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Kate Mara (born February 27, 1983) is an
American television and film actress. Beginning acting
in her hometown of Bedford, New York, she moved from the
stage to her first film, Random Hearts (1999). Notable
roles include appearances in Academy Award-winner
Brokeback Mountain and on Fox television series 24.
Included on the New York Daily News list of "10
young actors who have a shot at making it big" at
the start of 2006, she has since appeared in the feature
films We Are Marshall and Shooter.
Early life: Mara was born in New York, the
daughter of Chris Mara, a scout for the New York Giants,
and Kathleen Rooney. Mara has one older brother, Daniel,
and two younger siblings, Patricia and Conor. Mara was
raised in Bedford, New York and wanted to be an actress
since seeing Les Misérables at a young age.
Mara said she "fell in love with
Broadway and musicals", and grew up watching movie
musicals on television and going to Broadway shows with
her mother. She was especially a fan of Judy Garland's
films. She began acting at the age of nine, appearing in
a school musical. Mara attended several youth
theater-arts schools and appeared in community theater
and in school plays.
Beginning at a young age, Mara continually asked her
mother to help her get an agent. Mara's mother got the
name and address of a management company, sent in a
photograph, and Mara signed with her first agent,
beginning her professional career at the age of 14.
Mara's first audition was for the television drama
Homicide: Life on the Street. She didn't get the role,
but knew she just wanted to act from then on. Mara was
accepted into the Tisch School of the Arts at New York
University to study musical theater, and graduated from
Fox Lane High School early by a year. Mara felt pressure
from her parents to go to college, but was already
getting work as an actress, so she deferred for three or
four years before deciding not to go. Mara moved to
Manhattan in order to act full time.
Television and stage roles: Mara's first
television role was in the drama Law & Order in
1997. She went on to guest star on numerous television
series including, Madigan Men, Ed, and Law & Order:
Special Victims Unit. Recurring parts on the series
Everwood and Nip/Tuck followed in 2003, along with
appearances on Cold Case, Boston Public, CSI: Miami, and
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Mara debuted
theatrically in 2003 at the Williamstown Theatre
Festival in Landscape of the Body with Lili Taylor. She
has said that doing more theater work is a
"dream" because it was "all I really
wanted to do as a kid. I didn't care about movies or tv,
I just wanted to do Broadway". A large recurring
role on the WB Television Network series Jack &
Bobby was next in 2005. Mara appeared in 2006 on Fox
television series 24, playing computer analyst Shari
Rothenberg for a 5 episode arc.
Film career: Mara's film debut was in Random
Hearts with Harrison Ford in 1999, directed by Sydney
Pollack. She next appeared in the Sundance Film Festival
award-winning films Joe the King (1999) and Tadpole
(2002), alongside Sigourney Weaver. Mara later starred
in Urban Legends: Bloody Mary, and appeared with Noah
Wyle and Illeana Douglas in The Californians in 2005.
However, it was her supporting role in the Academy
Award-winning Brokeback Mountain (2005) that brought her
more widespread attention.
At the beginning of 2006, Mara signed with the William
Morris Agency. That year, she appeared in Zoom with Tim
Allen and Courteney Cox and in We Are Marshall, starring
Matthew McConaughey. We Are Marshall recalled the
aftermath of the 1970 Marshall University plane crash
that took the lives of most of the football team, with
Mara playing fictional cheerleader Annie Cantrell. It
was a script that Mara responded to emotionally because
of her football background.
In 2007, Mara appeared in the comedy Full of It with
Ryan Pinkston for New Line Cinema. She was also featured
in an advertising campaign for clothing retailer Gap
called, "khakis with attitude." Mara appeared
in Shooter, a thriller about a master sniper lured out
of retirement to prevent an assassination, based on the
novel Point of Impact. Mara played Kentucky widow Sarah
Fenn, the love interest of Mark Wahlberg's character's
partner, and then Mark Wahlberg's character himself. She
adopted a southern dialect for the role. Director
Antoine Fuqua immediately felt Mara was right for the
part when she auditioned.
Also in 2007, Mara finished the film Transsiberian by
Brad Anderson, the director of The Machinist (2004).
Transsiberian takes place on the Trans-Siberian Railway
that runs from China to Moscow. The cast includes Woody
Harrelson, Ben Kingsley, Eduardo Noriega, and Emily
Mortimer. Mara spent three months shooting the thriller
in Vilnius, Lithuania, starting in December 2006. The
film also shot on location in Beijing and Russia. Mara
describes her character as "dark",
"mysterious", "sort of goth", and
doesn't talk much.
Mara will also star in Stone of Destiny, written and
directed by Charles Martin Smith, a film about the theft
of the Stone of Scone on Christmas Day, 1950. Mara plays
Kay Matheson, one of four students that removed the
stone in a Scottish nationalist plot. The period
"adventure-comedy" co-stars Charlie Cox.
Filming began in June 2007 in locations around Glasgow,
including Film City studio and Arbroath Abbey. A 2008
release is scheduled for the film. Mara will also appear
with Charlie Hunnam in Deal, a film by Michael Corrente.
NFL football ties: Kate Mara's family owns the
New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers; she is the
great-granddaughter of Giants founder Tim Mara, the
granddaughter of late Giants owner Wellington Mara on
her father's side, as well as the great-granddaughter of
Steelers founder Art Rooney on her mother's side. Mara's
uncle is John Mara, the president and CEO of the Giants,
and her father is the vice president of player
evaluation. Mara attended almost every Giants home game
while growing up.
On Sundays, after attending church, her
family would head directly to the games. When asked who
she roots for when the Giants play the Steelers she
replied, "that question is not allowed. I can't
answer." Mara missed the Steelers' winning Super
Bowl in 2006 because she was working in Los Angeles.
Mara was so disappointed, she added to her contract that
if the Giants or Steelers go to the Super Bowl, she can
attend.
Mara's favorite Giants game was when she was asked to
sing the national anthem in honor of her grandfather,
Wellington Mara, who died in October 2005. Mara has
regularly sung at home games and season openers of the
Giants since about the age of 15 or 16 when her uncle
asked her to fill in when they couldn't find a singer.
She sang the national anthem at the 2006 NFL season
opener, dubbed "Manning versus Manning," where
the Giants played the Indianapolis Colts. Mara's singing
was featured in the film The Californians.
Personal life: Mara has stated she comes from a
"huge" family. Her father was one of 11
children. She has 22 aunts and uncles and 40 cousins.
She lives in Los Angeles, having resided there on and
off since around 2003. Her younger sister, Patricia, is
living with her temporarily since relocating to Los
Angeles in 2007. Mara travels back to New York when her
schedule allows and has stated, "If I could live in
New York, I would", specifying that she likes
"the cold... the rain" and "misses
it". Mara tries to spend the football season in New
York when she can. |
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