Emmy Rossum's Best 'Shameless' Moments

Fiona V Monica

One of the first times that fans got an impression of how much Fiona's siblings meant to her was when her mother Monica showed back up at the end of season one.

Monica —who had abandoned the family years prior — and her girlfriend Roberta came around to try an take baby Liam away to live with them, but they didn't want the rest of the kids.

Fiona stood her ground and delivered a tearful, heart-aching speech that to this day is unrivaled in the shows 90-plus episodes.

The Squirrel Fund Money

Moving into season two, Monica really shows her true colors when she comes back into the kids' lives pretending to be better but then takes the squirrel fund money to go on a shopping spree.

The set-back came as Fiona was amidst a winning-streak due to new opportunities at her job and her pursuit of a GED.

Fiona comes home one evening to Frank snorting on cocaine on the floor and Lip chiding her for letting things in the house get out of control, especially Monica.

It's a profoundly deep moment where we see Fiona lose her cool and release some pain, and then commence to picking up the pieces just like she always does.

"Going Gallagher" On Squatters

In season eight, Fiona has worked her way up in the world and she now owns an apartment building. Unfortunately, however, it leads to a lot of headaches.

None of which are more irritating than a family of squatters who she allowed to stay there after the father fell off the roof of the apartment while doing some work.

She eventually has enough of them taking advantage of her generosity and concocts a plan to smoke them out. Literally.

So Long, Family Home

The Gallagher family home is just as much a character of the show as the people, and when the kids got evicted in season six it was hard goodbye.

Given an opportunity to take one last look around and reflect on all the memories, both good and bad, Fiona shows a level of vulnerability that only comes with being the leader of her family.

Luckily, the eviction didn't last forever and the Gallagher clan were eventually able to move back in.

Monica's Death

The death of Monica was a complicated one. Of course death is always sad, but Gallagher matriarch's antics had worn Fiona down so much that she had no tears left to cry over her now-deceased mother.

While discussing funeral arraignments, Fiona made it very clear that her only intention was to get Monica's body "in the ground as soon as possible."

When the funeral director addressed the lack of "love lost" in the situation, Fiona simply replied that she had "an eventful childhood."

Fiona V Frank

Frank Gallagher is the hardest character on Shameless to defend, no doubt about it. Some might say he is the absolute worst, most irredeemable monster they have ever seen with their own two eyes, and it would be hard to argue with their logic and evidence.

Exhibit A: The time Frank faked a better state of being to fight Fiona over custody of the kids, and she served him up a verbal haymaker.

Fiona then took the floor and told a story of once taking care of her younger brothers and getting medical intervention for Ian after Frank had left them sitting on a curb with no intent of coming back for them.

She was subsequently awarded custody of the kids until Liam turns 18.

Kicking Robbie To The Curb

Another big moment for Fiona came when she finally ended things with Robbie, who was the substance-addicted brother of her boyfriend Mike.

Fiona and Robbie had been having an affair and his actions lead to the intense moment that Liam ingested cocaine, which sent the family on a spiral.

With no second-thoughts, she told Mike just where his can put his sleezy motel-room key and walked away from him.

No More House Arrest

While a lot of Fiona's best moments came during times of great adversity, there were some that were just fun and funny.

Following a stint on house arrest after the aforementioned drug-related situation, Fiona is just excited to move past this part of her life and get on with living.

After snipping the ankle-monitor bracelet off, Fiona jumps up and dances around the kitchen for joy.