In 1995, Rossum sang in the first Metropolitan Opera production of Tschaikovsky’s “Queen of Spades,” directed by Elijah Moshinsky. In 1996, she sang in Franco Zeffirelli’s new production of “Carmen” and in Tim Albery’s production of Benjamin Britten’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
During these years at the Met, Rossum often sang in several operas each week including “La Boheme,” “Turandot,” “Pagliacci,” “Hansel and Gretel” and “Die Meistersinger von Nuremburg.” In 1997 at Carnegie Hall, she joined the Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra in a presentation of Berlioz’s “La Damnation de Faust,” directed by James Levine.
Rossum made her television debut at the age of eleven as a recurring character on the long running American daytime program “As the World Turns.” She then guest-starred on the award-winning series “Law and Order” and “The Practice.”
Her ear for language and dialect, which she had developed at the Met, was reflected in her portrayal of the teenage Audrey Hepburn in the television movie “Audrey,” a performance for which she won critical acclaim.
In January 2000, at age 13, Rossum made her big-screen debut as the Appalachian orphan Deladis Slocum in “Songcatcher.” The film screened in dramatic competition at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Special Grand Jury Prize for Outstanding Ensemble Performance. Rossum’s voice, singing in a Scotch-Irish ballad style, was featured in the film. Her acting performance earned her an Independent Spirit Award in the category of Best Debut Performance. After seeing an early cut of the film, Dolly Parton was inspired to write a mother-daughter duet which she recorded with Rossum. That duet, “When Love is New,” was released on the “Songcatcher” soundtrack CD.
Variety named Rossum “One of the Ten to Watch” in the year 2000. She has a supporting role opposite Sean Penn, Lawrence Fishburne, Kevin Bacon and Tim Robbins in the Clint Eastwood-directed drama “Mystic River,” which received several Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. The New York Times called her performance “transfixing” and cited it as one of the “Breakout Performances” of 2003. The Times named Rossum as one of the “Six Actors to Watch this Fall (and Long Thereafter).”
In September 2003, Rossum began production on the Joel Schumacher-directed film of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera.” She acts and sings the role of Christine Daae, the young opera singer who becomes the object of the Phantom’s obsession.
Rossum was born in New York City in 1986 and attended the Spence School until 1996, when she began to homeschool through private tuition and by enrolling in programs offered by Stanford University’s Education Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY) and Northwestern University’s Center for Talent Development (CTD). Currently, she takes college courses at Columbia University.
Birth Date: September 12, 1986
Place of Birth: New York, NY
BIOGRAPHY SUPPLIED BY 20TH CENTURY FOX AND "THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW"
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
"The Day After Tomorrow" Photo Gallery
"The Day After Tomorrow" Trailer, Credits and Movie News
