Born into the Rooney and Mara families , Mara began her career acting in television and independent films , such as the coming-of-age drama Tanner Hall She first gained recognition for her supporting role in David Fincher 's drama film The Social Network Mara's career progressed with leading roles in the thriller Side Effects , the science fiction romance Her , and the romantic drama Carol She has since appeared in the biographical drama Lion , the supernatural drama A Ghost Story , and portrayed Mary Magdalene in the biblical drama Mary Magdalene Following a brief hiatus, Mara starred in the psychological thriller Nightmare Alley and the drama Women Talking Mara is known for her charity work and oversees the Uweza Foundation , which supports empowerment programs for children and families in the Kibera slum of Nairobi.
She is also the founder of the vegan clothing line Hiraeth Collective. Wellington was the long-time co-owner of the Giants, who was succeeded in that position by his son Rooney Mara's uncle , John Mara. She attended George Washington University for a year before transferring to New York University 's Gallatin School of Individualized Study , where she studied psychology, international social policy and nonprofits, [ 6 ] [ 15 ] graduating in Mara was inspired to act by seeing musical theatre and classic movies, like Gone with the Wind , Rebecca , and Bringing Up Baby , with her mother.
Mara resisted pursuing acting as a child, stating to The Journal News that "it never seemed that honorable to me, and I guess I was always afraid that I might fail. Mara first appeared as an extra in films which starred her sister, including a bit-part in the direct-to-video horror film Urban Legends: Bloody Mary.
In a coming-of-age film Tanner Hall , Mara landed her first lead role, as Fernanda who has an affair with a married family friend Tom Everett Scott. And Rooney is more memorable". In Miguel Arteta 's comedy-drama film Youth in Revolt , Mara played Taggarty who tries to sleep with fifty men before she goes to college. The film was based on C. Payne 's cult novel of the same name. Mara played Courtney in the independent film Dare [ 29 ] and in The Winning Season as Wendy, a high school basketball player having an affair with a middle-aged shoe salesman Kevin Breznahan with a similar story to The Bad News Bears.
She played Lisbeth Salander , a brilliant but troubled computer hacker who helps journalist Mikael Blomkvist Daniel Craig solve a series of murders. Mara won the role over several other actresses after two and a half months of auditions and screen tests.
