![](\"https:\/\/vegnews.com\/media\/W1siZiIsIjM1NDExL1ZlZ25ld3Mua2F0ZW1hcmFjaGltcC5qcGciXSxbInAiLCJ0aHVtYiIsIjE2MDB4OTQ2IyIseyJmb3JtYXQiOiJqcGcifV0sWyJwIiwib3B0aW1pemUiXV0\/Vegnews.katemarachimp.jpg?sha=83e103922d89efa1\")
While we loved watching her in House of Cards <\/em>and feel compelled to watch any film she\u2019s in (The Martian, 127 Hours, The Fantastic Four <\/em>\u2026 just to name a few of her many credits), we\u2019re even more intrigued by her passion to help animals and support the organizations doing this necessary and unrelenting work. We chatted over Zoom to learn more about her commendable advocacy and glimpse into her purpose-driven life.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mara has carved out her own legacy in acting and activism, but she grew up in a family with a long-established legacy of their own in American football. Both of her grandfathers were executives in professional sports\u2014her great-grandfather on her father\u2019s side founded the New York Giants, and her great-grandfather on her mother\u2019s side owned the Pittsburgh Steelers. The involvement in sports trickled down to her father, who serves as an executive for the Giants. Through their combined family wealth, the Rooney\/Mara clan has taken on numerous charitable efforts, though like Kate, both parents have been extremely quiet in their involvement.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re really part of the community,\u201d Pittsburgh resident Richard Smith told<\/a> Pittsburgh news station WTAE-TV following the death of Mara\u2019s maternal grandfather, Dan Rooney. \u201cThey\u2019re not sitting up in some high crystal tower, they\u2019re really one of us.\u201d In addition to working with the Steelers since 1955 (work that earned him induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame), Rooney supported his community by working with The United Way, granting 10 Steelers Make a Wish wishes, and serving as the founding chairman of The Mentoring Partnership of Southwestern Pennsylvania, a local nonprofit that paired youth with mentors to set them up for success and lead by positive example.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mara grew up in Bedford, NY, and like many, she developed a deep love for animals but was blindsided by the food industry.<\/p>\n The reality of animal agriculture hit her in her late teens when she witnessed firsthand some of the cruelty inherent in raising animals for food. During a drive from Pittsburgh to New York, she observed several trucks carting chickens down the highway, likely to their slaughter.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI could see how horrific it seemed as an animal to live that life just because we [humans] feel like feeding ourselves in a certain way,\u201d Mara said. \u201cI was disgusted and saddened by it and thought shame on me for not knowing of that or being aware of it sooner.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The budding actress adopted a vegetarian diet after that encounter, but it would be a few more years until she went vegan, for a different reason entirely.\u00a0<\/p>\n A vegan friend of Mara\u2019s suggested she read The Beauty Detox <\/em>by holistic wellness practitioner Kimberly Snyder in 2013, and it was the health argument<\/a> that clicked. \u201cSo many people decide to go vegan when they have a crisis. When I read this book I realized, \u2018Why wait for something terrible to happen to change your lifestyle?\u2019\u201d she explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n She had her younger sister, Rooney<\/a>, to lean on. An established actress and advocate in her own right, Rooney had adopted a vegan lifestyle about two years earlier after a disturbing animal abuse video sent her down the YouTube rabbit hole of how atrocious animal agriculture really is.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s one thing to adopt a vegan lifestyle but another step entirely to lend a voice to countless animals, particularly for those in the spotlight. For Mara, though, the decision to become an advocate was easy, natural even.\u00a0<\/p>\n Her first point of animal advocacy was sparked by the shocking 2013 documentary, Blackfish<\/em><\/a>, which revealed the animal abuse and tragic human accidents that had thus far been hidden by SeaWorld. She reached out to the filmmaker and offered her support.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to be of service in whatever way I could be,\u201d she said, as she helped spread awareness about the film through her network.<\/p>\n Since this first act of advocacy, Mara has played a seminal role in standing up for animals, from calling to an end to the horse-drawn carriages<\/a> in New York City to working on her own 2022 documentary, The Smell of Money<\/em><\/a>, to bring awareness to the environmental racism behind factory farming.\u00a0<\/p>\n To remain up to date on issues, she keeps qualified company. \u201cI\u2019ve surrounded myself with people who do a lot for animals, and I learn from them constantly,\u201d Mara explained. When asked how she determines which projects to support, she likened the decision-making process to acting. \u201cIt\u2019s similar to acting or choosing a role. You don\u2019t know about certain films or roles until they\u2019re brought to you,\u201d she said, explaining that she often discovers new issues through her knowledgeable friends and organizations, like the Animal Legal Defense Fund.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re not out there looking you wouldn\u2019t necessarily know that certain things need your voice,\u201d she said. \u201cSocial media is an amazing tool for things like this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Mara\u2019s long history of animal activism is both consistent and diverse. She\u2019s written letters in support of policy change as well as traveled to Liberia to meet a group of rescue chimpanzees. However, she credits the Animal Defense Fund for doing the work to make her and other advocates\u2019 support have a greater impact.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c[The Animal Legal Defense Fund] has these top attorneys. They could have had these cushy careers but they chose to dedicate their lives to animal rights. Having the law and policies on our side when we\u2019re advocating for justice for animals makes [the work] less burdensome. To have those types of people behind you is really really important,\u201d Mara said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Just like the rest of us, Mara knows she doesn\u2019t have all the answers when it comes to parenting, especially when raising vegan kids<\/a>. She and her husband, actor Jamie Bell, are parents to a nine-year-old son (Bell\u2019s from a previous marriage), a three-year-old daughter, and an infant son.\u00a0 She admitted that she\u2019s still navigating how to explain why she doesn\u2019t buy certain shoes (such as leather ones) or how they decide to buy (or not buy) specific foods, particularly to her daughter.\u00a0<\/p>\n Despite this uncertainty, being a mom has fueled her work as a defender of animals. \u201cBeing a parent gives me more passion and drive for animals, like children need our voice in so many ways as well and obviously animals really do.\u201d She\u2019ll let her children make their own food decisions for themselves when they\u2019re a bit older. \u201cI find it empowering to choose the stories we tell them and how to make them aware [of what\u2019s on their plate]. I wasn\u2019t aware of what was put on my plate. It excites me to be able to raise my children in a way that is more honest,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n What does a compassionate Hollywood starlet love when it comes to food, fashion, and beauty brands? We asked the direct source. Like many, she claimed cheese was the hardest food to give up after going vegan. These days, she satisfies her cheese craving<\/a> with Miyoko\u2019s Creamery. \u201cMiyoko\u2019s is one of my favorite brands, but there\u2019s so many [vegan cheeses] now it\u2019s kind of incredible. Parmela\u2019s is [also] really great. Try it on a cracker,\u201d she advised.\u00a0<\/p>\n For makeup, Mara called out Jillian Demsey\u2019s makeup line. \u201cShe takes a lot of care in how she makes her products.\u201d She also highly recommended True Botanicals as a brand she trusts. \u201cBeing a parent of a newborn, I\u2019m so aware of what I put on my skin. You don\u2019t want [harmful] makeup to rub off on their precious, precious skin,\u201d Mara said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Regarding fashion, she gave Jonathan Simkhai a shoutout for going leather- and fur-free. \u201cHis vegan leather is so beautiful,\u201d Mara raved. \u201cMy hope is that in the future, we don\u2019t have to say it\u2019s vegan [leather]. It just naturally is.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \nThe family legacy<\/h2>\n
![\"Vegnews.michaelkovacgetty\"](\"https:\/\/vegnews.com\/media\/35410\/Vegnews.michaelkovacgetty.jpg\")
Michael Kovac\/Getty Images<\/p>\nOn going vegan<\/h2>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know any vegetarians or vegans. I wasn\u2019t aware of what was on my plate,\u201d Mara recalled.<\/blockquote>\n
From vegan to advocate<\/h2>\n
\u201cSometimes being a voice for others is easier than being a voice for yourself. Even as a child, when I was shy, I felt more empowered when I was sticking up for someone else,\u201d Mara said.\u00a0<\/blockquote>\n
![\"Vegnews.katemarakissingchimp\"](\"https:\/\/vegnews.com\/media\/35407\/Vegnews.katemarakissingchimp.jpg\")
Michelle Cho<\/p>\nMara and the Animal Legal Defense Fund<\/h2>\n
Being a vegan parent<\/h2>\n
\u201cHow do you teach empathy to a three-year-old about an animal they don\u2019t know?\u201d she asks. \u201cI definitely don\u2019t have all the answers and I\u2019m looking to a lot of friends raising their kids vegan, but it\u2019s also amazing how much empathy kids are born with.\u201d\u00a0<\/blockquote>\n
![\"VegNews.VeganCheeseGuide.Miyokos\"](\"https:\/\/vegnews.com\/media\/34335\/VegNews.VeganCheeseGuide.Miyokos.png\")
Miyoko\u2019s Creamery<\/p>\nMara\u2019s go-to staples in fashion, food, and beauty<\/h2>\n