Karen Maguire

Karen Maguire
Rebecca Atkinson as Karen Maguire (2010)
Shameless character
Portrayed by	Rebecca Atkinson
Duration	2004–2013
First appearance	13 January 2004 Series 1 Episode 1 "Meet the Gallaghers"
Last appearance	28 May 2013 Series 11 Episode 14 "End of the Line"
Created by	Paul Abbott
Introduced by	George Faber
Classification	Former; regular
Profile
Occupation	Barmaid (2005–present) Pub landlady (2007–10, 2011–present)
Home	The Jockey
Father Eddie Jackson Mother Sheila Gallagher Stepfather Frank Gallagher (2006–2007; bigamous) Brothers Nigel Gallagher Sisters Delia Gallagher Husband Jamie Maguire (2007–) Sons Connor Maguire

Karen Maguire (née Jackson; born 12 June 1987), is a fictional character from the Channel 4 drama Shameless portrayed by Rebecca Atkinson. She appears in every series and is the longest-serving female character on the show. At the start of the series, she is shown to be promiscuous, sleeping with multiple men, but by the end of the show she is "mature" but with an "harder edge" due to the fact that she becomes a Maguire at the end of Series 4, after marrying Jamie Maguire (Aaron McCusker). During the series, she has both blonde and brown hair.

The U.S. counterpart is played by Laura Slade Wiggins, but only appears in the first three seasons and never marries into the "Milkovich" family (the U.S. version of the Maguire family).

Before 2007, Karen does not have as many major storylines, but as of Series 4, she features in the majority of the series heavily. Altogether, Karen has appeared in 129 episodes and is the one of two characters, the other being Frank Gallagher (David Threlfall), to appear in every series. In reality, Atkinson's partner is Ben Batt who played Joe Pritchard in the show, who Karen had an affair with in Series 6 and 7.

Karen is the daughter of Sheila Jackson (Maggie O'Neill) and her second husband, Eddie (Steve Pemberton). Nigel and Delia are her half-brother and sister, born in Series 3. She becomes estranged from both parents throughout the series. She is Lip Gallagher's (Jody Latham) girlfriend in Series 1, but seduces Lip's father - and her mother's new partner - Frank Gallagher (David Threlfall), and has an affair with him. She then leaves to stay with her grandmother but later returns in the Christmas episode and has dinner with the Gallagher family. She is still shown to have the same promiscuous tendencies when she performs oral sex on a soldier to get into a contaminated Chatsworth estate. In the same episode, Sheila gives birth to twins, Nigel and Delia.