Mara grew up in a large extended family; her father is one of 11 siblings, giving her a wide circle of relatives that includes 22 aunts and uncles and over 40 cousins.

Early Interest in Acting

Mara developed a passion for acting at an early age, appearing in her first school musical when she was just nine years old. She participated in youth theater programs and school productions and worked with community theater groups during her formative years. Despite not being cast in her audition for Homicide: Life on the Street, the experience helped her realize her professional ambitions firmly lay in acting.

She graduated from Fox Lane High School and was accepted into New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Though she initially planned to study musical theater, she deferred enrollment in order to begin working professionally as an actress.

Television Career and Breakthrough with House of Cards

Mara made her television debut in 1997 with a role in the drama Law & Order. She continued to appear in guest roles in several popular television series, including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Ed, Madigan Men, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Cold Case, CSI: Miami, and Boston Public.

Her most notable television role came in 2013 when she joined the cast of the Netflix political drama House of Cards. The show, produced by David Fincher and based on the novel by Michael Dobbs and the 1990 British series of the same name, starred Kevin Spacey. Mara portrayed Zoe Barnes, a determined political reporter based in Washington, D.C. Her performance earned her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series in 2014.