List of Shameless characters

The following is a list of the fictional characters appearing in the American comedy-drama television series Shameless, created by Paul Abbott. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2011 on the Showtime network. It is based on the UK series of the same name.

Shameless is set in Chicago's South Side.^[1] It tells the story of an alcoholic father, Frank Gallagher and his six children, who strive to take care of each other and create better lives despite Frank's poor influence. Abbott grew up in a family in the United Kingdom much like that portrayed in the UK series Shameless.^[2]

Gallagher family

Frank Gallagher

Vernon Francis "Frank" Gallagher (William H. Macy) is the father of six children. He is a deadbeat alcoholic, drug addict and morally deficient freeloader who relies on his children to barely get by. He also swindles the state welfare system and this type of opportunistic deceit has been learned by his children.

Frank begins affairs with almost any available woman, resulting in the births of even more children. For instance, he begins a relationship with Sheila Jackson when he discovers that she gets maximum disability benefits for her agoraphobia. Frank is the biological father of Sammi, Fiona, Lip, Debbie, Carl, and Liam, but not of Ian, who is the children's half-brother and cousin.

The children refer to their father as Frank. Although Frank pontificates self-righteously about political and social issues, he spends most of his time developing schemes to cheat the system and take advantage of others in order to make money. He pays little attention to his children but can display care and concern for them in drastic circumstances.

In season 4, his liver fails, as the result of his chronic alcoholism. He tracks down his daughter Sammi, and although she is not a match for a liver transplant, she and Sheila go out of their way to arrange Frank's liver surgery. They find an unlicensed Bangladeshi surgeon willing to do the operation, using a Bangladeshi donor. The surgeon initially asks for $30,000 but when the two women admit they can only pay $26,000, he reluctantly agrees to operate. Sammi then sells all of Sheila's furniture to cover the costs but while they are absent the surgeon makes off with the money and the donor organ. Nevertheless, Frank is supplied with a replacement liver from the emergency room that allows him to continue drinking.

In season 5, a home beer still mishap causes Sheila to leave for good. In episode 9, Frank embarks on a bucket list style spree with Bianca, who has advanced pancreatic cancer. They spend Bianca's last days together and although Bianca's thrill seeking is too much for Frank, they end up in Costa Rica. After leaving a note for Frank, Bianca commits suicide by walking naked into the ocean. Frank returns home crying and tells Lip and Ian that Bianca has died.

Fiona Gallagher

Fiona Gallagher, (Emmy Rossum), is, at age twenty-three, the eldest of the Gallagher children. Because of her mother's absence and Frank's neglect, most of the responsibility for child-rearing falls on her shoulders which forces her out of high school in her junior year. Fiona works a few dead-end minimum-wage jobs to support her five siblings. Though often stressed and exhausted by her responsibilities, she never fails to perform them. Prone to selflessness, she sometimes needs to be reminded to look out for her own happiness. Even though Fiona wants everything under control, she enjoys a little bit of chaos once in a while.

At the close of season 2, Fiona receives her GED and begins to take more interest in jobs. In season 3, after Frank calls social services out of sheer spite, Fiona wins a court case (and with the admiration of the judge) is appointed her siblings' legal guardian. This strains her relationship with Jimmy.

Towards the end of season 3, Fiona finally gets a more rewarding job with a cup manufacturing company. When Lip goes off to college, and Frank is out of the house (seemingly for good), and Ian (unbeknownst to the others) has joined the Army, Fiona is still more isolated and exasperated.

In season 4, when Liam ingests cocaine at a house party and is hospitalized, Fiona is arrested. Mike posts her bail and she is put under house arrest with a curfew. When Fiona breaks her probation while partying with Robbie, she is incarcerated. She is released shortly afterwards though, due to overcrowding in the prison and gets a job at a diner.

In season 5, episode 4, Fiona impulsively marries Gus Pfender, the bassist of an indie rock band. Reuniting with Jimmy and bonding with Sean strains this marriage.

Steve, Jimmy, Jack

Jimmy Lishman (Justin Chatwin) is a main character in seasons 1-3, a guest star in season 4 and a recurring character in season 5. He is also known as Steve Wilton and Jack. Jimmy is a young man who relentlessly courts Fiona, going to great lengths to win her over. He has expensive possessions and spends money liberally. Fiona finds this off-putting and then she discovers that he is a professional car thief. It is later discovered that his real name is Jimmy and he comes from a wealthy family.

In season 2, he marries Estefania, the daughter of Nando, a Brazilian mafia mob leader, even though he is not interested in her. Fiona and Jimmy resume their relationship at the end of season 2. Nando wants Estefania to become a citizen and stay in the US. He threatens to kill Jimmy if he does not convince the Department of Immigration that he is her devoted husband.

In season 3, Jimmy vacillates between Fiona and Estefania. Beto, one of Nando's cronies, watches Jimmy. Estefania does not convince Immigration that her marriage is real. Nando then takes Jimmy on a boat, presumably to murder him. In the post-credits scene of the Season 4 finale, Jimmy, called Jack is alive.

In season 5, episode 6, Fiona encounters Jimmy at her diner job. Despite his explanations, Fiona rejects him and after being punched by Gus, he leaves.

Lip Gallagher

Phillip "Lip" Gallagher (Jeremy Allen White) aged twenty-one, is the second Gallagher child and is the most academically minded. In high school, he was a straight-A student. He created various money-making schemes, such as running an ice cream truck that also sold beer and marijuana and taking the SATs for fellow students (often scoring 2400, a perfect score) for a fee. Lip is more rebellious outside the classroom though, spending much of his time drinking beer and smoking weed and eventually participating in car theft schemes. Lip has a strong bond with Ian and is also the first one to discover that Ian is gay. During the first few seasons of the show, while tutoring Karen Jackson in mathematics, Lip develops a sexual relationship with her, and soon falls in love with her. Karen though, decides to marry Jody, and gives birth to a baby that is neither Lip's nor Jody's.

Lip then starts a new relationship with Mandy Milkovich. When Mandy discovers Lip doesn't plan on going to college, she considers that he is wasting his potential and his chances for a brighter future. When she secretly applies to colleges on his behalf, he is accepted by MIT. Mandy and Lip separate when Lip learns that Mandy hit Karen with her car, inflicting injuries resulting in brain damage.

In season 4, Lip begins courses at the University of Chicago. He struggles to juggle his studies, his job at the cafeteria, and his family life (he frequently returns to the Gallagher household to bring food and stolen supplies. Amanda helps him and his grades improve.

In season 5, Lip works for Tommy in construction. At Amanda's summer home, Lip and Amanda's father do not get on. However, Amanda's father offers Lip an internship when they find some common ground. Lip starts to follow a changed life but is challenged when Mickey and his brothers plan to raid a café. After the raid, Mickey locks Lip out of the getaway car, leaving him to hide from the police. Despite difficulties paying for his education, Lip receives a grant and also begins an affair with a professor.

Ian Gallagher

Ian Clayton Gallagher (Cameron Monaghan) aged nineteen, is the third of the Gallagher children. He resembles Monica but is not Frank's child. Ian participates in Army JROTC. He works at the Kash and Grab grocery store. When the series begins, Ian's employer, Kash, is aware of his homosexuality. Ian later tells Lip and eventually the rest of the family of his sexual orientation.

Ian develops a complicated relationship with his neighbor, Mickey Milkovich. At the end of season 3, Ian, still underage, enlists in the Army using his brother Lip's identity. In season 4, it is revealed that he has deserted training camp, stolen an army helicopter, and is being pursued by Army MPs.

When season 4 begins, he is working as a dancer and a rent boy at a gay bar called The White Swallow while squatting in an abandoned house. Lip and Debbie track him down and try to persuade him to return home.

Ian's behavior becomes more and more erratic and he is diagnosed with Bipolar disorder, which also affected Monica. Ian is offered treatment but refuses it despite his family's encouragement. In season 5, episode 10, Ian is arrested then released soon afterwards into Monica's care. When Monica takes Ian to live in her trailer, he discovers she is using methamphetamine and he leaves. He returns to the Gallagher household and by the end of the season has ended his relationship with Mickey, citing his mental illness.

Debbie Gallagher

Deborah "Debbie"/"Debs" Gallagher (Emma Kenney) aged fifteen, is one of the middle Gallagher children. She is plain and reserved yet keen to impress. Debbie will cover for others but is not brash or reckless like her older brothers. She forgives her father's neglect and irresponsibility as well as her mother's absence. She is very mature in some ways and therefore has trouble making friends with people her age.

In season 3, Debbie becomes a teenager and is more rebellious, disrespectful, and secretive like her siblings. In season 4, her friends Holly and Ellie glamorize sexual promiscuity. Debbie meets Matty (James Allen McCune), aged twenty. She tries to seduce him but is rejected. Debbie falls into conflict with Matty's girlfriend, Seema. Seema hires a boy in Debbie's class to humiliate her. Matty then breaks up with Seema and says he has committed himself to Debbie. In season 5, Debbie has a falling out with Holly and Ellie and continues to pursue a first sexual encounter. At a party, Debbie does seduce Matty after which he leaves. Debbie then meets Derek and begins a relationship with him. By the end of the season, she is pregnant. In season 6, Derek leaves her once he finds out she is pregnant with his baby. In episode Paradise Lost, she gives birth to a baby girl on the Gallagher's kitchen table. She names her daughter Frances, after Frank.

Carl Gallagher

Carl Francis Gallagher (Ethan Cutkosky) aged fourteen, is the second-youngest Gallagher child. He shares a room with Lip and Ian, who try to keep their more adult interests from him. Carl is often in trouble at school for attacking other students. In his early years, he displays several psychopathic tendencies such as mutilating his toys and killing stray animals, although this behavior seems to be less prevalent as he ages. He also begins to show concern for Frank. His bond with Frank is strengthened after Frank convinces him he has cancer (for one of his schemes—later "cured"). In season 4, when Frank's liver fails, Carl takes it on himself to find him an organ donor. Carl falls into crime with Bonnie, committing robberies of stores and cars. Carl begins his sexual life with Bonnie and then Holly Herkimer. In season 5, episode 9, Carl deliberately commits a crime to be sentenced to juvenile detention to "get his education and street cred".

Liam Gallagher

Liam Gallagher (Brennan Kane Johnson & Blake Alexander Johnson) aged six, is the youngest of the Gallagher children. Although stunted in verbal and emotional responses, the whole family feels sentimental towards Liam. In season 4, Liam ingests Fiona's cocaine and suffers brain damage. Fiona is arrested.

Other main characters

Veronica Fisher

Veronica "V" Fisher (Shanola Hampton) is the Gallaghers' neighbor and Fiona's best friend and confidante. She often gives Fiona advice concerning relationships, caring for her siblings, and caring for herself. Veronica had pursued a hospital medical career until she was fired for stealing medical supplies and now works as a webcam girl.

Veronica and her husband Kevin are unable to conceive. Veronica's mother Carol acts as a surrogate. However, Carol wishes to keep the baby when Veronica falls pregnant with triplets (one of which is non-viable). Veronica delivers two girls. In season 5, Veronica misses attention from Kevin. She contacts an old high school acquaintance but on meeting him again, she walks away.

Kevin Ball

Kevin "Kev" Ball (Steve Howey) is Veronica's husband. He is separated from his first wife who left him. Kev is the owner of the Alibi Room and is the Gallaghers' neighbor and friend. Though frequently exasperated by Frank's lifestyle, he gives Frank drinks on credit at his bar and cashes his disability checks for him.

Kev is dyslexic and grew up in foster care. When Kev and Veronica take in a foster daughter, Kev takes it upon himself to make her feel as comfortable as possible. However, she runs away and so Kev and Veronica are no longer allowed to be foster parents.

Kev has inherited the bar from its previous owner, Stan. (Stan's daughter is an effeminate homosexual man who was estranged from homophobic Stan.) To keep his bar afloat, Kev brings Mickey into the business. When Mickey steals from the bar, Kev brandishes and accidentally fires a shotgun. Veronica tells Kev to get rid of the weapon.

In Season 5, Kev spends more time with his daughters and wishes to learn to be a better parent. He goes to internet chatrooms, watches Svetlana breastfeeding and shaves off all of his hair after his babies keep pulling on it. Veronica is appalled by Kev's actions and puts him in the spare room. Kevin cheats on Veronica with co-eds. When they try to reconcile their relationship, further problems ensue.

Sheila Jackson

Sheila Jackson (Joan Cusack) is Karen's mother and Eddie's widow. Sheila is a kind and caring person, if a bit empty-headed. She has agoraphobia and a fear of germs, developed when Karen was young. Frank seduces Sheila in order to live in her home, taking advantage of her cooking, disability checks and bedroom hospitality. Sheila eventually overcomes her conditions and continues to spend a great deal of her time with Frank. Sheila starts a relationship with Jody and they appear to have a loving, healthy relationship. However, when Karen has an accident, Sheila breaks things off with Jody and encourages him to take care of Karen. In season 4, Sheila starts internet dating. She meets a Native American man with five little nieces and nephews. She wants to adopt the children but is required to be married, so she marries Frank while he is unconscious in the hospital. Her request for adoption is denied.

Sheila and Sammi argue but they reconcile and Sammi's trailer is parked beside Sheila's house. In season 5, episode 3, Frank's home brewing set up blows up destroying Sheila's home. She leaves in an RV.

Karen Jackson

Karen Jackson (Laura Slade Wiggins) is a regular character in seasons 1 and 2 and a recurring character in season 3. Her mother is Sheila and her father is Eddie.

She is tutored by Lip and is seen as the neighborhood bad girl. Karen begins a casual relationship with Lip, but due to her promiscuous nature she refuses to make any real commitment, leading to a complicated relationship with him.

When Eddie invites Karen to his church's purity ball in exchange for the gift of a car, Karen is humiliated over her past sexual escapades. Eddie calls Karen a whore in front of everyone else. Karen responds by dying her hair black, gets Whore tattooed on her arm, and eventually coerces Frank into having sex with her which is shown on a webcam to her father.

At the end of season 2, Karen gives birth to a baby with Down syndrome. Sheila takes the child and Karen runs away. Later the baby's father shows up and takes the baby. In mid season 3, Karen returns but is run over by Mandy and suffers frontal-lobe brain damage resulting in her ability to only recall memories, but cannot make new memories. Jody takes Karen and her baby to Arizona to be with faith healers. While Karen and Jody do not appear again, in season 5 they are briefly mentioned by Sheila.

Mickey Milkovich

Mickey Milkovich (Noel Fisher) is a recurring character in season 1, 2 and 6 and a regular character in season 3-5. Mickey is Mandy's older brother. He is aggressively antisocial and carries firearms illegally. Mickey has a very long prison record, just like his father, Terry.

Mickey and Ian begin their relationship when Ian goes to Mickey's house to retrieve Kash's gun, which Mickey stole from the Kash and Grab. In season 2, Frank sees Mickey and Ian having sex at the Kash and Grab but does not seem to be fazed. Mickey is afraid Frank will expose him and plans to attack him, but refrains, as he feels guilty, because of Ian. He throws his gun away and punches an officer instead, landing him in juvenile detention.

In season 3, Mickey is let out for overcrowding and continues his 'relationship' with Ian. Ian manages to get him a job at the Kash and Grab and after seeing Ian's 'boyfriend' becomes jealous and beats him up. Mickey suggests Ian stay at his house for the night instead of going back to foster care. Terry comes home to find Mickey and Ian having sex and beats them up. He has Svetlana, a Russian prostitute, rape Mickey to fuck the gay out of [him]. Svetlana becomes pregnant and Terry forces Mickey to marry her. Ian leaves to join the army, leaving Mickey heartbroken.

In season 4, Mickey becomes a pimp with Russian prostitutes and persuades Kev to allow him to use the upper floors of the Alibi Room. Ian who has left the army without permission is now working in a strip club which is where Mickey finds him and sets out to find Ian and brings him home to his family. At his son Yevgeny's christening party at The Alibi Room, Mickey comes out in order to salvage his relationship with Ian. Mickey, Ian, Terry and a friend of his fight resulting in their brief incarceration. At the end of season 4, Mickey notices that Ian is depressed and asks Debbie and Carl for help. Debbie tries to talk to Ian and quickly identifies the symptoms. Fiona thinks he may have bipolar, like their mother, and suggests he be hospitalized. Mickey strongly disagrees and says he will take care of Ian himself.

In season 5, Ian cheats on Mickey twice due to his hyper-sexuality. Mickey and Ian make a plan to destroy a homophobic church. Ian's mania increases as he shoots a porno and runs away with Yevgeny. Ian is hospitalised and at first, on his discharge, Mickey avoids seeing him, but after Debbie tells him he won't be able to just forget about him, they reunite. They later on get into a fight because Ian does not like Mickey nursing him and accuses him of going soft, they make up immediately as Ian says the fight is the first time he's felt something since his symptoms started. As they go home, planning to go on a date, Sammi has notified the army MPs of Ian's whereabouts and Ian is taken away. Mickey and Debbie take revenge by "roofie"-ing Sammi and thinking they have killed her, put her body in her moving crate which is moving her stuff to her new house. In the finale, Ian breaks up with Mickey after admitting he no longer wants to take his medication, Mickey is heartbroken but has to run away as Sammi appears and starts shooting at him.

In season 6, he is incarcerated once again and appears only in the first episode.

Mandy Milkovich

Mandy Milkovich (Jane Levy season 1) (Emma Greenwell season 2 to 5) is a recurring character in season 1, 2 and 5 and a regular character in seasons 3 and 4. Mandy is Mickey's sister. Mandy was raped by her intoxicated father (who had mistaken her for her dead mother). Although she has a sweet side, she is considered a promiscuous bad girl and she has a tough occasionally violent exterior. As a good friend, she acts as Ian's girlfriend in order to hide his homosexuality.

Mandy loves Lip and secretly sends his applications to colleges. Mandy and Lip frequently enjoy casual sex. Mandy objects to Karen's advances on Lip and injures her with her car. Lip confronts Mandy and they break up. Lip does thank Mandy for all she has done before he leaves for college.

In season 4, Mandy's live-in boyfriend is Kenyatta. He physically abuses Mandy and Ian tries to help her. At the end of season 4, Mandy works as a waitress at the Waffle Cottage. Lip is served by Mandy and suspects something is wrong.

In season 5, in contrast to her previously moody behavior, Mandy is dressed demurely and is good natured. In episode 3, Mandy leaves with Kenyatta for Indiana to "clean port-a-potties".

In season 6, it is revealed that she is working as an escort.

Jody Silverman

Jody Silverman (Zach McGowan) is a recurring character in season 2 and a regular character in season 3) is a man Karen meets at Sex Addicts Anonymous and later marries. Jody is good-natured, if somewhat absent-minded. He is a keen tattoo artist, often looking for work. Jody adores Sheila and calls her Mom. He does not know that Karen is cheating on him with Lip.

Mike Pratt

Mike Pratt (Jake McDorman) is a recurring character in season 3 and a regular character in season 4. Mike is good natured, responsible, and desires trust and honesty. He is Fiona's corporate boss and in season 4, becomes her boyfriend. He bails Fiona out of jail but Fiona eventually finds him tedious. At the end of season 4, Mike's sister berates Fiona that she has ruined them and Fiona is fired.

Sammi Slott

Samantha Sammi Slott (Emily Bergl) is a recurring character in season 4 and a regular character in season 5. Sammi lives in a trailer in a rundown neighborhood with her son, Charles (Kellen Michael) called, Chuckie. Sammi can be caring but can also be impulsive and violent. She is Frank's eldest daughter but this is only revealed when Frank needs a liver transplant and he seeks her out. Sammi learns that Frank is her father when she is not a match for him and he carelessly lets it slip. Sammi is enraged at being duped but accepts her relationship with Frank. In season 5, Sammi moves in with the Gallaghers after her trailer is confiscated.

Charles Nevins Slott

Charles Chuckie Nevins Slott (Kellen Michael) is a recurring character in season 4 and a regular character in season 5. Chuckie is Sammi's son. He has an IQ of 71 and is naive to the intentions of others. He ends up in prison.

Recurring cast

Jasmine Hollander

Jasmine Hollander (Amy Smart) is a married mother of three with a free-spirited approach to parenting. Jasmine is Fiona's friend and tries to help by inviting her to parties and setting her up with different men. Jasmine has cheated on her husband and is kicked out by him with nowhere to go.

Kash

Kash (Pej Vahdat) is the owner of the grocery store Kash and Grab, where Ian works. He has an affair with Ian despite being Muslim and married with children. When Linda, Kash's wife learns of his sexuality, she allows it as long as he gives her another child. However, Kash feels trapped in his marriage and he leaves without word.

Tony Markovich

Tony Markovich (Tyler Jacob Moore) a police officer, is the Gallaghers' neighbour who lives with his overbearing mother. Tony courts Fiona and learns of the Gallaghers' illegal activities. In, Season 5 Tony comes out as gay.

Eddie Jackson

Eddie Jackson (Joel Murray) is a season 1 character. He is Sheila's husband and Karen's father. He is religious but stuck in an unhappy marriage. He breaks down when he learns of Karen's promiscuity and at the end of the season, commits suicide.

Ethel

Ethel (Madison Davenport) aged thirteen, is Veronica and Kevin's foster child. She was removed from a polygamist colony where her elderly husband, Clyde, was arrested for molestation. Ethel has had a child by Clyde, a son called Jonah who is also taken in by Veronica and Kevin. Initially, Ethel struggles to adjust to her new home but soon warms up to Kevin and Veronica and the Gallaghers. In the middle of season 2, Ethel meets a boy named Malik who has a daughter the same age as Jonah. When Ethel finds two bags of marijuana hidden in a hole in Kev's backyard, Malik sells it to fund their elopement. Kev and Veronica are worried about Ethel and Jonah leaving but she writes a thank you note and tells them not to worry.

Linda

Linda (Marguerite Moreau) is Kash's wife, a business-minded busybody. She is a Muslim convert and a proud mother but treats everything like a business, including her marriage. When Linda discovers her husband and Ian have been having an affair, she accepts it, but only on the basis he gives her another child and he does not touch Ian until she is pregnant. She does fall pregnant but Kash leaves. In a deleted scene, Linda finds out about Kash leaving and cries.

Monica Gallagher

Monica Gallagher (Chloe Webb) is Frank's ex-wife and the mother of the Gallagher children. Monica has bipolar disorder: she feels terrible for abandoning her children but can never sustain her love and concern for them for very long before succumbing to drugs, selfishness, and depression. The older Gallagher children resent and distrust her, but she is sometimes able to coax Debbie or Carl into spending time with her. In season 1, Frank tricks Monica into returning for financial gain. However, Monica announces she is gay and in a relationship with Roberta, or "Bob" who she will marry. Monica and Bob try to leave with Liam but Fiona asks Monica to give him back and she does so.

In season 2, Frank goes to Monica when his mother dies. The following morning, Frank and Monica are at the Gallagher household cooking breakfast. Bob has left. At the end of the second season, Monica finds the Gallaghers' squirrel fund and convinces Frank to spend it with her.

Later, Monica cuts her wrists in front of the family. After a long discussion with Fiona, Frank takes Debbie and helps Monica escape the clinic with her new girlfriend (played by Jenna Elfman.) Monica is last seen, speeding away in a car, telling Debbie she loves her. Monica reappears in season 5, episode 11, when she visits Ian in prison. She and Ian hitchhike out of the city. Monica takes Ian to live with a boyfriend called Walter who makes methamphetamine.

Peg Gallagher

Peg Gallagher (Louise Fletcher), also known as "Grammy", is Frank's formidable mother and the Gallagher family matriarch. She is sent home from prison on a medical furlough after lying about her health. She immediately goes after a retired meth dealer who profited from her arrest. Despite her hostile nature, she tries her best to reach out to the Gallagher children, giving Fiona money and showering Carl and Debbie with gifts. At the end of season 2, Peg allows Sheila to smother her for the purpose of euthanasia due to the pain that she suffers from terminal cancer.

Tommy

Tommy (Michael Patrick McGill) is a heavyset, cheery regular at The Alibi Room. He works as a construction crew manager and takes Lip on as a summer temporary employee. Tommy provides comic relief and is a voice of optimism.

Kate

Kate (Kerry O'Malley) is a fiery redhead. She works with Kev as manager of The Alibi Room. When Kev inherits the bar, Kate tells him that the bar is not profitable. Kate witnesses one of Frank's worst moments and says, "That is a whole new low even for you, Frank." Frank often reminds her that they have slept together during his comebacks.

Professor Hearst

Professor Hearst (Dennis Boutsikaris) is a college professor. He ensnares Liam when he catches Lip trying to take someone else's exam. He tries to channel Lip's talents into worthwhile endeavors. However, in return, the professor wants drugs and he wants knowledge about contemporary youth and popular culture in order to bed his female students.

Jess

Jess (Missy Doty) is a lesbian and is the bartender at The Alibi Room. She is witty with a dry sense of humor. When it becomes evident that Kev is dyslexic, she does the bar's books. The owner of the bar, Stan, is slowly losing his mental faculties. Jess and Kev argue over how to help Stan.

Little Hank

Little Hank (Nicky Korba) is Carl's socially awkward and slightly twisted friend. He tries to woo a number of girls. He often leads the way on pranks and stunts that land him and Carl in trouble. Little Hank and Debbie have a fledgling relationship.

Adam

Adam (James Wolk) is a banker who courts Fiona while she is working at a bar. Veronica tells Fiona that Adam is just a second rate version of Steve, but she takes no notice. Adam encourages Fiona in her track work and they begin dating. When Steve returns, Fiona, Adam, Steve and Estefania double date. When Adam notices favour between Fiona and Steve, he leaves heartbroken and humiliated.

Terry Milkovich

Terry Milkovich (Dennis Cockrum) is the father of Mandy and Mickey. He has evaded arrest numerous times and hence, Frank to turns to him for an alibi. When he sees Ian and Mickey having sex, he beats them. He then hires Svetlana to "fuck the gay" out of Mickey and forces him to marry her after Svetlana becomes pregnant with Yevgeny. He fights again with Ian and Mickey at Mickey's son's christening.

Kermit

Kermit (Jim Hoffmaster) is one of Frank's acquaintances at The Alibi Room. He often listens to Frank's rants and stories. He is quick to defend his name when people liken it to that of Kermit the Frog. Kermit has an extensive collection of firearms: his motto is, "Prepare and prevent, not repair and repent." Kermit was a friend of Dorothy (Butterface).

Carol Fisher

Carol Fisher (Vanessa Bell Calloway) is the mother of Veronica. She is the gregarious owner of a beauty salon. Carol acts as Veronica and Kev's surrogate. After giving birth, Carol wishes to raise Dominique and Veronica decides to allow her to do so.

Estefânia

Estefânia (Stephanie Fantauzzi) is the daughter of a drug lord. She marries Jimmy despite her relationship with Marco. At the end of season 2, Marco abuses Estefania and she moves to the Gallagher household. In season 3, Estefania and Marco are living together. When Estefania's father, Nando, comes to the States he murders Marco by shooting him in the head.

Nando

Nando (Pêpê Rapazote) is the father of Estefania. He is a Brazilian drug lord. He tells Steve (aka Jimmy) that he can see Fiona as much as he wants but he wants Estefania to become a US citizen. Nando assigns Beto to watch over Steve and follow him wherever he goes. Nando tells Jimmy to get a job, stay out of trouble and stop stealing cars. Near the end of the third season, Nando learns Estefania is being deported and takes Jimmy away on his boat. It is implied that Nando was going to murder Jimmy.

Lloyd Lishman

Dr Lloyd "Ned" Lishman (Harry Hamlin) is Jimmy's father. He is a surgeon who has a brief sexual relationship with Ian which makes Mickey jealous. Mickey beats Ned senseless when Ned calls him Ian's boyfriend.

Svetlana

Svetlana (Isidora Goreshter) (or Suka) is a Russian prostitute hired by Terry to have sex with Mickey to "cure" his homosexuality. She falls pregnant and despite her occupation, she says the father is Mickey. In season 4, Svetlana is living in the Milkovich house together with other prostitutes. She threatens Ian when he returns because she fears he will distract Mickey from his duties as her child's father. After the birth of her son, Svetlana threatens to tell Terry that Mickey and Ian's relationship continues and demands Mickey give her money to keep quiet. In season 5, Svetlana is a softer and more comic character. She becomes a surrogate mother to the twins. She moves in with the Fisher/Balls and performs oral sex on them both as part of her 'wifely' duties. In season 6 she regularly visits Mickey in prison (baby in tow) and works as a bartender at The Alibi - often providing comic relief to Kev and V's storylines.

Robbie Pratt

Robbie Pratt (Nick Gehlfuss; season 4) is Mike's alcoholic brother. Fiona starts an affair with Robbie while dating Mike. Robbie is irresponsible and lives a careless life. He funds his lifestyle by leeching off Mike and his parents. He justifies his manipulative actions by saying that he cannot live a "normal, boring" life with a desk job like his brother.

Mike learns of the relationship between Fiona and Robbie at a family occasion and punches Robbie. When Fiona rejects Robbie, he leaves a bag of cocaine at Fiona's house that is ingested by Liam, leading to her arrest. Fiona can no longer get a job and tells Robbie he has ruined her life. Fiona violates her probation by becoming intoxicated. The next day, she takes ecstasy, joyrides with Robbie's friends and is abandoned at a gas station. One day, when Robbie was hungover, he tells Debbie and Ian that he does not know where Fiona is. Debbie angrily tells Robbie to stay away from Fiona.

Ron Kuzner

Ron (Adam Cagley) is a regular character in season 4 and makes a cameo appearance in season 5. Ron is Lip's supportive college roommate. Lip steals from Ron and goes behind his back with Amanda. Ron appears briefly in season 5, episode 1, when he is playing a PC game, semi-oblivious to Lip with an unknown girl.

Amanda

Amanda (Nichole Bloom) is a recurring character in seasons 4 and 5 and a guest character in season 6. She is a sexual acquaintance of Ron and later seduces Lip by giving him fellatio. Amanda falls in love with Lip when Fiona is jailed and she helps Lip care for Liam in his college room. Amanda is the rebellious adopted daughter of Jason and Sheryl, an affluent Caucasian couple. According to Amanda, she was rescued from a Subic Bay brothel and they are unsure of her ethnicity. They pay Lip $10,000 to stay away from Amanda but Lip and Amanda continue to see each other. Amanda attends college with Lip in Chicago and the summer at her parents' house in Miami. In season 5, in their second year, she invites Lip to move in with her at an off-campus apartment. He declines and so she finds a roommate, Muff Bull Dagger, on Craigslist. Muff is a violent, sociopathic lesbian who stalks Amanda. She hides in Lip's room to avoid Muff and learns Lip is having sex with Helene. In the college library, Amanda punches Lip in front of other students who applaud her actions. In season 6, Amanda returns and gets her revenge on Lip by having Helene fired from the university.

Bonnie

Bonnie (Morgan Lily) is a recurring character in season 4. She becomes a friend and accomplice of Carl when they meet in juvenile detention. She lives in a van in a grocery store parking lot with her siblings. At the end of the season, Carl finds Bonnie and the van gone.

Sean Pierce

Sean Pierce (Dermot Mulroney) appears in seasons 5 and 6. He is a heroin addict. He has a son who has been taken away to Pittsburgh by the boy's mother. Sean manages a diner and is Fiona's rehabilitation supervisor. They have been in a relationship since the start of season 6.

Gus Pfender

Gus Pfender (Steve Kazee) is a recurring character in season 5. Gus is a bass guitarist for an indie rock band. Fiona meets him while working in the diner. They marry on an impulse. Gus goes on tour without Fiona because she has cheated on him with Jimmy.

Derek

Derek (Luca Oriel) is a recurring character in season 5 as Debbie's boyfriend. Derek is an aspiring mixed martial artist who fosters Debbie's passion for fighting. Derek claims he came third in a city championship. He is the father of Debbie's baby. In season 6 he goes to live in Florida with his grandmother after finding out Debbie is pregnant, leaving her to be a single mother.

Jackie Scabello

Jackie Scabello (Alessandra Balazs) has a cameo appearance in season 4 and is a recurring character in season 5. Jackie is one of Fiona's co-workers at Pasty's Pies, where they are both waitresses. Jackie, similar to many of the other employees, is a recovering addict and is trying to make positive strides in her life in order to gain custody of her daughter. After her appeal for custody is denied, Fiona and Sean find her in her apartment unconscious after a heroin overdose. She recovered but Sean tells Fiona that he had no choice but to terminate her employment.

Bianca

Bianca (Bojana Novakovic) is a recurring character in season 5. She is a physician who examines Frank's gunshot wound. She is diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and decides her whole medical career was for nothing. She starts a freewheeling relationship with Frank to get away from her parents who want Bianca to treat the cancer. She buys Frank a $10,100 bottle of Macallan whiskey '39, which is destroyed while they make love on the train tracks. When Frank tries to get her medical treatment, she flees to Costa Rica. Frank is with her when she walks into the ocean naked to kill herself and die by suicide.

Helene Runyon

Helene (Sasha Alexander) is a recurring character in seasons 5 and 6. She is a professor of critical theory at the college Lip attends. She and Lip have an affair throughout the last four episodes of season 5 and the first five episodes of season 6. Helene's husband, Theo, (Michael Reilly Burke), who is a Doctor of Theology, is aware of Helene and Lip's relationship. Helene's affair with Lip comes to an abrupt halt when Lip's ex-girlfriend Amanda posts a nude photo of Helene in Lip's room throughout the whole college.

In the sixth episode of season 6, Lip tries to protect her in front of the college board and help her keep her job, but Helene is fired from her job and she tells the college board that in addition to cutting off all ties with Lip, she will also be seeking a psychologist to help her with her sex addiction. Lip tries to talk to her one last time as she leaves the school grounds, but Helene looks him in the eye and tells him to never contact her again, to stay away from her and her family, and to keep out of her life as she tries to fix her own problems. Lip never sees or contacts Helene ever again after that.

Professor Youens

Professor Youens (Alan Rosenberg) is a recurring character in season 6. A professor at the University of Chicago, he acts as a father figure, mentor, and drinking buddy to Lip, whom he employs as a teaching assistant. After a falling out with Lip towards the end of season 6, he bails Lip out of jail and encourages him to enter alcohol rehab. Youens has had his own struggles with alcohol and has a strained relationship with his son.

References

1. Douglas S. "Hit Showtime series 'Shameless' filmed right in our backyard." Depauliaonline.com February 3, 2012. Accessed October 26, 2015.
2. Jeffries S. "Why I write." The Guardian.com February 7, 2005. Accessed November 9, 2015