| Patricia Rooney Mara was born on 17 April 1985 in Bedford, New York; she is one of four children born to New York Giants executive Timothy Christopher Mara and Kathleen McNulty. Rooney travelled to Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia in South America for four months as part of the Traveling School, and then attended the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University, where she studied psychology, international social policy, and nonprofits; Rooney graduated in 2010. Mara is of Italian (from her maternal grandmother) and Irish descent.
Rooney's older sister is the actress Kate Mara, but she wasn't bitten by the acting bug until she was at New York University, when she appeared in student films. She appeared with sister Kate in Urban Legend 3 (2005) (V) - her movie debut - a horror movie. She subsequently appeared in guest roles on TV and bit parts in movies. Her big "break" was the lead in the 2010 remake of Nightmare (2010). A small but pivotal role in The Social Network (2010) was her first collaboration with director David Fincher, who subsequent cast her as the lead in (2011) trilogy.
Rooney founded the charity Faces of Kibera, which aimed to provide housing, food, and medical care for orphans in Kibera, a Nairobi, Kenya slum. In January 2011, Faces of Kibera merged with Uweza Foundation which runs community-based empowerment programs in Kibera, including soccer leagues and after-school tutoring.
|
|