Meet Rooney and Kate Mara’s parents, who have 10 Superbowl rings together – Joaquin Phoenix and Women Talking actress Rooney have finally wed, but what do we know about her NFL royalty family?

Joker: Folie à Deux may not have won over the critics last year, but its star, Joaquin Phoenix, seems to have won over the people that matter – his partner and her parents. Last September, he called long-time girlfriend Rooney Mara his “wife” for the first time, on a podcast, sparking speculation that they had finally married after being engaged since 2019. Meanwhile, Rooney Mara’s sister, fellow actress Kate Mara, has been married to Billy Elliot star Jamie Bell since 2017. So in a family full of actors, who are Rooney and Kate Mara’s parents, Chris Mara and Kathleen Rooney? The short answer is that they’re not as Hollywood as their children and sons-in-law – but they are sporting royalty. Here’s what you need to know. They met at a Florida racetrack Kathleen McNulty Rooney and Timothy Christopher Mara met each other at Florida’s Palm Beach Kennel Club in the 1970s, according to a profile in the New York Post. The dog-racing track had recently been purchased by Kathleen’s family; she was still in high school at the time. Tim (better known by his middle name, Chris) had just started at Boston College. When Kathleen eventually went to the same university, the two began dating. According to the IMDB, both have Irish ancestry. They have four children together As reported by People, Kathleen and Chris went on to have two sons and two daughters: Daniel, Kate, Rooney (born Patricia Rooney) and Conor. And while their sons have stayed out of the spotlight, younger daughter Rooney, 39, has gone on to star in everything from The Social Network (2010) to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011). She’s also set to star in an Audrey Hepburn biopic, per Vogue. Meanwhile, older sister Kate, 42, has clocked up almost 80 acting credits in numerous films and in series including House of Cards and American Horror Story. They are both NFL royalty Those into American football will already know just how influential – and wealthy – Rooney and Kate Mara’s parents are. That’s because Kathleen’s family owns NFL team the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chris’ owns the New York Giants. Growing up, both were deeply involved in the sport thanks to their background. In Kathleen’s case, it was her grandfather, Art Rooney, who founded the Steelers, in 1933. Nicknamed “the chief”, he died in 1988 and passed the team on to his five sons (including Kathleen’s father), per ESPN. Meanwhile, Chris’ grandfather Tim Mara had founded the New York Giants, in 1925. When Tim died in 1959 he also passed the team on to his sons. It is now in the hands of the third generation of Mara children, with Chris serving as senior player personnel executive, per People. Kate Mara has said that the rivalry when game day comes around can make things complicated, joking with Ellen DeGeneres that, “it’s a stressful situation, constantly”. Nevertheless, the two families’ combined sports empires are thought to be worth US$3 billion, which must help smooth things over. Kathleen has a bracelet made of Superbowl rings The couple have 10 Superbowl rings between them: six from the Steelers and four from the Giants. According to People, Kathleen has made a bracelet out of the facing and stones from her rings, which she wears on special occasions. “It’s tough getting through airports with that thing,” Chris joked with the New York Post in 2016. How did the Mara girls get into acting? While her sons have gone into more traditional fields (Daniel into law and Conor into marketing), it was Kathleen’s love of musical theatre that reportedly inspired her daughters to go into acting. Rooney told Vogue her mother was “always playing old black-and-white movies for us” and taking the pair to Broadway shows. Her investment clearly paid off.