Mara is also known for her charity work and oversees theUweza Foundation, which supports empowerment programs for children and families in theKibera slum ofNairobi. She is also the founder of thevegan clothing line Hiraeth Collective.
Mara was born on April 17, 1985,[2] and raised inBedford, New York, a town inWestchester County about 40 miles (64 km) north of New York City.[3] Her mother's family founded thePittsburgh Steelers and her father's family founded theNew York Giants. Her father, Timothy Christopher Mara, is the senior vice president of player personnel for the New York Giants; and her mother, Kathleen McNulty (néeRooney), is a part-timereal estate agent.[4] She is the third of four children: she has an older brother, Daniel; an older sister,Kate, who is also an actress; and a younger brother, Conor.[5]
Mara was inspired to act by seeing musical theatre and classic movies, likeGone with the Wind (1939),Rebecca (1940), andBringing Up Baby (1938), with her mother.[16] She also wanted to be like her sister, Kate Mara, a professional actress. Mara resisted pursuing acting as a child, stating toThe Journal News that "it never seemed that honorable to me, and I guess I was always afraid that I might fail."[3] Her first and only role in high school wasJuliet inRomeo and Juliet, which she got after being signed up to audition by a friend.[17] Mara acted in a few student films while at NYU, and then began her career in acting,[3] first auditioning at the age of nineteen.[5]
In acoming-of-age filmTanner Hall (2009), Mara landed her first lead role, as Fernanda who has an affair with a married family friend (Tom Everett Scott).[20] The film was the directorial debut ofTatiana von Fürstenberg andFrancesca Gregorini,[21] it debuted at the2009 Toronto International Film Festival and had a limited theatrical release in September 2011.[22] Mara dropped her first name, Patricia, to be known professionally by her middle name after working on the project. "I never really liked my first name," Mara stated toPaper magazine. "I never felt like a Tricia. And Rooney is more memorable".[23] Her father and younger brother also go by their middle names.[24]
InMiguel Arteta's comedy-drama filmYouth in Revolt, Mara played Taggarty who tries to sleep with fifty men before she goes to college. The film was based onC.D. Payne's 1993 cult novel of thesame name.[25][26] Mara had auditioned for the starring role, but was offered the smaller part when the lead went toPortia Doubleday.[27]
Mara played Courtney in the 2009 independent filmDare[28] and inThe Winning Season as Wendy, a high school basketball player having an affair with a middle-aged shoe salesman (Kevin Breznahan) with a similar story toThe Bad News Bears.[29] Both films were premiered at the2009 Sundance Film Festival and Mara was included onFilmmaker magazine's list of "25 New Faces of Independent Film" that year.[16]
Mara starred in aremake of the 1984 horror filmA Nightmare on Elm Street,[30] as the protagonistNancy Holbrook, a high school student victimized byFreddy Krueger (Jackie Earle Haley).[31] Mara began shooting the film in Chicago on May 5, 2009, directed bySamuel Bayer.[32] Mara toldFilmmaker that she felt that her Nancy was "completely different from the original" and "the loneliest girl in the world".[16] Mara had signed on to continue her role if a sequel was made.[33] She stated toVogue that she disliked the experience of making the film so much, that it made her question if she wanted to be an actress.[5] Mara appeared at theHamptons International Film Festival in October 2009 as part of its Breakthrough Performers Program, where she was tutored bySharon Stone.[34]
Fincher'sThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo began shooting in Sweden in September 2010.[42] Mara did not consider the film to be a remake, but another interpretation of the novel. "I plan on giving my interpretation of the character," she stated toVariety.[43] Mara's long brown hair was cut short and dyed black, in a style reminiscent of 1970spunk and 1980sgoth fashions. She also had her ears pierced four times, and had her brow and right nipplepierced for the role. Her nose and lip piercings were fake. She kept the nipple piercing so that it would not need to be re-pierced for a sequel. Mara's eyebrows were bleached, and she wore a temporary dragon tattoo.[37][44] She began preparing for the role by starting to skateboard and kickbox, and underwent dialect and computer training. She also visitedStockholm, the setting of the novel.[45] The film was released on December 20, 2011.[46] Mara received universal critical acclaim and was nominated for theGolden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for her performance.[47] On January 24, 2012, she received her first nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Actress.[48]
The same year, Mara playedTiger Lily in theJoe Wright-directed fantasy filmPan, a role for which she received a great deal of criticism; she and Wright faced accusations of "whitewashing" aNative American character.[63] To express their concerns, Native American activists created a hashtag #NotYourTigerlily to protest Mara's casting and thousands of Native Americans participated in a "Twitterstorm" to share memes addressing their concerns about the portrayal of Native women in film.[64] Mara would later voice regret over her role in the film.
In February 2018, it was announced Mara, Sara Schloat, and Chrys Wong had started a vegan clothing line named Hiraeth Collective, consisting of clothing, shoes, and accessories, designed by themselves. The clothing line is produced inLos Angeles, California.[91][92][93] The clothing line was made available in selectBarneys New York stores and online, beginning in August 2018.[94][95][96]
Mara founded the charity Faces of Kibera, which aimed to provide housing, food, and medical care for orphans inKibera, a slum inNairobi, Kenya. The charity's goal was to build an orphanage in the region, for which 6 acres of land have been purchased.[3] The charity auctioned memorabilia from theSteelers andGiants, as well as training camp events oneBay to raise money.[11] She visited the area as a volunteer in 2006 and was moved to help the orphans, many of whom lost parents to AIDS and HIV-related illnesses. She began the charity due to her frustration with 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", she toldInterview magazine in 2009.[25] Mara later found it challenging to balance her charity work and acting career. "I need to do both; I can't just do acting," she stated toThe Journal News.[3] In January 2011, Faces of Kibera merged withUweza Foundation which runs community-based empowerment programs in Kibera, including soccer leagues and after-school tutoring. Uweza is aSwahili word meaning opportunity, ability, and power.[97] Mara serves as the president of the board of directors for the foundation.[98]
Mara moved to Los Angeles in early 2007 and lived with her sister temporarily.[99][100] Mara felt that the experience brought them closer together, and as of 2010 they were regularly discussing the film business and movie scripts.[3] As of January 2012, Mara lived in theLos Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles.[101] She includesGena Rowlands among the actresses who inspire her, especially her performances inA Woman Under the Influence (1974) andOpening Night (1977).[16] Mara isvegan.[102]
Since late 2016, she has been in a relationship with American actorJoaquin Phoenix, her co-star inHer (2013),Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot (2018), andMary Magdalene (2018).[103] As of September 2017, they reside in theHollywood Hills with their two dogs, Soda and Oskar.[104] They were engaged in 2019.[105] Mara gave birth to their first child, a son, in August 2020.[106][107] In June 2024, their daughter was born.[108] In September 2024, Phoenix referred to Mara as his "wife" during an interview on the podcastTalk Easy.[109]
^It is frequently mispronounced as MAR-a; her sisterKate provided the correct pronunciation here.Josh Horowitz (February 23, 2014)."Kate Mara".Happy Sad Confused (Podcast). SoundCloud. Event occurs at 1:53. RetrievedAugust 11, 2015.
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