Age, Biography, and Wiki
Rooney Mara, born Patricia Rooney Mara on April 17, 1985, is an acclaimed American actress. She comes from the renowned Rooney and Mara families, owners of the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants, respectively. Mara began her acting journey with roles in television and independent films, eventually gaining recognition for her performances in major Hollywood projects.
| Occupation | Fashion Designers |
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| Date of Birth | 17 April 1985 |
| Age | 40 Years |
| Birth Place | Bedford, New York, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Aries |
| Country | U.S |
Height, Weight & Measurements
While specific measurements for Rooney Mara are not widely available, she is known for her slender build and versatile acting style, which allows her to adapt physically to various roles.
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Dating & Relationship Status
Rooney Mara is married to Joaquin Phoenix, with whom she has two children. The couple is known for their private lifestyle, often avoiding public attention.
Her mother's family founded the Pittsburgh Steelers and her father's family founded the New 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 (née Rooney), is a part-time real estate agent. 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.
Mara's father has Irish, German, and French-Canadian ancestry, and her mother is of Irish and Italian descent. Her Rooney ancestors originated in Newry, County Down. Her paternal grandparents were Wellington Mara and Ann Mara. 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. Rooney Mara's maternal grandfather, Timothy James "Tim" Rooney, has run Yonkers Raceway & Empire City Casino in Yonkers, New York since 1972. Mara is the great-granddaughter of both New York Giants founder Tim Mara and Pittsburgh Steelers founder Art Rooney, Sr., as well as of Kathleen McNulty Rooney. Her granduncle, Dan Rooney, was chairman of the Steelers, the former United States Ambassador to Ireland, the co-founder of The Ireland Funds charitable organization, and the architect of American Football's Rooney Rule. U.S. Representative Tom Rooney and former Florida State Representative Patrick Rooney Jr. are her cousins.
Mara was inspired to act by seeing musical theatre and classic movies, like Gone with the Wind (1939), Rebecca (1940), and Bringing Up Baby (1938), with her mother. She also wanted to be like her sister, Kate Mara, a professional actress. 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." Her first and only role in high school was Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, which she got after being signed up to audition by a friend. Mara acted in a few student films while at NYU, and then began her career in acting, first auditioning at the age of nineteen.
In a coming-of-age film Tanner Hall (2009), Mara landed her first lead role, as Fernanda who has an affair with a married family friend (Tom Everett Scott). The film was the directorial debut of Tatiana von Fürstenberg and Francesca Gregorini, it debuted at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival and had a limited theatrical release in September 2011. 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 to Paper magazine. "I never felt like a Tricia. And Rooney is more memorable". Her father and younger brother also go by their middle names.
In 2010, Mara played Erica Albright, Mark Zuckerberg's ex-girlfriend, in David Fincher's biographical drama film The Social Network. The same year, Mara was cast as the lead in a film adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the first of the Millennium book trilogy by Stieg Larsson. 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. David Fincher directed the film, with Scott Rudin producing. The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest were planned to be adapted as well, depending on the film's box office performance. Fincher initially did not picture Mara as the character, but changed his mind after she auditioned. He convinced executives at Columbia Pictures to cast her for the part.
In 2011, Mara was considered to star in Kathryn Bigelow's action film Zero Dark Thirty, but the role went to Jessica Chastain. The following year, Mara signed on to replace Carey Mulligan, who had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts, in Spike Jonze's Her (2013), where she played Catherine Klausen, the ex-wife of central character Theodore Twombley (Joaquin Phoenix). In addition, Mara starred in Steven Soderbergh's psychological thriller Side Effects (2013), replacing Blake Lively. The film also starred Jude Law, Channing Tatum, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Vinessa Shaw. She played Emily Taylor, "a woman who turns to prescription medication as a way of handling her anxiety concerning her husband's upcoming release from prison." She also starred in David Lowery's romantic crime drama Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013), which was described as a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde story, alongside Casey Affleck and Ben Foster. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2013, where IFC Films purchased the rights for US distribution. In May 2013, she became the face of what was then a new Calvin Klein fragrance, Down Town.
Mara's sole release of 2014 was the crime drama thriller film Trash, an adaptation of the 2010 novel of the same name by Andy Mulligan directed by Stephen Daldry. The same year, Mara served as the costume designer on her then-boyfriend Charlie McDowell's feature directorial debut The One I Love. She was credited as Bree Daniel.
Mara founded the charity Faces of Kibera, which aimed to provide housing, food, and medical care for orphans in Kibera, a slum in Nairobi, Kenya. The charity's goal was to build an orphanage in the region, for which 6 acres of land have been purchased. The charity auctioned memorabilia from the Steelers and Giants, as well as training camp events on eBay to raise money. 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 told Interview magazine in 2009. 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 to The Journal News. 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. Uweza is a Swahili word meaning opportunity, ability, and power. Mara serves as the president of the board of directors for the foundation.
Since late 2016, she has been in a relationship with American actor Joaquin Phoenix, her co-star in Her (2013), Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot (2018), and Mary Magdalene (2018). As of September 2017, they reside in the Hollywood Hills with their two dogs, Soda and Oskar. They were engaged to be married in 2019, but the ceremony never took place. Mara gave birth to their first child, a son, in August 2020. In 2020, Mara legally changed her name to Rooney Mara Phoenix. In September 2024, Joaquin Phoenix formalized his marriage with Rooney during Talk Easy podcast.
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| Husband | Joaquin Phoenix (m. September 2024) |
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Net Worth and Salary
Rooney Mara's net worth is estimated to be around $20 million as of early 2025, though some sources suggest it could be up to $25 million. Her wealth primarily stems from her successful acting career, including roles in films like "The Social Network," "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," and "Carol".
Career, Business, and Investments
Mara's career breakthrough came with her Oscar-nominated portrayal of Lisbeth Salander in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2011). She has since appeared in films like "Her," "Carol," "Lion," and "Nightmare Alley," showcasing her ability to take on complex roles. Beyond acting, Mara co-founded the vegan fashion line Hiraeth Collective and supports various humanitarian causes through her charity work with the Uweza Foundation.
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 (2009). She first gained recognition for her supporting role in David Fincher's drama film The Social Network (2010). Mara had a career breakthrough when she starred as Lisbeth Salander in Fincher's thriller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), which earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
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.
Mara moved to Los Angeles in early 2007 and lived with her sister temporarily. Mara felt that the experience brought them closer together, and as of 2010 they were regularly discussing the film business and movie scripts. As of January 2012, Mara lived in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. She includes Gena Rowlands among the actresses who inspire her, especially her performances in A Woman Under the Influence (1974) and Opening Night (1977). Mara is vegan.
Social Network
Rooney Mara prefers a private life and is not highly active on traditional social media platforms. However, she is recognized for her environmental consciousness and philanthropic efforts.
Mara's career progressed with leading roles in the thriller Side Effects (2013), the science fiction romance Her (2013), and the romantic drama Carol (2015). For the last of these, she won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has since appeared in the biographical drama Lion (2016), the supernatural drama A Ghost Story (2017), and portrayed Mary Magdalene in the biblical drama Mary Magdalene (2018). Following a brief hiatus, Mara starred in the psychological thriller Nightmare Alley (2021) and the drama Women Talking (2022).
Mara played Courtney in the 2009 independent film Dare 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. Both films were premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and Mara was included on Filmmaker magazine's list of "25 New Faces of Independent Film" that year.
The same year, Mara played Tiger Lily in the Joe Wright-directed fantasy film Pan, a role for which she received a great deal of criticism; she and Wright faced accusations of "whitewashing" a Native American character. 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. Mara would later voice regret over her role in the film.
In 2017, Mara appeared in The Discovery directed by Charlie McDowell and A Ghost Story, with Casey Affleck, directed by David Lowery. Both had their world premieres at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Mara starred with Ryan Gosling, Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchett and Val Kilmer in Terrence Malick's Song to Song, which had a limited release.
Education
Information about Rooney Mara's formal education is not extensively detailed in public sources. Her focus has been on developing her acting career and supporting various social causes.
In summary, Rooney Mara is a talented actress known for her intense performances and commitment to philanthropy. Her net worth reflects her success in Hollywood and her off-screen ventures.
After graduating from Fox Lane High School in 2003, Mara went to Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia in South America for four months as part of the Traveling School, an open learning environment. 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, graduating in 2010.
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.D. Payne's 1993 cult novel of the same name. Mara had auditioned for the starring role, but was offered the smaller part when the lead went to Portia Doubleday.
Mara starred in a remake of the 1984 horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street, as the protagonist Nancy Holbrook, a high school student victimized by Freddy Krueger (Jackie Earle Haley). Mara began shooting the film in Chicago on May 5, 2009, directed by Samuel Bayer. Mara told Filmmaker that she felt that her Nancy was "completely different from the original" and "the loneliest girl in the world". Mara had signed on to continue her role if a sequel was made. She stated to Vogue that she disliked the experience of making the film so much, that it made her question if she wanted to be an actress. Mara appeared at the Hamptons International Film Festival in October 2009 as part of its Breakthrough Performers Program, where she was tutored by Sharon Stone.
