Cover Girl: Rooney Mara Shows Off Her ‘Dragon Tattoo’ for VOGUE!

I’m completely blown away by the November issue of VOGUE with 26-year-old actress ROONEY MARA gracing the cover.

Rooney was photographed by the amazing duo Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott wearing a Ralph Lauren Collection black gown with a large dragon embroidery on the back. Quite fitting, no? She looked mysterious, gorgeous, and down-right dangerous.

Rooney talked to the fashion magazine about nabbing the extremely sought-after lead role in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”; effectively beating out A-list actresses like Scarlett Johnasson and Natalie Portman. She opened up about working on the film and the changes she went through — mostly with her appearance — she had to drastically cut and color her hair for the role, as you can see.

“The eyebrows were the biggest shock because that really changed my face and I didn’t recognize myself,” says Mara. “But I was fine because I knew it was going to be really helpful for getting into character.”

Make-up artist Charlotte Tilbury achieved Rooney’s smokey eyes, flawless skin, and rich colored lips for the shoot using only CHANEL beauty products.

In this intense shot from the issue, Rooney wears a black knit backless top by Alexander Wang. Loving that pale coral lippe!

Rooney moves swiftly in this slinky floor-length Calvin Klein Collection backless dress from Resort 2012 that features silver framing around the neckline and waved details at the side.

Looking like a character straight out of a fairy-tale; Rooney was photographed amongst a garden of flowers wearing a stunning white embroidered tea-length dress by Marchesa.

VOGUE’s fashion editor Tonne Goodman styled Rooney in this black strapless folded dress by Bottega Veneta for a captivating black and white shot.

For this hauntingly glamorous photo at a lake-side location, Rooney wears a draped back metallic sequin long-sleeve gown by Marchesa with jewelry from Fred Leighton.

This majestic garden was too gorgeous for only one photo; Mert + Marcus used it again, this time with dew drop leaves, as the backdrop for Rooney in this ivory cream pleated gown from Vera Wang‘s Spring 2011 bridal collection.

 Click here to watch a behind-the-scenes video from Rooney’s photo shoot!

The November 2011 issue of VOGUE is on newsstands now!