The Big Picture

• Frank Gallagher is the dysfunctional patriarch on Shameless, creating constant family drama with his alcoholism and drug addiction.
• The Gallagher family is chaotic, deceptive, and loyal, sticking together through all their misadventures.
• Each Gallagher sibling has their own struggles and quirks, from Fiona's caretaking to Carl's rebellious behavior.

The Gallaghers of Shameless are many things, but simple is not one of them. The dysfunctional South Side Chicago family constantly gets into trouble, causes a scene, and behaves questionably on the Showtime hit. There's a ton of Gallaghers running amok, and it can be hard to keep who's who straight, even for members of their own family. Frank Gallagher (William H. Macy) is the patriarch of the family, and while he can be in and out during the show's 11 seasons, his indiscretions and exploits create constant family drama and keep them below the poverty line.

With all the new faces and the weaving, complicated family ties, it can be really tough to know who's related to whom and how. After all, if you've watched the show's intro, you know that not even the Gallaghers want to explain what happened last week, let alone how they're related. Nevertheless, the Gallaghers stick together no matter how complicated, deceptive, drunk, high, or rude they are to each other, and that is the beautiful thing about this chaotic clan. So, who's who, and where do they fit into the family tree?

Frank Gallagher

Played by William H. Macy

The infamous Frank Gallagher seems to be the root of his children's problems, even though he also had a complicated childhood. He is the biological father of Sammi, Fiona, Lip, Debbie, Carl, and Liam, but also raised Ian as his own. Frank's problem is that he is an alcoholic and drug addict whose main priority is where he will get his next fix. He will do anything to get his hands on more alcohol or drugs, and it often comes at the expense of his children. He comes and goes as he pleases, but the home where his children live is not a welcoming place for him to stay. At the beginning of Shameless, the children are more prone to forgive him here and there, but as the seasons go on and his behavior doesn't change, many of his children write him off completely. Towards the end of the series, Frank is diagnosed with dementia, likely brought on by his alcohol and drug use. During the series finale, Frank dies from COVID-19 complications, which is almost laughable given all the things throughout the series that tried to kill him but were unsuccessful.

Peggy Gallagher

Played by Louise Fletcher

Peggy Gallagher (Louise Fletcher) is Frank's mother and Grammy to the kids on Shameless. We don't see Peggy until Season 2, when she is released from prison for medical reasons. She spent her time in prison for blowing up a meth lab that killed two people. Frank said Peggy wasn't a great mother and that she treated him and his other brothers poorly. Frank often blames Peggy for the way he behaves in his adulthood. After Peggy is released from prison, she returns to the family home and begins to take over. Eventually, we learn that she has terminal cancer, and asks Sheila Jackson (Joan Cusack) to suffocate her to death with a pillow.

Ginger Gallagher

Played by Ellen Albertini Dow

We don't see much of Ginger Gallagher (Ellen Albertini Dow) in Shameless, but she is Frank's aunt who legally owns the house all the Gallaghers live in. Aunt Ginger actually isn't even alive in the show, as she passed away twelve years previously from a cocaine overdose. However, in true Frank fashion, he doesn't tell the authorities she has passed away because that would mean they would take the house from them, and it would also mean that Frank wouldn't be able to keep cashing in her social security checks. So, instead, he buries her in the backyard. Everything is fine and dandy until the state comes looking for Ginger. This causes the Gallagher kids to essentially steal a senile woman from a nursing facility to pretend to be their Aunt Ginger (Gloria LeRoy). Eventually, Ginger is declared legally dead, but they can't possibly use the real body that had been decomposing in the backyard, so Fiona steals a body from the same nursing home to use.

Monica Gallagher

Played by Chloe Webb

Monica Gallagher (Chloe Webb) is Frank's ex-wife and, let's face it, most likely his soulmate. She is the mother of Fiona, Lip, Ian, Debbie, Carl, and Liam. Before the show picks up, Monica has abandoned Frank and her kids and leaves Fiona to be the acting mother of the household. Throughout the show, Monica makes occasional appearances and usually leaves disaster in her wake. She is diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder but doesn't medicate consistently, often leading to erratic behavior that strains her relationships with her children. Before Monica passes away from a brain hemorrhage, she and Frank get married again and stop resisting their magnetic yet destructive attraction to each other.

Sammi Slott

Played by Emily Bergl

Sammi Slott (Emily Bergl) is actually Frank's eldest daughter, whom he had before marrying Monica. Sammi's mother, Queenie (Sherilyn Fenn), kept her away from Frank until later in life when he and Sammi met in a chance encounter. Mistaking him for the potential love of her life, Sammi tries to come onto Frank before he reveals that she is his daughter. Because Sammi is obsessed with filling a father's void, she ignores Frank's red flags and attempts to make the picture-perfect family with him and her son, Chuckie. While Frank is facing liver failure, Sammi takes care of Frank, unlike the rest of his children. However, Sammi ends up in prison because she tries to shoot Mickey Milkovich (Noel Fisher) after he tries to kill her.

Fiona Gallagher

Played by Emmy Rossum

Emmy Rossum plays Fiona, the primary caretaker and parental figure to the rest of the kids in the house. She is the second-eldest daughter to Frank and the eldest daughter to Monica. Despite being not much older than her brothers Lip and Ian, she is still expected to care for everyone and everything in the family and household. Throughout Shameless, Fiona's arc has its ups and downs. She's gone from being a waitress to working in an office and eventually owning real estate properties in Chicago. During that time, she dated a con artist, got married to a band member whom she very quickly divorced, and almost got married another time but left the altar because he started using drugs again. Fiona struggles to find happiness in herself and her relationships due to how stressful and inconsistent her home life is. Fiona exits the series in Season 9 and decides to leave Chicago totally behind and start over somewhere else.

Lip Gallagher

Played by Jeremy Allen White

Philip Gallagher (Jeremy Allen White), or Lip, is Frank and Monica's oldest son. Lip is the Gallagher kid everyone knows can make something of himself. The South Side taught him street smarts, but he's also incredibly intelligent and, if applied properly, could make his way out of poverty for good. He was the first Gallagher kid to graduate high school and the only one who had the opportunity to go to college. Unfortunately for Lip, he likes getting into trouble, and his behavior worsens when he drinks. This eventually leads to him being expelled from college. He doesn't want to be like Frank, but is often reminded that his behavior is similar. Lip can be a ladies' man, but he likes to self-sabotage, and his relationships seem to end in disaster. By the end of the series, Lip has a child named Freddie with his long-time, up-and-down girlfriend, Tami (Kate Milner).

Ian Gallagher

Played by Cameron Monaghan

Ian Gallagher (Cameron Monaghan) is Monica's second-oldest son, but isn't biologically Frank's. Early on in Shameless, it is revealed that Ian is actually Frank's brother Clayton's son. This causes a fight between Frank and Monica, but Ian stands with the family he has had in the Gallagher household. In the beginning, Ian is quiet and somewhat meek. He is in the ROTC and in the closet, with his boss at the convenience store being his lover. Eventually, Ian comes out to his family and is supported wholeheartedly. From here, Ian begins a secret relationship with Mickey Milkovich because Mickey's father is a racist homophobe.

Things go up and down from here as Ian illegally joins the army, steals a helicopter, and goes AWOL. All of his behavior is beginning to be a warning sign to the Gallagher family that he also lives with Bipolar Disorder, just like Monica does. Eventually, Ian stabilizes and adjusts to living with his disorder thanks to the support of Mickey and his family. Towards the end of the show, Ian and Mickey get married despite Mickey's father's attempts to stop it.

Debbie Gallagher

Played by Emma Kenney

Debbie Gallagher (Emma Kenney) is Frank and Monica's youngest daughter. Debbie is first seen as incredibly sweet, naive, and almost too nurturing for her young age. Throughout Shameless, it is very clear that Debbie wants parental attention and wants to create a picture-perfect family of her own. She gets pregnant at 15 and gives birth to her daughter, Franny (Paris Newton and Presley Schrader), named after Frank. The father of her child dies when Franny is about four while he is serving in the military. Debbie desperately wants a conventional family, so she seeks partners who can either care for her or provide her with attention to fill the void. Debbie also eventually starts dating women and exploring her sexuality more freely throughout the show. She goes from having a babysitting business to being a welder to an in-home handywoman and ultimately struggles to adapt to life as a single mother. Debbie's changes throughout the show can be inspiring and raw but sometimes infuriating.

Carl Gallagher

Played by Ethan Cutkosky

Carl Gallagher (Ethan Cutkosky) is Frank and Monica's second-youngest son. Carl is quite the wild card and always has been since he was a child. He often got into trouble, played with weapons, and blew stuff up. His desire to live on the fringe and be rebellious leads him to deal drugs in the neighborhood, which in turn leads to him spending time in juvie. Carl eventually finds his path and enrolls in a military school, leading him to become a police officer. Carl has several different girlfriends throughout the show, but none of those relationships stick.

Liam Gallagher

Played by Christian Isaiah (Season 8-11), Brenden and Brandon Sims (Season 3-7)

Liam Gallagher (Christian Isaiah) is Frank and Monica's youngest son — yes, he is their son. Even though Frank believed that Liam was the result of Monica having an affair with a Black man, it is proved later in the series through a paternity test that Frank is Liam's father. This is explained by Frank as his grandmother, Nana Gallagher, having an affair. Liam appears among the most level-headed and "normal" Gallagher family members. As he ages throughout the show, Liam searches for his cultural community since everyone in his family is white. Liam is pretty much the only Gallagher child with a fairly positive relationship with Frank.