Who is Rooney Mara?

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Photo: Adriana M. Barraza/WENN

For months, industry insiders have been speculating about who would play Lisbeth Salander in the Hollywood adaptation of Stieg Larsson's cult novel, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson and Kristen Stewart were all said to be in contention, but it's relative unknown Rooney Mara who has scored the coveted role. Mara, the younger sister of Iron Man 2 star Kate Mara, will head to Sweden next week to begin filming the David Fincher-directed flick with British actor Daniel Craig, who will play Mikael Blomkvist. While you can count the actress's film roles on one hand—she starred in A Nightmare on Elm Street and will have a supporting role in the upcoming Facebook film The Social Network—it turns out the NYU grad has been just as focused on bettering the lives of African orphans as she has been on building her career. After spending the summer of 2006 volunteering in Kenya, Mara founded Faces of Kibera, a non-profit dedicated to providing care and services to children in Africa's second largest slum. We can't wait to see Mara's take on the complicated Salander!

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