Emma Kenney For The Knockturnal By Raul Romo; Styled By Karolina Frenchowicz wearing Jacket by Sara Wong & Shoes by ReyRey
From her killer sense of humor to her kind and down-to-earth personality, Emma Kenney is the type of person anyone would want as their best friend. The horoscope-loving 22-year-old actress has been in the spotlight for the majority of her life, but she is only just getting started.
Emma joined the cast of Shameless and the Gallagher family at the age of nine, unknowing the impact it would have on her career. Thirteen years later, she stars as Harris Connor Healy, on the Roseanne spin-off, The Connors.
Emma Kenney For The Knockturnal By Raul Romo; Styled By Karolina Frenchowicz wearing Jacket by Sara Wong & Shoes by ReyRey
Growing up on the set of Shameless, it comes as no surprise that the cast became like family to Emma. “It’s kind of like summer camp, being on set, in a way,” explained Emma. “You just kind of bond with these people- you’re together all day, you usually have lunch together, it’s like your ‘work wife.’’ All we know is that summer camp would’ve been a whole lot more fun with campers from the Gallagher family.
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- Emma Kenney For The Knockturnal By Raul Romo; Styled By Karolina Frenchowicz Wearing Kids of Broken Future Jacket, ASOS Rings, The Fold Pants & Camisole.
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- Emma Kenney For The Knockturnal By Raul Romo; Styled By Karolina Frenchowicz Wearing Kids of Broken Future Jacket, ASOS Rings, The Fold Pants & Camisole.
Shameless, starring William H. Macy, Joan Cusack, and Emmy Rossum, aired for eleven seasons, from 2011 to 2021, and will always hold a special place in Emma’s heart. “It was over half of my life, it was a major part of who I am and I think always will be to an extent,” explained Emma. “Those were my most like pivotal years and my first experience doing something that I’m gonna hopefully be doing the rest of my life.”
Emma Kenney For The Knockturnal By Raul Romo; Styled By Karolina Frenchowicz Wearing Kids of Broken Future Jacket, ASOS Rings, The Fold Pants & Camisole.
But as Herb Kazzaz says, in Emma’s favorite TV show Bojack Horseman, “everything must come to an end.” Though it was hard to say “goodbye” to the Gallagher family, Emma says that it was time to go. “It was definitely bittersweet to be wrapping up because we went for 11 seasons, which is amazing, and nobody expected that,” the actress explained. “But also we’re ready for the next chapter, all of us in our own careers, and nothing lasts forever.”
Emma Kenney For The Knockturnal By Raul Romo; Styled By Karolina Frenchowicz Wearing Lily Silk Coat, Fold Pants, Pomelo Shirt, Kenneth Cole Shoes & ASOS Earrings.
Shameless was only the beginning for the young star. Before the Emmy Award-winning series even ended, she landed the role as Harris Connor Healy, for the tenth season of Roseanne, and its spin-off continuation, The Connors.
While Emma was still playing Debbie, she auditioned for the role of Harris. “I remember I was on set of Shameless and my manager called me and basically said that there was a role to play Darlene Conner’s daughter for a spin-off series and asked if I was interested in auditioning for it,” Emma recalled. “I was like, ‘I’m already a series regular on a show, I don’t know how that would even be legally possible, But yeah sure, why not? Let’s do it.”
“Obviously, I’d seen the show growing up, as I think everybody has, so I was like, Oh, that’s pretty cool like, I love a 90s reboot. That’ll be a fun moment,” Emma continued.
Thankfully, Emma’s team worked it out so that she could legally work on both shows. ‘”I was super pumped. There’s a lot of anticipation leading up to a call, you’re hopefully wanting to go the way you wanted it to. So I was very pleasantly surprised and excited that it worked out.”
Emma Kenney For The Knockturnal By Raul Romo; Styled By Karolina Frenchowicz Wearing Lily Silk Coat, Fold Pants, Pomelo Shirt, Kenneth Cole Shoes & ASOS Earrings.
Getting that role was a full-circle moment for the actress as she used to fall asleep to it as a child. “It’s such a relatable thing,” she laughed. “It was kind of one of those shows where it’s like Nick at Nite, that would be on or George Lopez, Full House, any of those shows.”
And the cast of The Conners aren’t just like a family on-screen, they are close off screen as well. “Everybody’s so great and it’s nice to have spent a good amount of time with people, and have memories and inside jokes. It’s definitely a fun environment on set,” Emma explained. “I’m really grateful for the people that work on the show, full cast and crew production company. Everybody’s so nice and accommodating and creative.”
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- Emma Kenney For The Knockturnal By Raul Romo; Styled By Karolina Frenchowicz Wearing Marcell Von Berlin Blazer, Fold Pants, Kenneth Cole Shoes, & ASOS Earrings.
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- Emma Kenney For The Knockturnal By Raul Romo; Styled By Karolina Frenchowicz Wearing Marcell Von Berlin Blazer, Fold Pants, Kenneth Cole Shoes, & ASOS Earrings.
Emma, born and raised in New York City, credits her success to her parents, as they pushed her to be creative, and signed her up for different classes and lessons to see what she enjoyed. As a child, her mother would take her into the city to film short films with NYU students. “I have such fond memories from those days,” she recalled. “And that really introduced the joy of being on set to me.”
Emma Kenney For The Knockturnal By Raul Romo; Styled By Karolina Frenchowicz Wearing Lily Silk Coat, Fold Pants, Pomelo Shirt, Kenneth Cole Shoes & ASOS Earrings.
At the age of nine, Emma was the youngest filmmaker ever accepted in the New Jersey International Film Festival. Her entry, The New Girl in Town, was a short film about a vampire crashing a sleep-over. Emma recalls hosting “auditions” in her backyard with her friends for the film. “I was brutal,” the actress said with a laugh. “I would make them do the scenes again, [saying] ‘Do it again, I don’t believe you, add passion.’”
That same year, she was offered the role in Shameless, and that’s when her career took off. “I remember the first time I ever got recognized,” recalled Emma. “It was season one of Shameless and I was on the subway with my mom in New York. Somebody was like, ‘Oh, are you playing that girl on the new Showtime show?’ And my mom and I were like, ‘Oh my god, you made it.’”
Flash forward to 2021, Emma is a normal twenty-something girl (with an impressive resume.) The Virgo sun, Leo Ascendant, and Scorpio moon is known for reading and memorizing her friend’s birth charts, keeps up-to-date on all things Bachelor Nation and the latest Netflix shows. Though she moved to LA, she says her loyalties will always lie with the East Coast, as she cheers for the Mets, Jets, and the Knicks.
Emma Kenney For The Knockturnal By Raul Romo; Styled By Karolina Frenchowicz Wearing Lily Silk Coat, Fold Pants, Pomelo Shirt, Kenneth Cole Shoes & ASOS Earrings.
There is a lot more to Emma than what we see on screen. Though she has been in the spotlight for most of her life, she feels as though the public doesn’t really know her. “I’m a pretty private person. It definitely takes me some time to warm up and trust people and show my true sense of humor and emotions, especially more vulnerable stuff as well.”
Emma Kenney For The Knockturnal By Raul Romo; Styled By Karolina Frenchowicz Wearing Lily Silk Coat, Fold Pants, Pomelo Shirt, Kenneth Cole Shoes & ASOS Earrings.
We learned that acting is far from her only passion. Emma loves photography and shoots on film. “I like the delay of the instant gratification,” she said. “Nowadays, you take a selfie and you see it immediately and everyone’s saying how great you look. But with film, you take a shot, and I’m the only one who can see it.”
And her career goals go beyond acting as well- “I am super passionate about animal adoption and that’s something I want to definitely pursue in my future,” Emma told The Knockturnal. “I want to open up an animal shelter to rescue dogs on death row and any dog that needs a home.”
Whether it is filmmaking, acting, or opening an animal shelter, Emma Kenney is sure to soar in whatever she does going forward.
