After majoring in economics at Georgetown University, Marling moved to Los Angeles with friends Mike Cahill and Zal Batmanglij to pursue screenplay writing and acting. She first gained recognition in 2004 with the documentary Boxers and Ballerinas and later became a Sundance star with Searchlight movies Sound of My Voice (2011), Another Earth (2011) and The East (2013) which she co-wrote in addition to playing the lead role. Wikipedia