Wednesday, 24 October 2007

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Emmy Rossum talks about the dad she never knew

Phantom of the Opera actress sings about being abandoned on her new album

Emmy Rossum, raised by a single mother, has opened up about her feelings about the father she barely knows.

"They separated when my mom was pregnant," the actress told USA Today. "I've met him twice. I've been this glossy, red-carpet version of me and not talked about myself for a long time."

Rossum, who just turned 21, has been lying low lately, but she hasn't been taking a break. She turned to music, a talent she developed singing with the Metropolitan Opera as a child, and is releasing her debut album, Inside Out.

"The last track on the album (""Anymore") is about how being abandoned shouldn't make you feel ashamed ... I miss him, or I miss the idea of what he could be," she said. "But a lot of people have filled that void."

In particular, she says, her fellow actors have helped her cope with her non-traditional family life.

"I've signed on for three [new films]. I grew up with a single mom and no siblings. When I'm on a film, I have so many surrogate siblings. I'll never give up on that," said the actress who has starred in The Phantom of the Opera, Poseidon, Mystic River and The Day After Tomorrow.

As for reaching the legal drinking age, she finds a joy in shocking people.

"I love a whiskey sour, and I know most people can't believe a small-framed girl like me can drink a whiskey sour, but I can," she says, adding: "And I like Bellinis."

By Sara Hammel