Emmy Rossum announces she's leaving Shameless

The Hollywood Reporter

Rossum posted a heartfelt and lengthy letter to Facebook this morning announcing that she's exiting the Showtime series after nine seasons. "The opportunity to play Fiona has been a gift," she wrote. "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 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." Shameless returns on Sept. 9 for a 14-episode season that will be shown in two parts. UPDATE: Showtime and Shameless showrunner John Wells confirm Rossum's exit:  “Emmy Rossum will forever be part of the Shameless family," Wells said in a statement. "We are hard at work now creating a season nine finale for Shameless which we hope will provide a Gallagher-worthy sendoff for Fiona that honors the great work Emmy has done."