Photo: Instagram
She's a graduate student at USC.
By Amy Lamare — Written on May 14, 2018
Over the weekend, 40-year-old James Franco was seen with his 24-year-old girlfriend holding hands and kissing on the beach in Miami. Isabel Pakzad has had Franco's attention for a number of months. So what's her story? Who is Isabel Pakzad, James Franco's girlfriend?
1. How long have they been dating?
James and Isabel have been dating since at least November 2017. It isn't known how the two met, but Franco used to teach classes at USC, where Isabel is a graduate student.
2. She's a Penn State grad and USC grad student.
Isabel got her undergraduate degree at Penn State in advertising and publicity. At the University of Southern California, Isabel is pursuing her masters degree Integrated Design, Business and Technology. There could be some rivalry between this couple as James briefly attended USC's cross town rival UCLA.
3. She was in a sorority at Penn State.
While Isabel was an undergrad at Penn State she was a member of the Kappa Delta sorority. One website called her one of the hottest girls in KD.
4. Her Insta is full of her travels.
Isabel's Instagram account features her posing in a number of exotic locals including Dubai, Barcelona, London, Santorini, St. Lucia, Amsterdam, Istanbul, New York City and more. It is unclear if she traveled to any of these places with Franco as he does not appear anywhere on her Insta. Although her account is five years old, she posts sparingly. As of today, there are just a few more than 100 posts on her Instagram.
6. She used to be in PR.
For 8 months, Isabel worked in television publicity at PR giant PMK BNC in Los Angeles. Before she was at PMK BNC, she held a temp position at CBS Films in Los Angeles, where she assisted in setting up press junkets for the films Patriots Day and Hell or High Water.
7. She may be an aspiring actress.
While Isabel is a grad student with a background in film and television publicity, it seems the lure of Hollywood has struck her in more ways than one. According to IMDB, she's got a role in the 2018 film Ghosted.
8. She was his date to the 2018 SAG Awards.
Isabel had her Hollywood moment when she accompanied her boyfriend to the 2018 Screen Actors Guild Awards. They did not walk the red carpet. Isabel posted the photo below in her Dior dress to Instagram, but cropped out the person next to her.
9. She's stood by her man.
James Franco won the Golden Globe this year for his role in The Disaster Artist. Right after his win, several women came forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct. Franco denied the allegations, but plans to take responsibility for it, saying:
“...the things that I heard that were on Twitter are not accurate. The way I live my life, I can’t live if there’s restitution to be made. I will make it. So if I’ve done something wrong, I will fix it."
10. Franco is working at being a better boyfriend.
In November, Franco spoke about his relationship with Isabel to Variety. He said he was working harder on being a better boyfriend to Isabel than he had been with other women in the past.
“There was one instance, this old girlfriend was visiting me in New York,” Franco said. “I had come out here for school. My cat had scratched her in the eye. I had so much work to get done for the next day, I didn’t take her to the hospital. I had my assistant take her. That moment haunted me so much. What kind of selfish, self-centered boyfriend are you?”
Apparently he's already doing better with Isabel. He wet with her to the hospital in the fall when she had a throat infection.
Amy Lamare is a Los Angeles based freelance writer covering entertainment, pop culture, beauty, fashion, fitness, technology, and the intersection of technology, business, and philanthropy. She is deeply devoted to her chocolate Labrador and an avid long distance runner. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook.