Hot Smart Rich with Maggie Sellers Reum - Shameless’s Emma Kenney on Hollywood Fame, Pay Gaps & Finding Purpose as a Non-Profit Entrepreneur

Episode Date: October 22, 2025

Emma Kenney (@emmakenney) grew up on screen - cast at just nine years old, she spent over a decade playing Debbie Gallagher on Shameless and Harris on The Conners. But behind the fame, Emma faced child stardom’s toughest challenges: battling misconceptions about her identity, navigating Hollywood’s pay gap, and fighting the constant pressure to stay relevant Now 26, she’s carving a new path - launching Yogi’s House, a dog rescue that has already saved nearly 400 animals. In this episode, Emma opens up about the cost of fame, the realities of money and contracts in Hollywood, and why she chose passion over profit. We cover: ​The misconceptions about Emma vs. Debbie Gallagher ​Hollywood’s child star system and pay gap realities ​The emotional toll of relevance, rejection, and reinvention ​Starting Yogi’s House and saving 400 dogs ​Social media, brand deals, and the pressure to perform ​Rumors, fan encounters, and the double life of fame ​Why Emma believes “what’s meant to be will be” This isn’t just a story about fame - it’s about resilience, reinvention, and finding purpose outside the spotlight. ⸻ This episode is sponsored by:⁠⁠ - Recharge - get 90 days free - https://getrecharge.com/lp3/hot-smart-rich/ Subscriptions aren’t just about repeat orders - they’re about building real relationships. And that’s where Recharge comes in. They’re the subscription platform behind the brands you know and love - think Chamberlain Coffee, quip, Blueland, Bird & Be - and over 100 million subscribers worldwide. Recharge takes the headache out of retention with seamless subscription experiences, powerful analytics, and tools that help brands go beyond the moment to keep customers coming back. ⁠⸻ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ If you like what you hear, rate, review, and subscribe to Hot Smart Rich, the podcast supporting women who own their worth — in business, wealth, and life. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on YouTube⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⸻ 💌Own your worth — and build the life you want. Subscribe to the Hot Smart Rich newsletter, the no-BS guide to startup life, consumer brands, and becoming your hottest, smartest, richest self, written by Maggie Sellers. Join 250,000+ women building wealth, confidence, and community on their own terms. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe here⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⸻ Become an HSR Angel in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Global HSR WhatsApp⁠⁠⁠⁠ channel⁠! ⸻ Follow Maggie: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tiktok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Locker⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ShopMy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon Storefront⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⸻ Follow Emma & Yogi’s House: Instagram Tiktok X Yogi’s House Instagram Website ⸻ More from Hot Smart Rich: ⁠⁠⁠⁠The Hot Smart Rich Money Mindset⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Merch⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⸻ This episode is produced by HSR ... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In case you missed it, you're allowed to be hot, smart, and rich. So let's get into it. Emma Kenny, are you ready to get hot, smart rich? Very much. I am so excited that you're here. I was probably the most excited, not anxious at all for your episode. Can I tell you why? Please.

So we're kind of related in this like marriage-ish way. And it's an intimidating family to be a part of. You were the first person that I felt like really safe around. we met at Disneyland and I felt like you were kind of keeping me under your wing because it was like the first time I was around ever was that intentional or that's just who you are oh my god you know I always like to talk to people get to know people I was so excited to meet you that day at Disneyland and it was so much fun I feel like I'm a very warm person and I was excited to see somebody you know around my age and another girl doing fun stuff exactly I've always been really fascinated especially just because

you make up a persona of someone when they're on TV for so long. And obviously you played a character that, yes, maybe she had warm characteristics, but also lived like a very dark life. Totally. Do you feel like that's a big misconception that people have about you, that you might be more like Debbie, who they saw you play when you are a very warm inviting person?

Oh, 100%. I mean, every single day I'll be getting comments that they hated my character. And, you know, a lot of people will say that they understood her. but for the majority, I do get a decent amount of hate on social about a character that was ultimately written. And we did 11 seasons on Shameless. So people naturally grow in that kind of a time. And I just want people to know that was a character. I'm a completely different person than that. It's actually crazy because you sprained your ankle about 20 minutes ago. Was there ever a part of you that was like, I can't do this? Or you're just the type of person that's like, I committed to something, I'm going?

Very much so. woman of my word. I pride myself on being punctual, respectful of people's time, my commitment. So yes, I definitely fell down the stairs and rolled my ankle, hence the ice pack, as we know, but I didn't fuck up my vocal cords. Can I curse on here? Oh yeah, you can curse for sure. This is such a place for you to feel safe to be yourself, because when you play someone on TV for so long, you do become very misunderstood. How confusing was it for you who was nine years old when you first got cast, growing up trying to discover who you were as a person as you were playing a very specific character with a very specific frame of mind. I think that when I started doing

shameless, I was so young. I was only nine years old. I think a lot of it was just kind of playing pretend. I had so much fun behind the scenes with the cast. We had truly such like a familial dynamic. We were constantly blowing pranks on each other and joking around. So I think a lot of it was just having fun. And I think as I got older, I started to, I don't want to say take it more seriously, because I was always aware that this was a job. I had to show up, have my lines memorized. But for the majority, I would say I grew with the character in that sense too and realized, you know, this is not all fun in games. Everybody here is working. At nine years old, did you want to work or you just wanted to act and be creative? I think I lucked out that I got the opportunity to work while being creative

at nine years old, which is obviously not a very common dynamic for most people. And I still look back on that feeling so fortunate to have had that opportunity. But I enjoyed the work aspect. I enjoyed having a call time, having sides to memorize every single night, working with the director, the cast, and learning. That's always been something I really enjoy learning from the people around me. Like you said, you spend 11 seasons on the show. So your identity at some point should have been wrapped up a little bit in your character. What does it feel like for you when that all of a sudden just ends out of your control? It's interesting. I actually had a conversation with another actress who grew up on TV as well about a week ago about this exact topic. And you do almost put a lot of your job's identity into who

you are. It's a question most people ask you about what are you filming, how set, what's the next project you're working on, especially as an actor, which is a freelance industry. So there's a lot of pressure with that. And this is the first year. I have not been on a set in a year as of this month, actually. It's the longest I've ever gone without working since I'm nine. I'm 26. So it's been, you know, a little bit of an adjustment. I still do get those questions. What are you working on right now? And I'm trying to adjust to that normality. It's been a tough year in the industry. I do look forward to getting back on set. At the moment, I don't know what that set will be. You almost do go through a little bit of a, I don't want to say a midlife crisis, I'm 26, but a somewhat emotional adjustment and re-evaluation, if you will.

Do people come up to you on the street and literally call you Debbie? 100%. Does that feel weird? You know, it depends on the person. I don't expect everybody to say, hey, Emma Kenny, I don't expect that. I'm grateful for the people that have supported the show, but you do have to be aware enough to realize the character and the actor are two separate people. Do you enjoy being recognized? Like, is that an experience that you like when people come up to you?

Absolutely, especially when there's a heartfelt connection to it. A lot of people will say they saw their family in the Gallagher's. I really do enjoy those kinds of connections when you really get to feel the work going somewhere and somebody being able to connect to it. Was there a part of Debbie that you did not connect with at all? I mean, she definitely made some questionable decisions. We were called shameless, certainly for a reason. So of course there was some decisions I probably would have advised her against if I was her friend.

I also think that's the beauty of acting. You do get to do things, feel things that you wouldn't necessarily feel. Is this why we see a lot of females go from acting and then becoming a director or in the writer's room? Like they want to have more control over the storyline or why do we feel like that's a progression that a lot of female specifically actors have to take because it doesn't come when they first start their career? Honestly, that's a really interesting point and a good perspective. I would say so. I'd also say that being an actor, you have such little say over everything, which for me,

I'm a control freak. I have my planner book. I'm a go-getter at the end of the day. So that is a bit of a tough pill to swallow, especially with the way the industry is right now. I have a lot of friends that are thinking of writing scripts, optioning books, optioning articles to take things into their own hands. And that's actually inspired me a lot recently.

I've been reading a couple books that I'm looking into developing the rights too, because I want to take things into my own hands. I want to be on set and get creative again. There are a lot of female actors who have recently opened up about the lack of equal pay to their male co-leads. Did you ever experience that on set? I started the show, Shameless, when I was nine. So there was certainly a pay gap at age nine compared to Bill Macy, who was such a veteran and still is an icon. So there was definitely a pay gap and we would get increases. I do have one specific memory of negotiations one season. My lawyer gave me a call.

I want to say I was maybe 14 or 15. And I've been in every episode of Shameless. I certainly paid my dues on that set. My lawyer called me and he told me that somebody on their business side ultimately said that why does a 14, 15 year old need all of this money? This is the offer. And while a part of me understands that, why does a 14, 15 year old need that money? You also have to keep in mind that 14, 15 year old, that money is going into the Coogan account.

I'm not able to touch that money until I'm 18. I've given up half of my childhood, six months of the year filming, the other half, being able to be a kid, go to real school. That money is all going into a bank for my adult years. And it's not like I'm sitting around not doing the work. So that conversation did stick with me. Did that affect the relationship that you had with more veteran actors on the set? No, because it wasn't their fault. That whole cast truly worked so hard.

Everybody paid their dues on that set. We certainly put in the $10,000. I can guarantee that. And I know I did too. And no, it never affected my dynamic with them. When you're working in an office, it's very taboo to ask somebody that works with you, like, what are you getting paid? Was there transparency around the set of like, this person's making X?

and I'm making acts. So, like, you were able to compare to the other people on set, or you guys had no idea? We were aware. We never really talked about it, but we were aware through negotiations. Some of our lawyers would talk and kind of exchanged quotes. And I would go in a buddy system ultimately with Ethan, who played Carl, my brother, were the same age on the show. So we were ultimately in a buddy system.

So him and I were getting paid the same throughout, I want to say. Perhaps not in the beginning because he had some more credits before me when we were nine. when you started understanding what the concept of money was. You're 14 or 15. You remember this conversation vividly. You know that there's money going into a bank account. What was your concept of money at that time? I grew up a child actor.

A lot of child actors don't fully have the full competence to understand that and understand the smart financial decisions. I have completely taken a turn in the past few years and I'm very much so involved in my finances now. I talk to my business manager probably once a week just to check in, make sure everything is kosher. But at that age, of course not. And I've never been somebody who wants to go out and take a huge shopping spree.

Sure, I probably went through a couple phases like that when I was in my, you know, teenage years. This sounds kind of fake and corny, but I'm honestly grateful to have a home I love. My basic needs are covered and I'm very grateful for that. Do you remember what's the first thing that you spent money on when you turned 18 and got the lump sum of all of your hard work? The first thing I bought when I was 18 when I got my Kugan was a house. But the first thing I ever bought with some money, because you can get a little bit of the money. Okay. How does that work?

I want to say it's like an 80% goes into Kugan. Okay. 20, you get to perhaps spend. The first thing I bought, I was 11. I bought this Louis Vuitton bag. It was so ugly. You know, so ugly. I think somebody stole it or it got lost.

I don't know. Never saw it again. I had it for probably a year and I'd wear it around. There's like these pop-brazzi photos when I was like 11 at the airport landing in L.A. With that bag, it's way too big for me. It's kind of cute. When you are this young, your parents obviously have a lot of control over your life. What was the dynamic of your parents and you at that time as you're starting to likely make a lot more money than them?

I am very fortunate. We're East Coasters. dad grew up in New York his whole life, my mom as well. When I was nine and I booked Chameless, my dad, he is a sweet journey too. He was the paper boy at the New York Post, worked his way up to sports editor-in-chief. So he did the back page a headline for the sports section as I was growing up. And when I booked Shameless, he decided to take a leap of absence, come out to L.A. with me, figure out if the show is going to go on. So he gave me that opportunity to get to work. And I'm very grateful for that as an adult too. I'm forever grateful to him.

him for giving me that opportunity and treating me like an adult and I don't mean that in a bad way. They gave me the freedom to pursue my dreams as corny as that might sound. Did you ever feel guilty like your dad's not working, not making money? He's coming out to help support your dreams. Like did you ever feel like there was that weird balance of I owe him or need to pay him back because he's taking time off from his job or were you not even having those types of conversations with him? You know, we weren't having those kinds of conversations. My dad is one of my favorite people. He honestly is so inspiring, too.

Even his story about starting as a paper boy as a kid for the New York Post, working his way up every step of the totem pole to get to where he was, is something I really look up to and admire. He never ever made me feel guilty. But the way I ended up in my brain paying it forward was I bought him a house a few years back. So it's something I am very happy to have gotten the opportunity to do. Yeah, you must be so proud. I am.

Looking back. Was there ever a part of you that wishes you had quote unquote a normal childhood, whatever that means? I'm fortunate that I got to experience half of a normal childhood because the day I would wrap the season of shameless, I would fly back east, go to New Jersey and literally, if it was a Monday or Tuesday, be in real school the next day. So, and that was, it was weird. It wasn't normal. A lot of kids would call me out for it. Were you bullied for it or you were celebrated because you were on TV? It was a little bit of both, of course.

obviously strange to be getting that kind of attention. I don't love attention. I've always been a little bit more shy on that side. I feel like that's a big misconception of actors. Like a lot of actors actually don't like the attention and they just don't actually like the fame. Is that true for you? I like the positive side of the attention when people connect with you. And of course, you know, it's nice to be complimented. Who doesn't like that? What's the craziest fan interaction you've ever had? Oh, God. I mean, probably in a large setting. I remember being like 16, being at that Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago. And I was there with a couple of the cast members. And I've never experienced something like that. We were truly getting swarmed. And the show took place in Chicago. So there's obviously a huge fan base there. But we had security that had to come and kind of help hundreds of people. It was very scary. And we were young. It's strange, too, because I think I've had a decent amount of uncomfortable fan encounters in public, where maybe I'm at a restaurant or they're drunk and they come up to the table or maybe they grab me physically and hey, when it's jolting, you don't want to be touched by a random man.

I don't like that by any means. Especially because that with Debbie, part of her character that was very woven into the storyline was those types of experiences. With the other characters that you've played, do you feel like you have a different fan interaction with them because they aren't maybe as dark of a person? Honestly, I'll say it. 99% of my fan encounters are for shameless. Still. Literally. I think I haven't been recognized a ton of times for the corners, which ultimately

got more views, which is interesting. Why do you think shameless connected with people so deeply? I think Netflix really gave it a ton of exposure. And also being able to binge a show that's 11 seasons, I think gives you a lot of opportunity to relax. So we all want a show that we can watch. And it's not just a quick hour. We get to really grow with the characters. Have you and Conrad watched every single episode together from start to finish? Oh, Hell no. Oh my gosh. He actually, before we met, would watch Shameless.

And then when he met me, he stopped watching the show ultimately. Why? He basically was like, I don't want to see you kissing. Which I think is really cute. You guys are so cute together. You smile so big when you talk about him. Do you watch the show by yourself? No.

I don't. I've never, like, consistently watched. I've seen the pilot. You've never watched all 11 seasons. No. And I don't think I would, you know, it's interesting because it is like a scrapbook to my life in a way. So it's cute to see clips on TikTok. I will see those a lot. And we're talking about it now and our phones listen. So you'll probably be seeing some too. Well, to do all the research, like there is all these fan compilation videos of you at nine going to you at 20. And it is actually really shocking to see your character develop because you grow up like you would a real woman because you are growing up as a real woman. It's, it's a little bit of a mind fact. Yeah, it is. You know, what's weird is I don't think I've ever seen a home video of Emma, but I've seen a home video of Debbie, or I've seen a home video of Emma talking about

Debbie in an interview. But I don't think my parents were super big videographers, if you will, cinematographers. So I have baby pictures, but I don't have any baby videos. Wait, that is so crazy to think about. Isn't it weird? Subscriptions aren't just about repeat orders. They're about building real lasting relationships. And that's where recharge comes in. They're the subscription platform powering the brands you know and love, Chamberlain Coffee, Blueland, Bird and B, and over 100 million subscribers worldwide. What we love, recharge takes the headache out of retention with seamless subscription experiences, powerful analytics, and tools that help brands go beyond the moment to keep customers coming back.

From flexible billing options to automated retention strategies, they make it easy for brands to deepen their connection with every customer, turning one-time buyers into loyal advocates. This is why we partner with recharge and why they're giving the HSR community 90 days free, helping brands test, learn, and grow their subscription business with zero risk. To claim this incredible offer of 90 days free, click the link in the show notes. So it finished when you were 20, right? 21. I just turned 21. So it's been gone for five years. Yeah. Do you get annoyed talking about shameless so much?

It was such a fun experience of my life. I really don't. I'm so grateful for it, too. I mean, John Wells, he's our executive producer of that show, I guess he was, truly changed my life. I mean, I'm so grateful that he gave me that shot. He was in New York. He saw me at the callback. I'll never forget it too.

He was so sweet. He complimented my converse. I had these white converse with little green stars on them. and he was like, cool kicks. And I remember leaving the callback. And my mom's like, how'd it go? And I go, he complimented my coppers. Oh, my God.

When's your birthday? September 14th. So what's your sign? Virgo, what are you? I'm a Gemini. Oh, we're both ruled by Mercury. Yeah, exactly. I love how you know all this shit.

That's why you love L.A. I do. I love astrology, too. What's Conrad? He's a Pisces. So do you guys compliment each other? Very much so. We're opposites.

I love you. What's Courtney? He's a cancer. Okay, cool. But you know what it works is that he's an alpha cancer. So like, I don't think I could date a non-alpha cancer because they balance each other so well. Like his sensitive emotional side is really brought down with like his very alpha, tenacious go-getter. So we call him a tenderhearted warrior. And that works for me. I could never

have someone who's like as driven and ambitious as he is without that sensitivity or emotion layer. But I think it works for us. But on the scale of horoscopes, like we're actually not compatible. Really? Cancers and Geminized aren't known to be compatible. But then the people, people I was the most compatible with, it never worked out. Interesting. I would say then the rest of your birth charts are probably very aligned to. Yeah. What are your dog's names? Prince, Onix, Charlie, Moda, and then the cat is kitty. And then what about the fish? The fish, a few of them have names. We have a beta fish named July.

We have three albino white frogs that are named after the three stooges, Lou, Larry, and Mo. Something like that. And then we have two dojo loaches, which look like eels, named Unagi and Unago, if you're a sushi lover. You know. And then we have Gilbert and, gosh, Conrad's going to watch this and be so upset. I don't have the fish's needs. Will Conrad watch this? He probably will, yeah.

So he's your biggest support. He won't watch Shameless, but he'll watch other things that you do. He would probably watch it maybe now. I know that he initially was like, no, like once he started dating on the show. I'm good. I don't want to see you kissing someone else. Have you had to kiss someone while you've been in a relationship? No.

Him and I, we, I've known him a really long time, but we started dating right when Shameless rapped. So there was nothing. And then the Conners is very much. Chee G. PG, wholesome family content. So there was nothing there. Oh my God.

I always thought about that where it's like that must be the most confusing. Like just, what it's your job, I think is what like you have to remember. This is your job. Oh yeah. For sure. It was, you know, what was actually really confusing too was there was a period of time where shameless and the Connors both. shot at Warner Brothers at the same time. Usually they were the hiatuses allowed me to do one at

one time one at the other. Both were at Warner brothers and I would literally film two shows in one day, take a golf cart from one stage at Warner to the next, change my costume, quick hair and makeup change, go back and forth. That was cool. I looked back, I was like, wow, that was fun. I wish I could do that again. How does it feel to go from that level of busyness to like technically being unemployed? It's technically literally unemployed at the moment. God, it feels. It feels like, it. It feels feels weird. I'm not going to lie. I miss being on set. I try to find purpose in other ways. The dog rescue gives me the utmost purpose. And it's very quick pace. I mean, lives are literally on the line. But I miss it. I'm excited to be on set again. I really, truly can't wait for the day.

I know you were like, I don't really do that many podcasts. And I don't know why you'd want me on. But is that exciting for you to build your brand as Emma Kenny and get opportunities like this to share your story? 100%. Because a lot of it kind of gets class. behind characters and maybe your interviews solely about the character or the season at hand or the project. I mean, who doesn't like to talk about themselves? Come on. What level of influence does the money that you're going to get paid have on what role you take now? My next job I want to do is something creatively fulfilling. Not everything has a big budget and I'm okay with that. I do love the longevity of being on a television show, the comfortability that comes with that,

of course financially, but I'm also just really looking forward to being able to dive into a new character. Perhaps shooting on location would be fun. I've been fortunate. Everybody's always said, you're so lucky, you always film in L.A. And growing up, I thought, oh, I would love to travel, go to Canada, a lot of projects filmed there. But now as an adult, you know, I do, I would love to be local filming here in a way. But of course, for a fun movie, I'd be excited to maybe New York, London would be a dream. Those are some big budget projects shooting in London. But it doesn't sound like money is like something that truly influences you, which I feel like is so true even in the way that you've lived your life off screen. You've chosen to start a charity versus a brand.

When did that decision come to be? The decision of starting a dog rescue truly was in my bones since I can remember as a little girl. When I was young, I grew up doing ballet and my best friend, Leona and I, would do, I don't know why we came up with this idea, cartwheels for charity outside of our ballet class growing up where people, it's kind of weird as these people would be giving us money, but we had a little sign and the money we'd be raising for different animal rescues back east. And then my other childhood best friend and I had a whole vision of creating an animal rescue that we had a whole name for called the OADC, which stood for our animals deserve care.

We raised money, lemonade stands. We would throw these haunted houses in our backyards growing up. all of these different things. And then by the time we turned 18, she had the piggy bank with the money. She goes, hey, Emma, we raised about $400 all these years. Can't start a dog rescue with that. What should we do with it? So we donated it to the ASPCA.

And so I just think that kind of shows a lot about my journey. Starting a dog rescue was literally my dream since I can remember. Do you identify as an entrepreneur? I would say I do. And especially now as I've gotten older, I've started to understand. things differently. I'm a very frugal person. I like to make smart decisions and ultimately I am not working right now. So I am aware of what I have in the bank account. It's not coming in right now. It's going out. If there's something I have my eyes on, perhaps I'll buy it. Perhaps I'm going to

wait for the next time a check is coming in. I feel like that also really makes decisions for you on like when you do an influencer deal or a brand deal, right? And I think it's been really interesting to watch every single celebrity embrace social media. what influences your decision of when you're going to take a brand deal or not based on your values? Yeah, absolutely. I have been dipping my toe into kind of the brand deal space as of recently. And if it's a brand that feels authentic, if it's a brand I truly use and like, I'm happy to do it. It takes an hour of my time.

And, you know, it is a little bit of a creative outlet. Yeah. I like social media too. I go through phases where I'm very active on it. And then I sometimes will get anxiety about posting. but not consuming. Yes. I'm constantly consuming social media.

TikTok is my news channel, if you will. But, yeah, Instagram for some reason, I almost feel like more self-conscious of what I post on Instagram rather than TikTok, although it's ironic because I have more followers on TikTok than Instagram. I'm the exact same way. Right? Like, it just feels like a free, safe space. The girlies on TikTok, they understand.

That's all that matters. Like, I'll cry on TikTok and think nothing of it, but you won't even catch me without makeup on Instagram. It's such a crazy dichotomy. Why is that? Well, I was actually going to ask you, like, were you intentional when you were growing up of like, this is the personal brand of Emma Kenny. And like anything that goes outside of that line is something you don't share on Instagram. Not at all. I went through so many different phases. I mean, internally and externally with what I would post on social media. I've definitely archived a decent amount of photos. Like what's something you've archived. Oh my gosh. I would just do weird captions when I would.

I was at 16. I would wear like tie-dye and do really strange captions and overuse the word vibes. So I've probably archived a decent amount of those. I could probably do another check. I guess that comes with growing up. It's just not everybody's growing up is in front of a large amount of viewers. What do you think people want you to post on social media? God. I mean, they probably want me to post some weird stuff and I will not be posting that. But I think they like to see a lot of my personal life. Yeah. Pictures with my boyfriend.

They really like. Pictures with friends. They, you know, a lot of my audience, I have to admit, is shameless fans, which I'm...

Does that feel like a lot of pressure? It is pressure, but not in the way of trying to impress them. I think it's pressure in the sense of I really want to prove more to myself, that I'm not just always going to be known for this one character that I booked when I was nine. It almost feels a little bit imposter syndrome, me because I booked that when I was nine years old. It's not something that I've accomplished in recent years. Sure, I would have been fired if I was slacking off and I wasn't able to do the job,

but I look forward to proving to myself more that I can do. I feel like it's such an important conversation more than ever because no matter if you're talent or you're just a person on social media, fighting to stay relevant is such a battle. I think most people fight every single day. have you had those ups and downs and troughs of like being super relevant, then not being relevant, then being super relevant. Like how do you handle that to have more of like an even state? A hundred percent.

And you're right. It is, you know, it's an interesting concept because I go through phases too where I'm very much so a homebody. I feel like if I go to a restaurant, if I go out to an event, I feel like I'm in a fishbowl. I like to just kind of lay low, go under the table, if you will. Yeah.

But then you also are an actor and you do realize that every year, every month that you don't prove yourself again, you have the fear of being forgotten about, especially when you start as a child actor. You don't want to be that forgotten about child actor unless you're choosing to not do it because it's not for you anymore. That's of course noble. And it's a tough industry. It's like Mary Kay and Ashley Olson, like they chose to like totally step away from the spotlight now to the point where their fashion shows don't even have social media allowed to them. It's so cool. Yes, I love that about the row. It's so sick. What is the biggest difference between child stardom and adult stardom?

God, I haven't found the adult side of it yet. I mean, even the Connors that I did, I booked that when I was 18. So everything I've, you know, and I've had luck with the longevity side of it, of course, which I'm very fortunate for, but I haven't found that next thing yet as an adult on the acting side. So. And like, are you auditioning regularly or you're like waiting and just reading scripts and trying to wait for the right thing? I'm a little bit picky about the auditions that I do because I do know what I want as my next step. I do know where I want to grow to.

So, you know, while I also do like putting myself out there and perhaps this is not the right project, maybe that team will go on to something I'd be excited about. So I do think it depends on the project and the team behind it, if that makes sense. What is like the ideal role that you would play next? I really want to do a biopic. I just had a really cool meeting last week that I'm hopeful for. That is a biopic in kind of a different light. I have one person in mind that I really want to play.

What is it about acting that keeps you coming back all of these years later? The joy you get from it, the creative outlet. I always knew I wanted to be an actor from the time I was probably five years old. My parents signed me up for a million different classes, sports teams, of these things, the only things I truly felt comfortable doing and enjoyed are the things I still love to do now. Acting. Yes.

Tennis. Yes. I did my research. Oh my God. Look at you. Also, that just happens to be two of my favorite things. It took me a long time to be okay with rejection and putting things out there. And I think one of the beautiful things about being an actor is like you have to be okay getting

rejected. Can you think of a very specific situation you can walk us through where there was something you really wanted and thought. you were the best fit for and you didn't get it. Yes, many, many times. But one that comes to mind is the most defeating. Just being someone that I admire in every sense of everything in the business would be, I did a test with Sophia Coppola and didn't book it.

I mean, she's just such an icon. I love all of her projects and would be so thrilled to work with her one day. But it was really cool to be in the same room as her and to be acting in front of her. but that one still hurts. Did she personally reject you or you got on email or like, how does a rejection work in the business? You find out through your team. In the actual experience, did you get a gut instinct? Like you weren't going to get it?

Or did you leave being like, I'm totally getting that part? I was pretty young at this point. I think I was probably hopeful, but maybe doubtful because of how much of a dream that would have been. I believe my motto in life, I even have a little sign in my house that says it. What's meant to be will be. And I truly believe that. What's meant for you is coming. What's meant for me is coming everyone in every single aspect.

So that's a really reassuring phrase to me that's helped me in moments where I'm feeling very lost too. I get so excited when there's a new script, a new audition, a meeting in my inbox. Opportunity, that's how I think. And, you know, there was faces, I will admit it, when I was younger. And I was busy filming and I'd get an audition and I thought, oh, man, I have to do this now. And maybe I just wanted to hang out with my friends that week or that day. now it's the complete opposite.

I'm going to drop everything. I'm going to focus on that. And I just feel fortunate to have the opportunity. Do you feel like as you've gotten older, you've had less friends? Like, it's harder to make friends? Yes, ultimately. My friend's circle has definitely gotten smaller as an adult.

I'm a social person, but I'm also a little bit of a hermit. I enjoy my battery recharging time. I love to be home with my boyfriend, Conrad, who obviously, you know, that's my favorite thing. being home with him and being home with our pets. How many pets do you have? We have four dogs, a sphinx cat, and I think nine or ten fish.

And are they all rescue? Most of them are all rescues. The cat, the sphinx is not a rescue, but the dogs are all a rescue. And you and Conrad now work together at Yogi House. Yeah, he is such a great, I'm so grateful to have him in general. But he also has taken on a role at Yogi's house with me, which is so nice because we live together. I'm constantly, hey, can you take this call? Can you do this?

So let's take it back to Yogi House. When did this start? We started the rescue in 2022. Okay. So about three years ago, as of September, Yogi was the first dog that we saved. I noticed him on the euthanasia list. And he broke my heart. I was very much aware of all of the dogs that are getting euthanized at shelters throughout Southern California, the whole country. For some reason, Yogi really spoke to me. You were just looking at the list of dogs that were going to be put down? No, I was not looking at the euthanasia lists at that point. I wasn't fully aware of that side of it. I had seen an Instagram post that yogi was going to be It's a nice that day at 4 p.m.

So obviously that freaked me out. I called the shelter. They basically said, yeah, if you can get here before 4 o'clock, he's yours. I thought, I don't want another dog, but I don't want him to die. Is there anything we can do? I'll pay money. Can we do anything? Nope, if you're not here by 4, he's done.

I checked the maps. It says I'm going to get there at 4.30. Hey, I'll be there in 30 minutes. Can you please just, I'll be there. Nope, 4 o'clock. Freaking out, long story short, we somehow ended up convincing the shelter to extend for tomorrow, giving him an extra day of grace. Got him out. We figured out a good game plan, sent him to a dog trainer to ultimately evaluate him, get some photos, kind of figure out what we were

going to do with this dog. But we knew we wanted to do something right by him. So we figured out his situation. And then the next day, we looked at the euthanasia list, starting to figure out kind of the next steps and saved every single dog on the euthanasia list that next day. And from there we thought, let's make this an actual rescue. Yogi's house, Yogi being the first dog we saved. And from there, we're three years in, we're almost 400 dogs. We're at, as of today, we're at 379. Dog saved.

We've about 30 in the rescue, so about 360 dogs or whatever the math is that have been adopted. So how does it work? Like you guys find a dog that's going to be euthanized? And then do you go and try to find a family that will take it or you like have a center that set up? Like walk me through the actual process of being in Yogi's house. Yeah. So we are a foster-based rescue at the moment. Okay.

One day, of course, I hope to have the house for Yogi's house. Yeah. But right now we're foster based, which basically means we have to have a foster lined up in order to save a dog. So I will network in advance. I will reach out to friends, followers on Instagram of the rescue, people in the dog rescue world. and we have to have a foster lined up. Then we have our driver go pick up the dog from the euthanasia list, bring them to the foster.

And then from there we get them evaluated by a trainer. We get them medically evaluated and start to network them on social media, which has gotten us hundreds of dogs adopted at this point. So there's definitely a really positive side of social media that I see with the dog rescue. And you guys have done a lot of really like brand-building things. Like you did a collab with Bravo Toast. How does stuff like that come to be? I know.

That was one of the first things you and I bomb. Yeah. I love getting creative and I think it's fun to kind of mix charity with other things I enjoy Macha. Bravo toast. That was a very natural collab. They have the best matcha in L.A. obviously. Yeah. We've done a candle collaboration with this company called Companion Candles. They make organic, non-toxic candles. That one came to us in our inbox and I had a, my New Year's resolution this year was to ditch all toxic products, which actually included. candle. So I have all organic candles in my house. But companion candles is an organic candle company. So we made Yogi's Garden, which I designed the scent. It's Rose Garden infused. I'm going to send you

Yeah, send this to me. Delish. They smell great. So you do all of this for no money. Oh God, I lose money. But I'm happy to do it. It's my passion. I watched this video on TikTok today. It's a little alarming. And I want to ask you a question. It was this girl being like, I just don't understand animal activism. Like there are so many problems going on in the world. There are so many things that we could solve. Like why are people so passionate about animal activism? With someone who's gone through other things like mental health or whatever else you've gone through, what is it about animal activism yogi's house that feels like really personal

and special to you to dedicate all of this time towards? Oh my gosh. Animals are the ones who don't get to use their voice. It is so, if anybody ever says that, I, it is. encourage them to go to a shelter, to walk the shelter lines and see the dogs behind these cages crying, begging for a chance. It's truly heartbreaking. Yeah. And it's heartbreaking to even admit it, but we're just scratching the surface. You know, we've saved almost 400 dogs, which is 400 lives, you know, free and having an amazing life. I'm very particular about who adopts

them as well. But that's just 400 of thousands that get euthanized every single month. Hundreds get euthanized every single week due to overcrowding. I mean, it's interesting. Los Angeles used to be No Kill L.A. was kind of a famous known slogan for the shelters, but after the pandemic, that law got lifted, which is heartbreaking. So now all of L.A. County euthanizes dogs, cats, you name it. Is there a story that you feel like in the animal world that you could tell through your acting career that hasn't been told? Maybe a documentary would be something interesting to raise more awareness because a lot of people aren't aware of dog rescue. And also, I like to kind of preach the fact that if you want any breed, you can ultimately rescue that breed. We've had Dalmatians.

We have a long-haired French bulldog in the rescue right now. I mean, truly, my friend's actually about to adopt him. But truly, you can adopt any breed. And a lot of people think you have to go through a breeder for that, but you don't. You just have to give them a chance. That's a crazy rumor. What is the craziest rumor you've heard about yourself? The craziest rumor that I've heard. about myself. That's a good question. There's been rumors that like Ethan and I

who played my brother on the show and I were dating growing up, we'd get those a lot and that, I mean it literally couldn't be farther from the truth at any point. He's always been like a brother to me. So I kind of see those and I'm like, okay, like let them think what they think. You don't have siblings like biologically. I'm like, you don't have biological

siblings, but you've always had siblings in your roles. Would you ever have wanted a sibling after going through that experience? Oh, absolutely. Growing up, I mean, I certainly wanted siblings and when it comes time to be a mom, I want a lot of kids. I just felt like I needed to have you on because you have so much to share. You've also just done such an untraditional thing. And like, I think you don't understand. The impact that Shameless had on pop culture is so intense. And so to have that level of fame and choose not to go the traditional way, not to become one of these like corporate brand type of actors is, I think, just such an interesting story and I think speak so much

to your character. I still feel like there's a lot to unpack with you. But can I ask you a few more rapid fires? Let's do it. Okay. Go out or stay in? Stay in. Okay. Would you rather audition or public speak? Good question. Audition? Public speaking sounds scary. Okay. I did do a lot of live tapings for the corners. So, okay, who is your dream co-lead? And, actors I really admire and has such a dream career, Dakota Fanning. Love her. Yeah. Would you ever do unscripted?

I would do, like, documentary about the rescue. I don't know if I would do unscripted. Like Netflix calls you tomorrow and is like, we are doing a reality show on Emma Kenny. They'd be pretty bored. So you would be like, no, we got to change this into something else. I don't think I would. I don't know. I'd be fun.

I've been, like, in the back of scenes when Kathy's filming the Housewives before. I was technically in like a scene in Paris in love at her wedding. So I guess those are my unscripted cameos. What is your Roman Empire? I would say my Roman Empire is maybe where realistically to get the next good coffee. I love a good latte. This one you really did a good job with. Can we do when your ankle has recovered like a walking coffee walk?

Yes, I would love that. I think I'm a trooper. I think she'll be good in. tomorrow. Okay, would you rather watch TV or a movie? I love a good show. Okay. Podcast or a movie. Movie. Okay. Sorry. I love you. What is something you're manifesting? Ooh, what am I manifesting? I have found my manifestations to come to life, which is interesting. I always channel that with music a lot. If I'm about to go somewhere in Portland, whatever song is to come on, I kind of take that as a sign. I guess that's, that's less manifestation.

I would say I'm manifesting the next chapter of my career. Love that. Specifically. When you think about legacy, how do you want to be remembered? I want to be remembered as someone who gave back and helped the underdog. I think that's always kind of been my motivation. That's why I do the dog rescue, literally helping the underdog. also somebody that people can admire in a way of relating to that person.

If I can help somebody feel maybe a little bit less alone, that's always something I want to do and something I personally appreciate when I feel that way too. I'm McKenny. I'm obsessed with you. Thank you so much for coming on. Where can people find you and what can they do to help you right now? They can reach out to Yogi's House to Foster.

It's yogieshouse.org. All of our information is there. that's truly the way you can not only help me, but you can help a dog in need. And where can people find you? They can find me on TikTok. They can find me at Bravo Toast. Wait, do you want to come to the HSR meetup at Bravo Toast?

Yeah, I would love. If your foot is recovered, like you would be such a guest appearance. October 26. Oh, my foot will be fine. Okay, we're doing on AsiaSR meetup. It's actually in celebration of the pod. So maybe we'll drop your episode around that time so people can get to know you and like come and meet you, even if it's for like five or ten minutes.

Yeah, I'm happy to. I live really close. Okay, that would be amazing. Cut me in. Emma Kenny, thank you so much for coming on. I'm obsessed with you. Thank you so much for having me too. You're the best. Thanks, guys.