Imagine how amazing it would be to be an heir to an NFL team. Now imagine you’re the heir to TWO NFL teams. Oh—and you’re a famous actress. And so is your sister.
That’s real life for Rooney and Kate Mara. On screen, they’re Emmy- and Oscar-nominated performers. Kate Mara, born in 1983, was the first to break into acting. Her younger sister, Rooney, followed in her footsteps, taking on background roles in Kate’s early projects before landing her own breakout parts. Rooney earned global recognition with “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and “Carol,” while Kate shined in “House of Cards,” “127 Hours,” and “Fantastic Four.”
But even as the sisters have built their own Hollywood resumes, their family name has been synonymous with football for nearly a century. The Mara sisters are heiresses to not one but TWO NFL franchises: The New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their family ties stretch all the way back to the founding years of the NFL, and the fortunes behind both franchises are still deeply intertwined with their family name.
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The Mara Dynasty: New York’s Football Founding Family
The Mara family’s NFL empire began with Tim Mara, born in 1887 to an impoverished Irish-American family on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. At just 13, he dropped out of school to work and eventually found success as a bookmaker. In 1925, NFL President Joseph Carr needed someone to take a chance on a struggling league and a fledgling franchise in New York. Through a mutual friend, he connected with Mara, who bought the team for just $500—roughly $12,500 today.
The New York Giants got off to a rocky start. Mara lost $40,000 in the first few years, but his luck changed when he arranged a matchup against college football legend Red Grange. The game drew huge crowds and raked in $143,000 in ticket sales—a game-changing windfall. From there, the Giants became one of the league’s foundational franchises, even helping run rival leagues like the American Football League out of business.
During the Great Depression, the team raised over $150,000 through charity games and weathered the storm as other franchises folded. Tim passed away in 1959 and was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. His sons, Wellington and Jack Mara, carried on the business, followed by their descendants. Today, Kate and Rooney’s father, Timothy Christopher Mara, serves as the Giants’ Vice President of Player Evaluation, while their cousin John Mara is the team’s President, CEO, and co-owner.
The Rooney Legacy: Building the Steel Curtain
On their mother’s side, the sisters are Rooneys—descendants of Art Rooney, Sr., the legendary founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Born in 1901 near Pittsburgh, Art Sr. was a gifted athlete who dabbled in baseball, boxing, and semi-pro football. In 1933, he used $2,500 in winnings from a horse race to purchase a pro football franchise. Originally named the Pittsburgh Pirates (like the baseball team), they became the Steelers in 1941.
The Steelers struggled for decades, but following the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, the franchise exploded into dominance. Led by the famed “Steel Curtain” defense and head coach Chuck Noll, they won four Super Bowls between 1975 and 1980.
Art Sr. passed the team to his son Dan Rooney, who served as owner, team chairman, and U.S. Ambassador to Ireland under President Obama. Dan’s son Art Rooney II now serves as the Steelers’ President, with several other family members still involved at the board level.
Kate and Rooney’s mother, Kathleen McNulty Rooney, is one of Art Sr.’s grandchildren. She married Timothy Christopher Mara, fusing two NFL dynasties into one family tree.
The Family Tree
To put it all together, Tim Mara, founder of the New York Giants in 1925, is their great-grandfather on their father’s side. His son, Wellington Mara, was a legendary team owner and executive. Wellington’s son, Timothy Christopher Mara—Kate and Rooney’s father—currently serves as the Giants’ Vice President of Player Evaluation. On their mother’s side, their great-grandfather was Art Rooney Sr., who founded the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1933. His son, Dan Rooney, ran the team for decades and served as U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, while his grandson Art Rooney II now serves as the Steelers’ President.
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