The Gallagher family is the heart and soul of the American version of the long-running TV show, Shameless. It's also got a clear hierarchy, even if the power dynamics often shift and change. In a traditional world, Frank Gallagher would be the head of the family. However, as soon as the viewers met him, it's obvious that he has always been a neglectful parent. As a result, this has meant that many of his children have had to step into that parental role.
When the show first began, it was clear that there was a set power structure since there was a primary caregiver was. However, when the children started to grow older and take on a lot of responsibility themselves, the power dynamics in the household began to shift and change. Soon enough, they all began battling it out to be seen as the head of household. But which one would fans say it is?
Chuckie
Chuckie is one of the closest relatives of the Gallagher family to hold a recurring position in the show. He's the son of Sammi Slott, who is Frank's long-lost daughter, but he's pretty much the opposite of his mother.
Many would agree that Chuckie didn't hold a lot of power in the Gallagher household. Due to his naivety and lack of intelligence, many of the Gallaghers tended to manipulate him into doing their bidding. In fact, it is because of them that he ended up in juvie for a brief period of time. Since no one showed him any respect, it's safe to say that his influence over the others is low.
Monica
Monica doesn't appear in the show a whole lot, but she has a very palpable presence anyway. She left the Gallaghers a long time ago, and for most of the show, nobody even mentions or remembers her. It's almost like she's not even a part of the family.
Even when she does show up at the Gallaghers', she is often shoved aside and struggles to find a foothold. While she initially had a lasting impact on several characters, like Frank and Ian, it's clear that the family had outgrown her and no longer need her as much as they did.
Frank
Like Monica, Frank has lost most of his power in the Gallagher household. He spends his days complaining, drinking, and scamming, but not really doing anything to improve the Gallaghers' place in the world. The differences he does try to make in his small world are usually short-lived and can sometimes have drastic consequences too.
As a result, Frank's own children are seen to not take him seriously and leave him to fend for himself on the streets. He doesn't have any say in how the household is run, and most of the time, he doesn't care anyway. He's excluded from family meetings and treated like a pest by his children.
Carl
To be powerful in the Gallagher family, one needs to be intelligent. Carl is courageous and caring, but he sometimes lacks common sense and logic. He may have the power to assert his rightful place in the Gallagher house, but he doesn't often get a say in the way things are run - not that he objects to letting others take the reins.
He's happy not to be in charge, but even if he wanted to be, it's unlikely that he'd be very good at managing the household and his siblings. Carl can survive alright, but he's still learning who he wants to be, so he mostly does his own thing around the house.
Sammi
Sammi may not be likable, but she has a lot of power within the Gallagher family. She wheedles her way in and gets under everyone's skins before they even know it. So potent is her sway that she gets Ian and Mickey sent to jail. She's also one of the very few people who can get to Fiona.
Sammi is relentless and will do whatever it takes to get whatever she wants. Persistence and determination are sometimes all a person needs to truly have power, and because Sammi has few other resources, she manages to get by with just that. However, in the end, the other Gallaghers prove that they have a few more moves up their sleeves than she does.
Liam
Liam may be the youngest Gallagher child of Frank and Monica's, but he's probably the most resourceful. He proves that he doesn't need his family members to help or support him, getting by fine on his own.
Despite his young age, Liam is also one of the smartest Gallaghers. He's an excellent hustler and can make deals with his older siblings like it's nothing. For instance, he threatens to leave the family if they don't listen to his conditions. They have no choice but to hear him out and adjust the way they run the house, which proves how much power Liam has over them. It wouldn't be long before he ends up running the household.
Lip
Lip starts as a promising young man, full of ambition and talent. Initially, Lip is seen as someone with authority by the other Gallaghers - sometimes even more than Fiona.
He and Fiona are often the only two in charge of the Gallaghers' finances, making sure the bills are paid on time. Lip also proves to be a role model for Debbie and Carl, especially when it comes to their schooling. However, Lip loses a bit of his power once his siblings start to take on more responsibility when he decides to focus on his sobriety and mental health. Nevertheless, fans will agree that he probably has a lot more power in the family because people care about what he thinks.
Ian
Ian prefers to keep his head down most of the time. In the beginning, he does what he can to contribute to the family. He works at the 'Kash and Grab' to help taking care of his younger siblings and is often seen as a voice of reason due to his compassionate nature.
As the seasons go on, Ian also starts to become an influential icon for the LGBTQ+ community, creating change in the community by encouraging many teenagers to embrace their sexual orientation. Though he did lose a bit of his "power" after his extreme methods led to his imprisonment, many of the characters were glad to see him out of prison once his sentence was over.
Debbie
Although she isn't one of the most popular characters on the show, Debbie does have a bit more power in their family than her other siblings. From a very young age, Debbie was more mature and responsible than viewers initially anticipated. She was often left to take care of Liam when he was a baby and managed to run a daycare center to fund her own needs.
As the seasons go on and Fiona leaves, Debbie then learns how to take care of an entire family while balancing parenting, work, and a personal life. She also steps up and manages the family's finances and other enterprises. Her harsh and almost draconian measures give her power over almost all of her siblings, even Lip.
Fiona
Fiona has truly been to hell and back, and she hasn't always had the support of her family or friends to get her through. As she tells Frank when she leaves the Gallagher house forever, she did it all. She raises all of her siblings, managed the family's finances, gets her GED, holds multiple jobs, becomes a businesswoman, and then claims her freedom.
In doing so, Fiona achieves the one thing that none of the other Gallaghers have yet managed: she walks away. Fiona has built herself from the ground up, fallen apart, and done it all over again - several times. She has clear ambitions and works towards them in the hopes of creating a better life for herself and her family, with an end goal of getting out of her downtrodden neighborhood. Overall, most fans will agree that Fiona is the most powerful member of all.