Emmy Rossum's 2 Kids: Everything the Actress Has Said About Being a Mother (Including When Her Worst Parenting ‘Nightmare’ Almost Came True)

Mar. 15, 2025

Emmy Rossum at the opening night of Second Stage Theater play “Walden” on November 7, 2024 in New York City ; Emmy Rossum and her two children at a parade.Photo:Bruce Glikas/WireImage ; Emmy Rossum/Instagram

Bruce Glikas/WireImage ; Emmy Rossum/Instagram

ActressEmmy Rossumis head over heelsfor her two children.

TheShamelessstar and her husband,Sam Esmail, began dating after meeting on the set ofComet, which he directed and she starred in. Thecouple got engagedthree years later in 2015 andtied the knot in May 2017at the Central Synagogue in New York City.

“I love it, it’s incredible,” she shared on theTodayshow in November 2024. “It’s such a journey … a responsibility of figuring out what kind of world do we want to leave for our children. How do we help shape them and give them the tools to survive on their own? To be confident and to embrace their uniqueness?”

She went on to share how becoming a mother had made her less selfish and more accommodating. “Just generosity of spirit,” Rossum shared, of what her children have taught her. “Realizing that these little tiny humans … they need you."

From their births to their family’s favorite activities, here’s everything Emmy Rossum has said about her two children.

Rossum and Esmail welcomed their daughter in May 2021

Emmy Rossum and Sam Esmail arrive to the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019.Todd Williamson/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Todd Williamson/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

“5.24.21,” she captioned an Instagram carousel of two maternity photos and one of her daughter’s tiny footprints. “On a sunny Monday morning, at 8:13AM, we welcomed our daughter into the world.”

Another showed her watching a basketball game from an exercise ball. “If you know me, you know I love the Knicks… So of course I early labored over a ball during one of the big games,” Rossum wrote.

Rossum almost gave birth to her first child in an Uber

Emmy Rossum and her daughter.Emmy Rossum/Instagram

One year after welcoming her daughter, Rossumshared more details from the birthwhile co-hostingLive with Kelly and RyanalongsideRyan Seacrest.

Rossum shared that the driver was “lovely and considerate” — which was not ideal for the situation at hand. “I want to go,” she said. “If it’s an orange [light], just take that as a green and go.”

TheDay After Tomorrowstar’s labor “progressed very quickly” and she later realized how dangerously close she was to her nightmare coming true. “I was actually nine centimeters dilated at that point, sorealclose,” she said. “I was basically 10 minutes away from having a child.”

Rossum learned she was pregnant with her son while filmingThe Crowded Room

Rossum starred in the 2023 limited seriesThe Crowded Roomas the mother ofTom Holland’s character. The actress said she was drawn to the role because of therelationship between the mother and son.

“[I] fell in love …. with their closeness and everything that they’re grieving in later episodes,” she toldEntertainment Tonightin June 2023.

The experience “brought up a lot” of feelings for Rossum, who learned she was about to become a mom for the second time while on set.

“Finding out during our last couple episodes that I was pregnant with my son, who was born 8 weeks ago, it brings up a lot about our imperfections as people, the unrealistic expectations that we place on ourselves, and how we are really just a product of our own upbringings,” she said.

Rossum added, “I think the show has a lot to say about love and empathy and understanding of those who are different than we are.”

Rossum and Esmail welcomed their son in April 2023

Rossum and Esmail’s son was bornon April 5, 2023.

“On a foggy Wednesday morning, our son was born,” the couple captioned anInstagrampost that included a photo of Rossum’s bump, a close-up of her son’s face, a picture of his footprints and details of his birth.

Rossum took four years off of acting to raise her kids

Emmy Rossum’s daughter ; Emmy Rossum on May 21, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.Emmy Rossum/Instagram, David Livingston/Getty

In November 2024, Rossum opened up on theTodayshow about taking a break from acting to focus on being a mom.

“You did something really cool, you took time off to spend a lot of time raising your kids, and now 4 years later, here we are,” hostHoda Kotbsaid before asking how Rossum felt reentering the entertainment world.

“It’s incredible,” Rossum said. “Especially being on-stage in a live theater performance, there’s nothing quite like it. It really has reaffirmed my love of this art, it is incredible.”

Rossum, who began acting as a child, said she was thrilled to be working in the field she loves again. “I loved performing, I loved being part of a company, I just loved telling stories,” she explained. “I feel so grateful that I get to do this.”

Rossum helps out at her daughter’s school

Emmy Rossum and husband Sam Esmail with their daughter in Disneyland.Emmy Rossum/instagram

When she’s not acting, Rossum is happy to help out at her daughter’s school.

“I am like the third string backup,” she explained onTodayof her substitute teaching. “Like a backup, backup, third string teacher.”

When asked if the kids listen to her, Rossum said it was a pretty easy gig. “You’re kind of like an exciting novelty in the classroom, because they are used to their teachers and you’re the new, kind of, backup teacher," she said.

Rossum’s first Mother’s Day as a parent helped her reflect on her relationship with her own mother

Actress Emmy Rossum and Sam Esmail arrive at HBO’s Post Emmy Awards Reception.Gregg DeGuire/WireImage

Rossum often talks about her love for her mother, who was a single mom throughout the actress’ childhood. In 2017, she penned an open letter onFacebooksharing how the experience impacted her. Though she admitted that Father’s Days and father-daughter dances were hard for her, Rossum wrote that was so grateful for her mother.

“She really was both a mother and a father for me,” the actress wrote. “She was always enough. She is enough. She wasn’t perfect, no one is, but for me she was the best mom ever … So I suppose this is a public thank you note of sorts.”

That special relationship only got stronger when Rossum became a mom herself. On her first Mother’s Day as a parent in May 2022, she shared a sweet photo with her mom andwrote, “For my mother, strong, bold, brave, funny, who can master just about any skill she puts her mind to … Today takes on new meaning as I join for the first time on this Mother’s Day.”

Rossum and her daughter share this adorable trait

Emmy Rossum ; Emmy Rossum’s daughter.Emmy Rossum/Instagram (2)

In February 2023, Rossum gave fans a rare glimpse of her daughter and shared a sweettrait that they havein common.

The actress first posted a snap of herself that showed off her naturallong curly hairafter a “winter air dry” session. She then shared a photo of her little girl with her own ringlets on full display.

Rossum’s daughter helped her make “mom friends”

Emmy Rossum kisses her daughter.Emmy Rossum/ Instagram

Emmy Rossum/ Instagram

In May 2022, Rossum shared that her daughter was helping her make new friends.

“She made all these friends at the park in the playground, so now I have mom friends which is so nice,” she said onLive with Kelly and Ryan. “So we’re going to have a music party with tambourines and cupcakes in the park.”

The parents swapped ideas and came up with some cute activities for their kids to do together, even though the kids weren’t old enough to understand them yet. “You know, they’re little, they don’t really know what’s going on,” she said. “So it’s more for us.”

source: people.com