of "Traffic," he made a name for himself in the 2005 remake of "War of the Worlds," where he played Robbie, in addition to playing Matt in "Taking Lives" and Ben in "Middle of Nowhere." Chatwin starred as Goku in the much-maligned live action adaptation "Dragon Ball Z: Evolution," as well as taking on the role of teen idol Bobby Shore in the quirky independent film "Bang Bang Baby." 

He hopped to another drama after wrapping "Shameless," but this one has a science fiction bend — he played Jason in four episodes of "Orphan Black." Chatwin held down a lead role in "American Gothic" as Cam and popped up in the big-screen version of "CHiPS" as Raymond Reed Kurtz Jr. In Netflix's "Another Life," he was Dr. Erik Wallace, and he recently appeared as Jack Reagan in "Reagan." 

Sheila Jackson may have been introduced to "Shameless" as the mom of Lip's prospective girlfriend, Karen (Laura Slade Wiggins). But soon enough, she finds herself romantically tangled up with Frank Gallagher himself, complicating her troubled marriage to her husband, Eddie (Joel Murray). For five seasons, they fall in and out of love while she copes with her agoraphobia. Karen often ends up parenting her own mom, though Karen's wild-child ways ultimately press Sheila into caring for Karen's baby and taking Frank in whenever he has another scheme to peddle. Sheila ultimately ends up leaving Chicago to travel around the country in an RV she's purchased, conquering her agoraphobia and leaving Frank behind to lament his own rudeness toward her.

While Sheila might not be a seasoned traveler, Joan Cusack has done all sorts of acting. She made her name with small parts in teen flicks like "My Bodyguard" and "Class," but graduated to supporting roles in "Working Girl," "Married to the Mob," and "My Blue Heaven." The 1990s were especially kind to her, as she was immortalized as Debbie Jellinsky in "Addams Family Values" and Emily in "In and Out." She co-starred with her brother John in multiple films, including "Grosse Point Blank." She had her own sitcom vehicle, "What about Joan." Post-"Shameless," she appeared in "Popstar: Never Stop Stopping" as Tilly and was Justice Strauss in Netflix's version of "A Series of Unfortunate Events." On top of all of that, she regularly voices Jessie for the "Toy Story" series of films, specials, and video games.

Svetlana Yevgenivna is definitely a force of nature — though not necessarily a good one all the time — in the lives of Kev and V. Svetlana distinguishes herself among the flock of Russian sex workers being promoted by Mickey during Season 3. Thanks to the machinations of Mickey's evil father, Terry (Dennis Cockrum), she and Mickey share a brief marriage which produces a child, Yevgeny. When that breaks up, she marries V to avoid deportation and get a green card. Though the complicated poly relationship seems to benefit everyone, Kev and V fail to trust Svetlana, and she divorces V and marries a new man, taking Yevgeny with her.

Isidora Goreshter has made some moves of her own since leaving "Shameless." Like Svetlana, she's a multi-threat performer, and her experience as a ballet dancer helped her get a foot in the door in Hollywood. Many of her initial roles only required her to dance, but she soon picked up parts in "Two Broke Girls," "Ben and Kate," "Trouble" and "Paranoia." After "Shameless," she guested in "Grey's Anatomy," was Kat in Audience's "Condor," and appeared in the telefilm "Red Bird Lane."

Mickey's twin sister, Mandy, was introduced as a carefree rebel. Initially, she's a friend of Ian's — she even helps him conceal his homosexuality by acting as his fake girlfriend, completely unaware that he and Mickey are in love. But her darker side soon shows up when she falls for Lip. Initially, their relationship is all peaches and cream. But Lip soon ends up falling in bed with Karen. The volatile Mandy and Karen battle for his affections. This leads to Mandy running Karen over with her car, permanently damaging Karen's short-term memory. That puts the kibosh on Mandy and Lip's relationship permanently. She suffers through an abusive connection to Kenyatta (Sheldon Bailey), and ultimately escapes him after he forces her to move to another state. She ends up returning to Chicago and happily works as an escort.

While Jane Levy took on the role of Mandy during Season 1, for the majority of her run she was played by Emma Greenwell. This ended up causing a debate between "Shameless" fans as to which Mandy is the best Mandy. But that hasn't effected Greenwell's career at all. She landed the role of Caroline Bingley in "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" while working on "Shameless," which helped launch her Hollywood career. Her post-"Shameless" life has been rather busy — she was Mary Cox in the dramatic Hulu series "The Path," led the Starz series "The Rook," and appeared in Netflix's "Rattlesnake."