Emma Kenney
Born
Emma Rose Kenney

(1999-09-14) September 14, 1999 (age 24)
New York City, New York, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active2008–present

Emma Rose Kenney (born September 14, 1999) is an American actress. She has portrayed Deborah "Debbie" Gallagher on Shameless from 2011 to 2021, and Harris Conner-Healy in the tenth season of the family sitcom Roseanne and its spin-off continuation The Conners.

Early life

Kenney was born on September 14, 1999, in New York City. Her parents are Gillian Kenney, a criminal defense lawyer, and Kevin Kenney, a sports writer who formerly wrote for the New York Post and now works for Fox Sports.[1][2][3][4]

Career

Kenney made several appearances in short and made-for-television films. In 2009, at nine years old, she was the youngest filmmaker to be a finalist at the New Jersey International Film Festival at Rutgers University.[5]

Kenney appeared as Debbie Gallagher, the on-air daughter of William H. Macy in the comedic drama Shameless. Kenney won the role at 10 years old, while attending Park Middle School in Scotch Plains, New Jersey.[6]

In September 2017, it was announced that Kenney would appear in the 10th season of Roseanne, which served as a revival of the series and premiered on ABC on March 27, 2018. She portrays Harris Conner Healy, the granddaughter of the sitcom's titular character.[7] Kenney appeared alongside many of the show's original cast members, including Roseanne Barr, John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, and Sara Gilbert, with Gilbert portraying her TV mother, Darlene Conner Healy.[8] On May 29, 2018, ABC cancelled the revival after one season.[9][10][11]

ABC subsequently ordered a Roseanne spin-off called The Conners, which would not include Roseanne Barr, but would retain the remaining main cast, including Kenney. The Conners premiered on October 16, 2018.[12]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2008 Lyre Liar Daughter Short film
Bittersweet Emma
2009 A (Not So) Civil Union Young Jo Short film
Three Little Puppets Nicole
2013 Epic Marigold girl (voice)
2019 Robert the Bruce Briana
2022 Murder at Yellowstone City Rebecca
2022 My Love Affair with Marriage Sarma (voice)

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2009 Green Apples Abigail Television film
Day Camp Rosie Rivette
2011 Boardwalk Empire Aylesh Rohan Episode: "Peg of Old"
2011–21 Shameless Debbie Gallagher 134 episodes
2018 Roseanne Harris Conner-Healy 8 episodes
2018–present The Conners 88 episodes

References

  1. ^ lazy day q&a Archived July 24, 2018, at the Wayback Machine IGo Live. Emma Rose Kenney. 12:44 - 12:55 minute mark, "Oh, Emma Rose Kenney, that's me." September 7, 2017.
  2. ^ "Visit an Animal Sanctuary in California with Shameless Star Emma Kenney ⋆ South Side Fans". South Side Fans. July 26, 2017. Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  3. ^ "'Shameless' Star Emma Kenney Juggles Acting and Middle School". Backstage.com. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  4. ^ "Sweet success: Seventh grader lands role on HBO series". The Fanscotian. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  5. ^ "9-year-old filmmaker invited to play N.J. film festival at Rutgers". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  6. ^ "Sweet success: Seventh grader lands role on HBO series". The Fanscotian. December 12, 2011. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  7. ^ "'Shameless' Star Emma Kenney Cast in 'Roseanne', Revival". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  8. ^ "Roseanne sets return date for ABC with most of original cast". The Disney Blog. December 19, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  9. ^ Pallotta, Frank; Stelter, Brian (May 29, 2018). "ABC cancels 'Roseanne' after star's Twitter comments". CNN Money. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  10. ^ Park, Andrea (May 29, 2018). "ABC cancels "Roseanne" after Barr's tweet". CBS News. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  11. ^ Chandelis R. Duster (May 29, 2018). "ABC cancels "Roseanne" after show's star compared Obama adviser to 'ape'". NBC News. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  12. ^ "Emma Kenney | The Conners". ABC. Retrieved December 10, 2019.

External links

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