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. Mara also oversees the charity Faces of Kibera, which benefits orphans from the Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya.

Early Life

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 of 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 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", and in 2007, 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 will play Fernanda in the film Tanner Hall, starring Amy Sedaris and Tom Everett Scott, a story of four girls set in a boarding school. She will also appear in the comedy Youth in Revolt, starring Michael Cera and directed by Miguel Arteta, a film based on the 1993 cult novel of the same name by C.D. Payne. Her 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 will star in A Nightmare on Elm Street, a 2010 remake of the 1984 horror film of the same name, playing the protagonist Nancy Thompson, a teenage girl who is eager to leave town after graduation. Directed by Samuel Bayer and produced by Platinum Dunes and New Line Cinema, the film began shooting in Chicago on May 5, 2009, and will be released on April 16, 2010. Mara will also appear in a sequel to the remake, continuing her role as Nancy Thompson.

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.

Excerpt from Rooney's Wiki