Since the release of the film-version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (based on the bestselling book of the same name), many people are intrigued to learn more about the film's leading actress Rooney Mara.
Critics believed that the producers of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo were taking a risk by casting a relatively unknown actress in the lead role of Lisbeth San
der, instead of one of Hollywood's better known stars, such as Natalie Portman. But it seems the critics now have pie on their faces as the film has done incredibly well at the box office and Mara is quickly becoming a household name and went on to win a Golden Globe nomination for the role in 2012.
Mara, born in New York in 1985, only started acting when she attended university - graduated from New York University in 2010 with a degree in international relations and psychology - where she had roles in student films. Her first led role in a movie was in Tanner Hall which filmed in 2007. In 2010 she played the lead role in the remake of the classic movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street.
The movie did not do well at the box office, but it did lead to bigger and better things for the young actress as she received the role of the university student who dumps the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg in the box office hit The Social Network. Not only did the movie do well in terms of ticket sales, but it also won an Oscar Award for Best Picture. The Social Network was the first time that she worked with director David Fincher, who hired her to ply the lead role in ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'.
Not only is she a great actress, but she is also charitable as she founded the charitable organisation of Faces of Kibera which provides food, medical care and other essentials to orphans in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya.