"Cornelia, Nell. Spitting image of her mother. Lip’s twin. She’s a real wild child, got Monica’s free spirit through and through—always chasing the next thrill and living life on her own terms." - Frank Gallagher
“I just wanna go for days I just wanna feel in different ways Every single night just kinda feels the same I’m a pink diamond, I need space I’m online and I’m feeling so glamorous Watch me shine for the boys and the cameras In real life, could the club even handle us?” - “pink diamond” - Charli xcx
Cornelia Gallagher - Shameless OC
Full Name: Cornelia Anne Gallagher
Nickname(s): Nell, Nellie
Birthdate: March 29th, 1995
Residence: Chicago, Illinois
Hair Colour: Brown/Blonde
Misc: Tattoo of a heart and swirly tendrils extending from the sides on her lower back
Faceclaim: Leighton Meester
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Brought up on the South Side, Nell never really imagined any kind of “bright future” for herself. She didn’t have her twin’s smarts, or Ian’s discipline, or even Fiona’s relentless persistence. Nell’s got her family, but she’s always depended on her own skills and smarts to make her way—for better or worse.
Waitress at Marty Mouse’s Funhouse & Arcade
Stripper at Cherry’s Club & Dancers
Secretary at Rothman Realty Group
Nell inherited her blonde hair from her mother, she also inherited her mother’s partiality for bad decisions and wild, drug-fuelled days and nights. Nell often tries to stay out of it when her mother comes around, preferring to avoid her presence altogether. Despite this, Monica tries to connect with her second daughter, seeing a lot of herself in the girl.
Nell hated her father. Or, she learned to, after the first few times he’d left her alone outside a bar into the early hours. With her mother, she had a careful sort of distance. With Frank, well, let’s just say he sure seems to slip and fell while drunk more than usual around her. Nell probably has the most obvious and consistent contention with her father, her pride and penchant for holding grudges souring her relationship with him permanently.
Eldest Sister: Fiona Gallagher
Fiona and Nell had the unique sisterly bond of going from screaming matches in the kitchen to curling up in Fiona’s bed within the same week—or day, even. Nell was overly fond of gleefully ignoring most of Fiona’s orders and advice, Fiona was overly fond of making sure Nell knew she was wrong. Fiona was mother and sister in one, and Nell was like to place doubly the angst upon her.
Twin Brother: Philip Gallagher
When she was around, Monica used to say that Nell pushed Lip out of the womb, only to end up following him right out. That was kind of always how their relationship went. Lip was first, and Nell slid into second, slightly messier and less pleasant to look at. He was the sharp one, the one who could talk his way out of anything, while Nell was all impulse and stubbornness, always trailing just behind, picking fights she couldn’t always win. Their bickering was a constant fixture of the Gallagher house, one that earned them both more than a few cuffs on the head. The twins rarely saw eye to eye, never missing an opportunity to prove the other wrong or win an argument. Despite their volatility, Nell and Lip are fiercely protective over each other. They never hesitate to choose each others side in arguments, and it’s known that if you mess with one, you get both.
Younger Half-Brother: Ian Gallagher
Ian was always more Lip’s man than Nell’s. The two brothers always just had that tight bond, one Nell envied. The only girl other than Fiona, who was more mother than sister, and Debbie, who was too little to understand, Nell was often left to third wheel Lip and Ian’s boyish antics. Nell and Ian only really become closer when they were a bit older and more able to understand each other. But once they found it, their relationship was like fitting two puzzle pieces together.
Younger Sister: Deborah Gallagher
Debbie idolized her sister. To an 11-year old girl, Nell was very much the exact kind of mature, cool teenager she wanted to be. Nell always found her baby sister immature and annoying, always wanting to budge in with Nell and her friends. More doors were slammed between Nell and Debbie than any other pair in the Gallagher household—which says a lot. Squabbles between them were a daily occurrence, over clothes or stuff or who’s turn it was to take out the trash. When Nell was thirteen, she taped a border between her and Debbie’s parts of their shared room. It’s still there.
Younger Brother: Carl Gallagher
Carl might have been Nell’s clone in boy form. Same troublemaking, same…extralegal proclivities, same positively fear-inducing fondness for pranks and inciting irritation in anyone over the age of twenty-five or unrelated to them, at least as kids. They were always thick as thieves, the two of them. Nell always thought there was a lot of her in Carl, maybe that’s why she was always soft on him. Although that never stopped her from slapping him upside the head (lovingly) when he got to trouble.
Youngest Brother: Liam Gallagher
Nell was…sturdier with Liam. More dependable. An older sister, not just the crazy teenager or messed up super senior. She was there, when he needed her or just wanted to hang. When he was a baby, she’d talk to him like he was her diary, spilling secrets to his uncomprehending baby ears. When he got older, she told him the PG version, but told him all the same. He developed a knack for asking questions, just enough to get her talking a little more. She taught him where to hide shit under the flooring and how to bluff his way out of anything. He wasn’t her baby, but she taught him everything she knew all the same.
Personality: Most of Nell’s life, the good and the bad, is defined by her impulsive nature. With a tendency to jump without looking down, Nell has ended up with more than her share of hard falls. Nell has a talent for endearing herself to people quickly and an easy charm with strangers and friends alike. She’s stubborn to a fault and will dig her heels in when faced with pushback. Nell is proud and often refuses charity or help, even from her family and close friends. Nell is hot-tempered, and is not one to forgive and forget. More one to throw it in your face and seethe until the day she dies. However, Nell can actually be a bit naive at times, believing in true love or trusting people implicitly. This has bitten her in the ass enough times for her not to trust it. Nell is quite possessive of her family and loved ones, guarding them jealously from outside influences. Her bonds to her family are precious to her and seeing or feeling them change is hard for her to reconcile with.
Likes: Excitement, parties, Camel Blues, maraschino cherries, rock music, pink, statistics, late night drives, having her nails done, guitar-heavy music, independence
Dislikes: Being talked down to, biking, scented candles, overcooked pasta, cheap lighters, people who hover, drinks that should be hot but are cold, chipped nail polish
From pulling pigtails in the 2nd grade to house parties in 9th, Nell and Ryan have known each other for, well, always. It was easy, going from just friends to dating. It was never necessarily exclusive, but something, definitely. When they were 15, Ryan got hauled off to juvie for braining his stepdad with a brick. They tried to make it work. But, talking through plexiglass and phones doesn’t exactly stoke the fire of young love. Things just…fizzled. By the time his sentence ended, his mother had moved to Connecticut and he followed.
Nell was sixteen when she met Carter Smart. The older brother of one of her friends, Carter was cool. All low and slow drawls between drags from his ever-present Marlboro Red, and tattooed biceps, he dealt weed and stronger stuff to the teenage population of Lincoln Grove High School. When they met, properly, Carter told Nell she was the hottest girl he’d ever seen and promptly offered her a pill, on the house. She’d taken it, then another, and they were all over each other. One thing led to another, and she ended up engaged at sixteen when she woke up the next morning. Carter’s drug abuse soon spread to Nell, and while her family tried to pull her out, it only pushed her deeper into his fold. Soon after, Nell ran away from home to be with him. Carter’s paranoia and possessiveness soon overtook any real love he might have had for her, and he became obsessed with her. He constantly interrogated her about if she was cheating on him and isolated her from the friends she had outside of their circle. When the police came knocking at the apartment they shared with seven others, Nell and Carter ran and hid. For nearly two months, they holed up in his buddy’s apartment, until the police finally arrested him for a myriad of charges including assault and battery, and possession with intent. When the dust settled, Nell was left strung out, flunking out of high school, and completely alone.
Jill was probably the coolest fucking person Nell had ever met. A California transplant in the South Side, Jill had endless stories of partying with low-budget celebrities and getting backstage at concerts. Nell was head over heels for the glamourous girl. Jill pulled Nell back into the world of drugs she has just escaped. They dated for thirteen weeks, until Nell broke up with her.
Leo Malcolm didn't want Nell as she was. A sheltered, upper-middle class boy, Leo loved the romance of falling for the stripper with the heart of gold. He wanted to be Richard Gere in Pretty Woman, not just a guy Nell liked. And he wanted Nell to be perfectly grateful for his generosity and graciousness. Leo dressed her up and tried to train her into a proper sort of girl, Nell had none of it. He was kicked to the curb quickly.
It’s real cliche, to fall for a girl who’s in complete and total denial about herself. Chuck Glass was one of those girls. Engaged at 20 to her high school sweetheart, Chuck ran from the wedding to Chicago with a case of cold feet. Matter of fact, she ran right into Nell Gallagher. They spent a month in a sort of all encompassing whirlwind, until the Glass family cavalry came in the form of Chuck’s mother. A combination of scolding, shaming and tears convinced Chuck back to Shelbyville, to be the daughter her mother wanted.
Marley was deliciously, perfectly, wonderfully normal. Assistant manager of a bowling alley, Marley wasn’t a drug dealer, or a rich asshole, and she wasn’t hiding some fiancé back south. It was nice, to have a normal relationship. It was strangely even nicer, to just…break up. Not have a screaming match, or a near-death, or a horrible, torturous, soul-crushing mess of a breakup. It was just natural.
Nell met, married and divorced Adrian Zimmerman within a month. The son of a North Side investment banker, Adrian had his whole life mapped out. Take over his father’s company, marry a socialite, pop out three kids and end up addicted to cocaine fucking hookers in the back of his BMW, just like his father. Well, Adrian figured if he was gonna snort coke and fuck hookers, might as well do it while he’s young. Adrian walked into Cherry’s looking for an opportunity to rebel. Nell was perfect. A week after they met, Adrian proposed. They were married in a 24-hour chapel an hour later. Marital bliss was brief, when Adrian’s father threatened to cut him off if he didn’t annul the marriage, Adrian dragged Nell to the courts sooner than you can say “fucking pussy-ass bitch”, which she certainly did.
Nell buys the car in a fit of impulse. Some piece of shit hunk of junk she got for $500 and a pack of cigarettes. Other than the hideous paint job and the busted engine, she’s really not in too bad shape. Besides, a project might be good, something to fill up her spare time. However, senior auto shop can only get one so far, so the mechanic is an expensive but necessary cost to get Joan (the car) in working order. That’s where Logan comes in. Cool, calm and totally unimpressed by her flirting. Or not. I mean, he did offer to cut the cost in half if she helped fix it. So, she did. It takes a week, and it’s only after the engine is purring like a kitten that Logan asks to see her again. He does.
Mickey Milkovich (eventually)
She used to take Carl’s t-shirts and wear them as crop tops.
Nell’s stubbornly independent, which means she’s always trying to fix things herself before asking for help. Unfortunately, her "fixes" often involve duct tape and sheer determination. Her attempts at home repairs are both impressive and an absolute disaster.
Nell knows all the tricks about how to win the rigged games at the arcade from her job there.
Nell and Logan’s bedroom is a collision of them both. Logan keeps things clean and straightforward, while Nell has a habit of leaving clothes in a “not dirty, but not totally clean” pile somewhere. Logan has mostly given up trying to convince her to fix it.
Nell is freakishly good at pinball and used to play it everyday during her work breaks.
She gets carsick super easily and has to sit in the front of buses or she will throw up.
Nell and Logan’s dining table is a misshapen wooden monstrosity he made in woodworking he refuses to get rid of. Nell complains, but finds it endearingly lopsided.
Secretly loves teen dramas like The O.C. and Gossip Girl. She’s embarrassed by it.
