September 9th’s “HOT or NOT?” candidate was Kate Mara. You voted. Kate is:
Beginning acting in her hometown of Bedford, New York, Kate Mara moved from the stage to her first film, Random Hearts (1999). Her notable roles include appearances in the Academy Award-winning film Brokeback Mountain, playing the daughter of Heath Ledger’s character, and on the Fox television series 24, as computer analyst Shari Rothenberg. She has since appeared in the feature films We Are Marshall (2006), Shooter (2007), and Transsiberian (2008). Mara joined the cast of the HBO series Entourage for the sixth season, and co-stars in The Open Road (2009), with Justin Timberlake. She will play Bethany Cabe in Iron Man 2 (2010) .
Mara’s family owns the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers; she is the great-granddaughter of Giants founder Tim Mara, the granddaughter of late Giants owner Wellington Mara on her father’s side, as well as the great-granddaughter of Steelers founder Art Rooney on her mother’s side. Mara’s uncle is John Mara, the president and CEO of the Giants, and her father is the vice president of player evaluation. Mara attended almost every Giants home game while growing up. On Sundays, after attending church, her family would head directly to the games. When asked by Vanity Fair magazine whom she roots for when the Giants play the Steelers she replied, “that question is not allowed. I can’t answer”, and has since told the New York Post, “rooting for the offense is the safe way to go. You win either way.” Mara missed the Steelers winning Super Bowl in 2006 because she was working in Los Angeles. Mara was so disappointed, she added to her contract that if the Giants or Steelers go to the Super Bowl, she can attend. She attended almost every game of the 2007 Giants season, leading up to the team’s win in Super Bowl XLII.
Mara’s favorite Giants game was when she was asked to sing the national anthem in honor of her grandfather, Wellington Mara, who died in October 2005. Mara has regularly sung at home games and season openers of the Giants since about the age of 15 or 16 when her uncle asked her to fill in when they couldn’t find a singer. She has also sung at a couple of Steelers games. She sang the national anthem at the 2006 NFL season opener, dubbed the “Manning Bowl,” where the Giants played the Indianapolis Colts.
