Rooney Mara's Real Name: Patricia Rooney Mara

Quick answer: Rooney Mara was born Patricia Rooney Mara on April 17, 1985, in Bedford, New York. Early in her career she was credited as Patricia Mara and then as Tricia Mara. Around 2009 she switched to her middle name, Rooney, which comes from her mother's family, the founders of the Pittsburgh Steelers. She earned Oscar nominations for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and Carol (Biography.com archive; Library of Congress).

Real name and early life

The Library of Congress name authority files her as "Mara, Rooney," with the variants "Mara, Patricia" and "Mara, Tricia." One citation reads "Patricia Rooney Mara; b. ca. 1985, Bedford, N.Y." Another gives "born April 17, 1985 in Bedford, New York, USA."

Biography.com says she is one of four children of Chris Mara, a New York Giants executive, and Kathleen McNulty (née Rooney), a real estate agent. Her paternal great-grandfather, Tim Mara, founded the Giants, and her maternal great-grandfather, Art Rooney Sr., founded the Steelers. She graduated from Fox Lane High School in 2003 and traveled in South America with the Traveling School. She spent a year at George Washington University before transferring to New York University, where she studied psychology and nonprofits and graduated in 2010.

Career highlights

Mara first appeared as an extra in films starring her older sister, Kate Mara, starting with Urban Legends: Bloody Mary (2005). She was billed there as "Patricia Mara." She then took TV roles on Law & Order and ER as "Tricia." IndieWire reported in 2010 that she had replaced her first name with her middle name after making Tanner Hall. Biography.com quotes her as saying she never felt like a Tricia and that Rooney was more memorable.

Her breakthrough came in 2010 with The Social Network, in which she played Mark Zuckerberg's ex-girlfriend, and she also appeared in the A Nightmare on Elm Street remake. David Fincher cast her as hacker Lisbeth Salander in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011), a role that earned her Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for lead actress.

She appeared in the sci-fi drama Her (2013) and Pan (2015). In Todd Haynes's Carol (2015), adapted from Patricia Highsmith's novel The Price of Salt, she starred opposite Cate Blanchett and received a second Oscar nomination, in the supporting category. She also founded Faces of Kibera, a charity for orphans in Nairobi, Kenya.

Name notes for searchers

Patricia is her legal first name, and Tricia is its short form. Rooney, her middle name, is her mother's maiden name. Mara is her father's surname. Credits before 2009 may list her as Patricia or Tricia Mara.