PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A highly anticipated film, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” is a breakout vehicle for a 26-year-old actress whose name evokes the history of the National Football League.

Rooney Mara’s great-grandfather is Steelers founder Art Rooney. Her paternal grandfather is New York Giants owner Wellington Mara.

Though her primary allegiance is with the Giants, great-uncle Art Rooney, Jr. doesn’t mind. He was proud of her long before she became so famous.

“When she got out of NYU, she went to Africa and worked with the orphans whose parents had died of AIDS. I mean, that’s a pretty nice kid at 21 years old to go over and do that.”

For her latest role, Rooney Mara cut and dyed her long brown hair to fit the gothic image of a troubled computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander.

“I just felt desperate to play her,” she says. “I felt like she was someone that I could really – I don’t know – I just really understood her.”

Art Rooney, Jr. recalls the role she played in the hit movie “The Social Network.” She didn’t have as much to say in that one, but it was memorable.

“Her line was, ‘You’re nothing but a jackass.’ And I thought, ‘My gosh, she really does remind me of one of the Rooneys from the North Side.’”