Emmy Rossum and her husband, Sam Esmail, purchased a five-bedroom apartment on New York City’s Upper East Side in 2018, bringing the actress back to the neighborhood where she spent much of her childhood. After an extensive renovation, the couple moved into the 4,400-square-foot home in early 2021, shortly before the birth of their first child. Their family grew with the arrival of a second child in 2023.

Rossum, 39, who began her performing career at age seven with the children’s chorus at the Metropolitan Opera on the Upper West Side, has maintained strong ties to New York despite spending years in Los Angeles filming the television series “Shameless,” where she portrayed Fiona Gallagher. While she relocated to Los Angeles full time in 2010 for the show, she kept a residence in Sutton Place, maintaining a connection to the city throughout.

The couple’s apartment reflects a carefully curated and orderly living space. Rossum describes herself and Esmail as Virgos who value organization, with everything in the home having a dedicated place. The kitchen, a central area for the family, features durable composite countertops designed to withstand wear and accommodate children. The refrigerator is meticulously arranged and labeled, underscoring the couple’s preference for order. A family drawing created by Rossum’s five-year-old daughter is displayed on a wall in the kitchen, capturing a memory from a recent trip.

Many of the apartment’s personal touches evoke memories of Rossum’s past. A Yamaha upright piano, which once served as both a musical instrument and an entryway table in the small apartment she shared with her mother, remains in the home. The living space also includes Inuit artifacts and stone bear sculptures collected during a childhood trip to Alaska with her mother. A first edition of “The Stanley Kubrick Archives,” purchased during a shared visit to a Kubrick exhibition in Los Angeles in 2013, is displayed on the coffee table.

Rossum’s minimalist approach extends to her clothing closet, which features pieces from designers such as Yves Saint Laurent alongside vintage Ralph Lauren handbags she wore while promoting “The Phantom of the Opera” in 2004. Personal memorabilia, including a New York Knicks hat signed by former player John Starks, also have a place in her collection.

The family values the sense of community their location provides. Rossum’s mother still lives in the apartment where the actress grew up, and her childhood best friend now lives three floors below the couple’s apartment. The close-knit neighborhood allows for frequent interactions with friends and neighbors, contributing to the actor’s affinity for her home.