Marling was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of property developer parents John and Heidi Marling. She was named "Brit" after her Norwegian maternal great-grandmother. She has a sister, Morgan Marling, who has been dating writer and director Francesca Gregorini since 2014. She grew up in Winnetka, Illinois, and attended the arts program at Dr. Phillips High School. Marling was interested in acting, but her parents encouraged her to focus on academics. She graduated from Georgetown University in 2005 with degrees in economics and studio art, and was her class valedictorian.\n', '

At Georgetown, Marling met her long-time collaborators, future directors Mike Cahill and Zal Batmanglij. Marling spent her junior year summer interning for the investment banking firm Goldman Sachs as an investment analyst. She felt a lack of meaning a life spent there would have and later turned down a job offer from the firm, opting instead to move to Cuba with Mike Cahill to film the documentary Boxers and Ballerinas. The documentary gained Marling recognition in 2004, having co-written the film with Mike Cahill and Nicholas Shumaker and co-directed with Cahill.\n', '

In 2005 Marling moved with Cahill and Batmanglij to Los Angeles. Marling went to auditions and was offered roles in horror films, but rejected them. She has stated she "wanted to be able to cast herself in roles that wouldn\'t require her to play the typical parts offered to young actresses, the perfunctory girlfriend or a crime victim." She was discovered by talent agent Hylda Queally. \n', '

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