Rooney Mara Biography
Summary
"Patricia Rooney Mara" (born 1985?) is an American actress. Her upcoming films in 2009 include "Dare", "The Winning Season", "Tanner Hall", and "Youth in Revolt". She will star in "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (2010), a remake of the 1984 horror film, as Nancy Thompson. Mara also oversees the charity Faces of Kibera, which benefits orphans from the Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya.
Biography
Early life
Born in New York, Mara is the daughter of Chris Mara, the vice president of player evaluation for the New York Giants, and Kathleen (née Rooney). She has three siblings: Daniel, Conor and Kate, also an actress. Mara is the great-granddaughter of Pittsburgh Steelers founder Art Rooney, Sr. and Giants founder Tim Mara. Her grandfather, Tim Rooney, has run Yonkers Raceway in Yonkers, New York since 1972. Mara was raised in Westchester County, New York, a suburb of New York City. She was inspired to act by going to see musical theatre and by watching old movies, like "Gone with the Wind" (1939), "Rebecca" (1940), and "Bringing Up Baby" (1938), with her mother. Mara travelled to Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia in South America for four months as part of the Traveling School, an open learning environment, and then attended the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University, where she studied psychology, international social policy, and nonprofits.
Acting career
Mara first appeared in the direct-to-video horror film "Urban Legends: Bloody Mary" in 2005, as 'Classroom Girl #1'. In 2006, she appeared on the television series "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit", in the episode 'Fat'. In 2007, she made an appearance on the legal drama "Women's Murder Club", in the episode 'Blind Dates and Bleeding Hearts'. Her credits in 2008 include the feature films "Dream Boy" and "Friends (With Benefits)", and an appearance on the TV series "The Cleaner", in the episode 'Rebecca'. In 2009, Mara guest starred as Megan on the TV series "ER", in the episodes 'Old Times' and 'I Feel Good'.
Mara landed her first lead role in "Tanner Hall", starring Amy Sedaris and Tom Everett Scott, a story of four girls set in a boarding school. Mara plays Fernanda, who has an affair with a family friend (Tom Everett Scott), who is married. Her experience lead to other film work, including the comedy "Youth in Revolt", starring Michael Cera and directed by Miguel Arteta. The film is based on the 1993 cult novel of the same name by C.D. Payne. Mara plays Taggarty, the love interest of Cera's best friend, a character who is trying to sleep with 25 guys before she goes to college.
Mara's other films in 2009 include "The Winning Season", starring Emma Roberts and Sam Rockwell, where she will play a high school basketball player in a story similar to "The Bad News Bears", and the independent film "Dare", starring Emmy Rossum. "The Winning Season" and "Dare" premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Mara was included on "Filmmaker" magazine's list of the '25 New Faces of Independent Film' in mid-2009. She will be tutored by Sharon Stone as part of the Breakthrough Performers Program at the Hamptons International Film Festival in October 2009.
Mara will star in "A Nightmare on Elm Street", a 2010 remake of the 1984 horror film of the same name. Mara plays the protagonist Nancy Thompson, a teenage girl who is eager to leave town after graduation. Directed by Samuel Bayer, Mara began shooting the film in Chicago on May 5, 2009. Mara told "Filmmaker" that she felt that the remake's Nancy is 'completely different from the original', and that she could be described as 'the loneliest girl in the world'. The film will be released on April 30, 2010. Mara will also appear in a sequel to the remake, continuing her role as Nancy Thompson.
Faces of Kibera
Mara oversees the charity Faces of Kibera, whose goal is to build an orphanage outside of the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya, and which provides housing, food, and medical care for orphans. The charity auctions memorabilia from the Steelers and Giants, as well as training camp events, on the website eBay to raise money. Mara visited the area as a volunteer at age 21, and was moved to help the orphans, many whose parents have died from AIDS and HIV-related illnesses. She began the charity due to her frustration with, according to Mara, the growing number of nonprofits that are just business opportunities. 'The people who need help aren't really getting it. So I started my own', Mara told "Interview" magazine in 2009.
Personal life
Mara moved to Los Angeles in early-2007, and was living with her sister temporarily. She described football as the 'the glue that holds our family together' to the "New York Post". Mara includes Gena Rowlands among the actors that inspire her, especially her performances in "A Woman Under the Influence" (1974) and "Opening Night" (1977).
External links
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Rooney Mara.
