Early life

Cheryl was born and brought up in Scarsdale. She never married her partner with whom she had a daughter, Emmy Rossum. She gave her maiden name to her daughter and never had talked about Emmy’s father to public. She then settled in Manhattan and took up a job as a corporate photographer. She did not marry anyone. Emmy is her only child. She was not known to have had any serious relationship, in the past. She was not seen in public with any man that would initiate any gossip.

Cheryl was never associated with any extramarital relationship. She never made any attempts to reconcile with Emmy’s father. None has ever come up to media stating that he was Cheryl’s ex-partner. Cheryl’s career pushed her into travelling a lot. Since she was a single parent, she hired a lot of nannies for her daughter, while she was away.

Life as a mother

Cheryl is Jewish of Russian Jewish descent. She married a protestant of Dutch and English ancestry. She got separated from her partner when she was pregnant in 2007. She named her daughter after her great grandfather. Her partner did not have a good relationship with her daughter too. He had met Emmy twice in her lifetime. Emmy Rossum once stated that her mother used to listen to Opera while she was pregnant with her and that was the beginning of her music career.

Since she worked as a corporate photographer, she hired a nanny for her daughter. The nanny was an Austrian woman who was awarded by Hitler for signing the best national anthem of Germany. Despite being Jewish, Cheryl had an open mind in hiring her as her daughter’s nanny. Cheryl was very picky when it comes to choosing a nanny for her daughter. She chooses women in 60s as she did not want women in procreating age taking care of her daughter.

She was a strict mother who taught Jewish rules and disciple to Emmy Rossum. Emmy’s relationship with her mother is very strong and she has spoken about her mother and how she helped her in her growth in many interviews.

Cheryl's daughter Emmy opened up about what it's like being raised by a single mother. In a Facebook post she made, which was republished by the DailyMail she wrote: "I had a single mom. I have a single mom. This isn't a secret. Growing up in a school,  and a world, filled with mostly two parent units was difficult for me. Father's Day still is difficult for me. I'm not really sure how to celebrate. In the weeks leading up to it, I sense it coming like a wave approaching. Sometimes I try to ignore it,  but the ads in the paper or online banner ads for "Macy's Fathers Day Cologne Sale!" and restaurants selling "Father's Day Brunch Mimosas!" can make that pretty tricky." Emmy says, "Sometimes, I take my mom to brunch and get her a present, to show her how much I value her. She really was both a mother and a father for me. I don't like her to know that it still causes me pain, 30 years later, lest she feel somehow that she wasn't enough. She was always enough. She is enough. She wasn't perfect, no one is, but for me she was the best mom ever."

Career

Cheryl describes herself as a "fine art photographer working across a broad range of genres." She is a very talented photographer that has had her art work described as "museum quality". 

Cheryl originally graduated from Barnard College with two degrees, one in art history, and the other degree in literature. She began working as a photographer for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and worked with many famous companies at the time. Among them, Apple Computer, Mobil Oil, The New York Stock Exchange, and Northrop. 

She worked hard to differentiate her work from others and make a name for herself. She raised the bar for industrial photography and turned it into a fine art by appealing to both men and women. 

Her art work has won many awards throughout the years. According to her own website, in 2016, her photographs of wall shadows won First place for Fine art, in an award called the Julia Margaret Cameron Award for Women Photographers. 

She has created really amazing art work called 'Plazas', by taking photographs, as many as 60 or more, from high up the sky in helicopters and tall buildings. Putting these images together, literally weaving them into a new image, challenging our initial perceptions of reality. According to Cheryl's website, each Plaza image may take up to an entire year to complete. 

She also has other types of art work available as well. Nature, both landscapes and abstractions are created by her with a single exposure of a few seconds. 

Cheryl’s career as a corporate photographer is not known much to the world. She has never shared about her job or her success in her job. Emmy’s net worth is 10 million dollars. There are no details to net worth of Cheryl nor her salary. She has kept her romantic life and financial details very secretive.

Cheryl has not shared screen with her daughter a lot. Though Emmy talks a lot about her mother, Cheryl has never shown interest in becoming public through interviews. She has never commented on her daughter’s life, career, romantic relationships including her engagement with Sam Esmail in 2015. It is known that she has supported Emmy’s career choice since she was just seven years old.

Cheryl does not have any active social media accounts at all. No Twitter or Instagram that is public. She does have a website that shows off her photography art work, but not much personal information is available.

She is an inspiring mother to all. She has stood by side of her daughter and encouraged her to pursue her dreams.