Kate Mara

Kate Rooney Mara ( ; born February 27, 1983) is an American actress. She is known for work in television, playing reporter Zoe Barnes in the Netflix political drama House of Cards (2013–2014; 2016), computer analyst Shari Rothenberg in the Fox thriller series 24 (2006), wronged mistress Hayden McClaine in the FX miniseries American Horror Story: Murder House (2011), Patty Bowes in the first season of the FX drag ball culture drama series Pose (2018), and a teacher who begins an illicit relationship with an underage student, in the FX miniseries A Teacher (2020). For the latter, she received an Independent Spirit nomination for Best New Scripted Series as an executive producer. Mara made her film debut in Random Hearts (1999). She has since appeared in Brokeback Mountain (2005), We Are Marshall (2006), Shooter (2007), Transsiberian (2008), Stone of Destiny (2008), The Open Road (2009), Transcendence (2014), The Martian (2015), Fantastic Four (2015), Morgan (2016), Megan Leavey (2017), My Days of Mercy (2017), and Chappaquiddick (2018). Early life Kate Mara was born on February 27, 1983, in Bedford, New York. Her parents are Timothy Christopher Mara, an NFL scout and vice president of the New York Giants for player evaluation, and Kathleen McNulty Mara (née Rooney). She is the second of four siblings, with one older brother, Daniel; one younger sister, the actress Patricia "Rooney"; and one younger brother, Conor. Her ancestry is Irish, one quarter Italian, and smaller amounts of German, French-Canadian, and English. Her father is one of 11 children, through whom she has 20 aunts and uncles, and 40 cousins. She is a great-granddaughter of both New York Giants founder Tim Mara and Pittsburgh Steelers founder Art Rooney, Sr. Her mother's side of the family has held ownership in the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers football team since its formation in 1933, and her father's side of the family has held ownership in the NFL's New York Giants since its formation in 1925. Her paternal grandparents were Wellington Mara and Ann Mara. Wellington co-owned the Giants football team from 1959 until his death in 2005, and was succeeded by his son (Kate Mara's uncle), John Mara, who is currently President, CEO, and co-owner of the team. Kate Mara's maternal grandfather, Timothy James "Tim" Rooney, has operated Yonkers Raceway in Yonkers, New York since 1972.