tanni_gh82@yahoo.co.inKate 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 had roles in the feature films We Are Marshall, Full of It, and Shooter.

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.