Age, Biography, and Wiki
James Franco was born on April 19, 1978. He is an accomplished actor, director, screenwriter, film producer, artist, and poet. Franco rose to fame with his role as Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man trilogy, and his critically acclaimed performances in 127 Hours and The Disaster Artist .
| Occupation | Soap Opera Actor |
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| Date of Birth | 19 April 1978 |
| Age | 47 Years |
| Birth Place | Palo Alto, California, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Aries |
| Country | U.S |
Height, Weight & Measurements
Franco's height is approximately 5 feet 10 inches (178 cm), though detailed information about his weight and other measurements is not widely available.
In his next project, 127 Hours, directed by Danny Boyle, Franco portrayed real-life mountain climber Aron Ralston. It was given a limited release starting on November 5, 2010. 127 Hours centered on Ralston trying to free his hand after it became trapped under a boulder in a ravine while canyoneering alone in Utah and resorting to desperate measures in order to survive, eventually amputating his arm. During the five-week, 12-hours-per-day shoot, Franco would only leave the gully set to use the lavatory and would read books such as academic textbooks to keep busy. Franco later called making 127 Hours a once-in-a-lifetime experience. To date, 127 Hours is one of his most well-reviewed movies and was also a commercial success, earning $60.7 million against an $18 million budget. His performance earned him universal acclaim from critics. Subsequently, he was nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe and SAG award, as well as winning an Independent Spirit Award.
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Dating & Relationship Status
Franco has never been married and has maintained a relatively private personal life. He has been in several high-profile relationships, including with actors like Marla Sokoloff .
His mother, Betsy Lou (née Verne), is a children's book author and occasional actress, and his father, Douglas Eugene Franco, ran a Silicon Valley business.
Franco's family upbringing was "academic, liberal, and largely secular". He grew up in California with his two younger brothers, actors Tom and Dave. A "math whiz", Franco interned at Lockheed Martin. He was often encouraged by his father to get good grades and did well on the SAT. He graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1996, where he acted in plays. This led to him attending CSSSA in 1998 for theater studies. In his high school years, Franco was arrested for underage drinking, graffiti, and being a part of a group that stole designer fragrances from department stores and sold them to classmates. These arrests led to Franco briefly becoming a ward of the state. Facing the possibility of juvenile hall, he was given a second chance by the judge. He recalled of his troubles with the law, "It was teen angst. I was uncomfortable in my own skin. I was shy. I changed my ways just in time to get good grades."
Although the idea of becoming a marine zoologist interested him, Franco had always secretly wanted to become an actor but feared being rejected. He enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as an English major, but dropped out after his first year (against his parents' wishes) to pursue a career as an actor, since he would have had to wait two years to audition for their acting program. He instead chose to take acting lessons with Robert Carnegie at the Playhouse West. Around this time, he took up a late-night job at McDonald's to support himself because his parents refused to do so. He was a vegetarian for the year prior to working there. While working at the establishment, he would practice accents on customers, an experience he remembered nostalgically in a 2015 Washington Post editorial titled "McDonald's was there for me when no one else was".
He was subsequently cast as the title role in director Mark Rydell's 2001 TV biographical film James Dean. To immerse himself in the role, Franco went from being a non-smoker to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day, bleached his dark brown hair blond, and learned to ride a motorcycle as well as play guitar and the bongos. To have a greater understanding of Dean, Franco spent hours with two of Dean's associates. Other research included reading books on Dean and studying his movies. While filming James Dean, Franco, to get into character, cut off communication with his family and friends, as well as his then-girlfriend. "It was a very lonely existence," he notes. "If I wasn't on a set, I was watching James Dean. That was my whole thinking. James Dean. James Dean." Despite already being a fan of Dean, Franco feared he might be typecast if he'd captured the actor too convincingly. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "Franco could have walked through the role and done a passable Dean, but instead gets under the skin of this insecure, rootless young man." He received a Golden Globe Award and nominations for an Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award (SAG).
Franco starred with Sean Penn, Josh Brolin and Emile Hirsch, in Gus Van Sant's Milk (2008). In the film he plays Scott Smith, the boyfriend of Harvey Milk (Penn). Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times, in review of the film, wrote: "Franco is a nice match for him [Penn] as the lover who finally has enough of political life". For his performance in the film, Franco won the Independent Spirit Award in the category for Best Supporting Actor. In late 2009 he joined the cast of the daytime soap opera General Hospital on a recurring basis. He plays Franco, a multimedia artist much like himself, who comes to Port Charles to do an art exhibition and becomes obsessed with Jason Morgan (Steve Burton). Franco has called his General Hospital role performance art.
In April 2014, Franco directed and appeared in "Techno Color Sunglasses", which promoted Gucci's eyewear collection. In December, Franco starred in the controversial Sony comedy thriller, The Interview, a film which played a central role in the real world diplomatic relations between the United States and North Korea as they related to the 2014 Sony hacking incident. In April 2015, two of his projects, titled I Am Michael and True Story, were shown at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. In I Am Michael, Franco plays a gay activist who rejects his homosexuality and becomes a conservative Christian pastor with a girlfriend. In True Story, based on a true story, Franco played Christian Longo, a man who was on the FBI's most wanted list for murdering his wife and three children in Oregon, and who had also been hiding under the identity of Michael Finkel, a journalist played by Jonah Hill.
In 2015, Franco was cast in the lead role for the Hulu limited series 11.22.63 which is based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. The eight-episode series premiered on February 15, 2016. In 2016, Franco co-produced and starred in King Cobra, a true story about the rise of gay pornographic actor Brent Corrigan and the murder of Bryan Kocis. Franco played Joseph Kerekes who (along with his partner) was convicted of the murder. In the comedy Why Him?, released in December 2016, Franco played an immature tech-billionaire whose girlfriend's conservative father tries to intervene in the couple's relationship, with Zoey Deutch playing the girlfriend and Bryan Cranston as her father. He briefly appeared in the Alien prequel, Alien: Covenant, alongside his longtime friend and frequent collaborator Danny McBride, as well as Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace. He played Branson, the captain of the Covenant ship and husband to Daniels, played by Katherine Waterston. The film was released on May 19, 2017.
After meeting on the set of Whatever It Takes in 1999, Franco dated co-star Marla Sokoloff for five years. He was later in a relationship with actress Ahna O'Reilly until 2011. He confirmed their separation in an interview for Playboy magazine's August 2011 issue, saying that his interest in education got between them.
In 2014, a seventeen-year-old girl posted screenshots of alleged messages between her and Franco on Instagram. The messages showed that Franco, then aged 35, tried to meet her in a hotel room after she told him she was seventeen. He sent multiple pictures of himself to prove his real identity. Franco admitted on Live! With Kelly and Michael that he had written the messages. Franco and his supporters argued that his actions were legal as the age of consent in New York is seventeen. He initially responded to the scandal by tweeting, "I HOPE PARENTS KEEP THEIR TEENS AWAY FROM ME. Thank you." Franco also said: "I'm not going to high schools looking for dates." He later stated he was "embarrassed" and that "I learned my lesson."
At the 2018 Golden Globe Awards, Franco wore a Time's Up pin in solidarity with the MeToo movement, to protest sexual harassment against women. His wearing of the pin immediately drew criticism on social media from actress Ally Sheedy, who hinted that she had quit acting after working with Franco on a play. A former girlfriend, Violet Paley, also alleged that he once forced her to give him oral sex in a car while they were dating.
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2025, James Franco's net worth is estimated to be about $30 million. His earnings come from a successful career in Hollywood, including roles in blockbuster films and critically acclaimed projects. Despite controversies, Franco's name still carries significant value in the industry .
Franco achieved worldwide fame and attention in the 2002 superhero film Spider-Man, when he played Harry Osborn, the son of the villainous Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and best friend of Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire). Originally, Franco was considered for the lead role of Spider-Man/Peter Parker in the film. Todd McCarthy of Variety noted that there are "good moments" between Maguire and Franco in the film. Spider-Man was a commercial and critical success. The movie grossed $114 million during its opening weekend in North America and went on to earn $822 million worldwide. He next starred in Sonny, a 2002 release in which he was directed by Nicolas Cage, whose involvement had attracted Franco to the film. Set in 1980s New Orleans, Sonny follows the titular character (Franco) returning home after just being discharged from the Army. To prepare for his role, he met with sex workers or people who had previously been prostitutes. The movie was panned by critics. Franco was cast as a homeless drug addict in the drama City by the Sea (2002) after co-star Robert De Niro saw a snippet of his work in James Dean. He lived on the streets for several days to better understand the subject matter as well as talking to former or still-using drug addicts. He also co-starred with Neve Campbell in Robert Altman's ballet movie The Company (2003). The success of the first Spider-Man film led Franco to reprise the role in the 2004 sequel, Spider-Man 2. The movie was well received by critics, and it proved to be a big financial success, setting a new opening weekend box office record for North America. With a revenue of $783 million worldwide, it became the second highest-grossing film in 2004. The following year he made and starred in the black comedy The Ape and the 2005 war film The Great Raid, in which he portrayed Robert Prince, a captain in the United States Army's elite Sixth Ranger Battalion. In 2006, Franco co-starred with Tyrese Gibson in Annapolis and played legendary hero Tristan in Tristan & Isolde, a period piece dramatization of the Tristan and Iseult story also starring British actress Sophia Myles. For the former, he did eight months of boxing training and for the latter, he practiced horseback riding and sword fighting. He then completed training for his Private Pilot Licence in preparation for his role in Flyboys, which was released in September 2006; the same month, Franco appeared briefly in The Wicker Man, the remake of the seminal horror film. Also in 2006, he made a cameo appearance in the romantic comedy The Holiday. He again played Harry Osborn in Spider-Man 3 (2007). In contrast to the previous two films' positive reviews, Spider-Man 3 was met with a mixed reception by critics. Nonetheless, with a total worldwide gross of $891 million, it stands as the most successful film in the series, and Franco's highest-grossing film to date. In this same year, Franco made a cameo appearance as himself in the Apatow-directed comedy Knocked Up, which starred Freaks and Geeks alumni Seth Rogen, Jason Segel and Martin Starr. Franco co-starred with Sienna Miller in the low-budget independent film Camille, a dark fantasy dramedy about a young newlywed couple and Interview, where he appears in a voice only role, both 2007 movies that were ignored by audiences and critics alike. Among his other 2007 projects were Good Time Max, which Franco wrote, directed and starred in. The movie premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival and tells the story of two talented brothers who take very diverse paths in life, one going on to become a doctor whilst the other sibling (Franco) experiences unemployment and uses drugs. The actor chose to cast himself in that role because, "It was really just a process of elimination. I was better suited for this role than the responsible surgeon".
On February 21, 2021, it was reported that the lawsuit was settled and that, according to documents filed on February 11, both students had agreed to drop their individual claims. The deal was submitted for preliminary court approval by March 15, 2021. In June 2021, terms of the settlement were revealed, and it was disclosed that Franco, pending a judge's approval, would pay more than $2.2 million to resolve two legal disputes: one by the two women who cited sexual exploitation (they will receive $894,000), and another class-action plaint by approximately 1,500 Studio 4 students who maintain that they were defrauded. A joint statement by the plaintiffs and defendants reads in part: "While Defendants continue to deny the allegations in the Complaint, they acknowledge that Plaintiffs have raised important issues; and all parties strongly believe that now is a critical time to focus on addressing the mistreatment of women in Hollywood."
Career, Business, and Investments
- Film Career: Franco's film career includes notable roles in Spider-Man, 127 Hours, and The Disaster Artist. He has also appeared in Pineapple Express, Milk, and Howl .
- Business Ventures: In addition to acting, Franco has launched a streetwear brand called Paly Hollywood, which has gained a loyal following. He has also secured endorsement deals with brands like Ray-Ban and Gucci .
- Real Estate: Franco has invested in several properties, including a Spanish-style duplex in Los Angeles and a Mediterranean Revival villa in West Hollywood. He has sold these properties for significant profits over the years .
In January 2011, Franco screened his multimedia project, entitled Three's Company The Drama, in which he merges video and art to update the titular sitcom, at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Franco reunited with Milk director Van Sant to make Unfinished, a project that features two movies: Endless Idaho and My Own Private River. Endless Idaho showcases edited outtakes, deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes footage from the 1991 movie My Own Private Idaho, while My Own Private River focuses on actor River Phoenix. The idea for the exhibition was conceived after Van Sant introduced unused footage from the 1991 film to Franco, inspiring him to turn it into something more. Unfinished opened from February 26 to April 9 at the Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills. On February 27, 2011, he and Anne Hathaway hosted the 83rd Academy Awards. The two were selected to help the awards show achieve its goal of attracting a younger audience. Franco had previously said that he accepted the job for the experience and because it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Numerous media viewers criticized Franco for his discontent and lack of energy on stage and the show was widely panned, with some reviewers dubbing it the worst telecast in its history. The actor later spoke about his hosting in an interview on the Late Show with David Letterman. He explained that when accepting the job he never had high hopes, adding "It was never on my list of things to do. It doesn't mean I didn't care and it doesn't mean I didn't try, right?" Regarding allegations that he was under the influence of marijuana while hosting, Franco commented "I think the Tasmanian Devil would look stoned standing next to Anne Hathaway. She has a lot of energy!" He concluded that he tried his best and could have had "low energy" during the telecast.
In May, Franco made his dance-theater directorial debut at New York's Stella Adler Studios, where he narrated all the performances. Entitled "Collage" and described as a "mixed-media piece", the show featured live dance, theater, music, and poetry. Tickets were free, distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. The actor also directed two short films for songs ("Blue" and "That Someone Is You") by R.E.M. from their album Collapse into Now (2011). Franco continued his career as a filmmaker with The Broken Tower, a 90-minute docudrama shot in black and white about poet Hart Crane, who committed suicide by jumping off the steamship SS Orizaba. It originally started out as his master's thesis. It was screened at 2011's Los Angeles Film Festival – among more than 200 feature films, short projects, and music videos from more than 30 countries. It was released on DVD in 2012.
In other forms of media, a Chicago-based theater company, Under the Gun Theater, developed a show inspired by and titled after Franco. The 2015 production of Dear James Franco used, parodied and deconstructed letters penned to or by celebrities. The performances used improvisation to satirize their subject matter.
Franco, dissatisfied with his career's direction, reenrolled at UCLA in autumn 2006 as an English major with a creative writing concentration. He received permission to take as many as 62 course credits per quarter compared to the normal limit of 19, while still continuing to act, receiving many of his credits from independent study for his involvement on the set of Spider-Man 3. He received his undergraduate degree in June 2008 with a GPA of 3.5/4.0. For his degree, Franco prepared his departmental honors thesis as a novel under the supervision of Mona Simpson.
In an interview with Showbiz411, on September 23, 2010, Franco made the erroneous public announcement that he received a "D" grade in "Acting" class at the NYU Graduate Film School. He had, in fact, received that grade in a "Directing the Actor" class. Franco's professor, José Angel Santana, alleged that Franco did not earn his grades while attending that school and stated that Franco only received high marks and a degree because of his celebrity status as an actor. Franco made unfavorable comments about Santana's teaching. In September 2012, after having been terminated from his position Santana filed a lawsuit against Franco for defamation; Santana claimed that Franco's comments were false and had led to his termination. In September 2013, Franco and Santana settled the defamation lawsuit. "The matter has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties," said Santana's attorney Matthew Blit. Franco defended himself on the Howard Stern Show, stating that he had told the professor before the semester began that he would have to miss most classes to film 127 Hours and that they had agreed that Franco would receive a "D" in the course.
On October 3, 2019, two former students of Franco's film and acting school, Studio 4 (defunct) filed a lawsuit against him and his partners. According to The New York Times, the complaint alleged that the program "sought to create a pipeline of young women who were subjected to his personal and professional sexual exploitation in the name of education". The lawsuit claimed that pupils were subjected to "sexually exploitative auditions and film shoots" and had to sign away their rights to the recordings. More specifically, the lawsuit alleged that Franco taught a class on sex scenes in which students were "'encouraged to audition nude or partially nude if a scene called for nudity'" and were "'routinely pressured to engage in simulated sexual acts that went far beyond the standards in the industry'". The lawsuit further alleged that the school "'created, fostered and maintained a "boy's club" culture wherein female students were sent a very clear message' that if they refused advances from staff or refused to perform partially nude, they would not be considered for substantial roles". The litigants sought unspecified monetary damages as well as the return or destruction of any questionable material. Franco denied the plaintiffs' claims through his attorney.
Social Network
Franco maintains a strong presence on social media platforms, leveraging his following for endorsement opportunities and paid partnerships.
In 2014, a 17-year-old girl posted several screenshots of alleged messages between her and Franco on Instagram. The messages showed that Franco, then aged 35, tried to meet her in a hotel room even after she told him she was only 17. In 2018, the Los Angeles Times reported that five women had accused Franco of inappropriate or sexually exploitative behavior while Franco was serving as their acting teacher or mentor. A lawsuit filed by some of Franco's former acting students alleged sexual harassment and fraud; the suit was settled for $2.2 million in 2021.
On October 19, 2010, Scribner published a collection of short stories, Palo Alto, by Franco. The book is named after the California city where Franco grew up, and is dedicated to many of the writers he worked with at Brooklyn College. Inspired by some of Franco's own teenage memories, as well as memories written and submitted by high school students at Palo Alto Senior High School, Palo Alto consists of life in that city as experienced by a series of teenagers who spend most of their time indulging in driving drunk, smoking marijuana, and taking part in unplanned acts of violence. Each passage is told by a young narrator. The book has received mixed reviews; Los Angeles Times called it "the work of an ambitious young man who clearly loves to read, who has a good eye for detail, but who has spent way too much time on style and virtually none on substance". The Guardian reported that Franco's "foray into the literary world may be met with cynicism in some quarters, but this is a promising debut from a most unlikely source". Writing in The New York Times, reviewer and fellow author Joshua Mohr praised Franco for how, in the story "American History", he juxtaposed historical parts with a present-day social commentary that "makes the we wonder how much we've actually evolved in post-bellum America". At least one editor of a literary journal testified he would not publish Franco's stories, claiming he has been published due to his star power, not literary talent. Publishers Weekly reviewed the collection, stating "The author fails to find anything remotely insightful to say in these 11 amazingly underwhelming stories".
Viewed as a sex symbol, Franco was named the Sexiest Man Living in 2009 by Salon. There has often been frequent media coverage of Franco, particularly regarding his interest in going to colleges. In addition to that, Franco has also claimed to have been strongly misquoted by reports in the media and news outlets reporting erroneous information about him. This led to the actor being parodied in an episode of SNL's Weekend Update segment, which an Entertainment Weekly writer deemed "clever". In a 2011 interview, he stated:"I've been perceived as this guy yelling, 'Hey, look at me. I want attention'. I'm not going to school to get articles written about me. I'm just going to school. But the fact that I'm going to school or that someone takes a picture of me sleeping is like, 'We're gonna jump on that and criticize him for his antics'. What antics? I write. I make movies. I'm going to school. I hosted the Oscars. I take these projects seriously."
Due to his support for the LGBT community and his portrayal of gay characters in his projects, Franco's sexuality has been a subject of discussion in media sources. In a March 2015 interview with Four Two Nine magazine, Franco again opened up about his sexuality, stating, "In the twenties and thirties, they used to define homosexuality by how you acted and not by whom you slept with. Sailors would fuck guys all the time, but as long as they behaved in masculine ways, they weren't considered gay. Well, I like to think that I'm gay in my art and straight in my life."
Franco was selected as the commencement speaker at UCLA, and was to speak at the ceremony on June 12, 2009. Several months before commencement, an editorial in the student newspaper questioned his "caliber" and a student created a Facebook page protesting the choice. On June 3, Franco withdrew, citing a date conflict with location pre-production on a film. On January 26, 2011, Franco and the Harvard Lampoon released a satirical video on prominent comedy website Funny or Die mocking his last-minute cancellation.
On January 10, Franco said on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that the accusations made against him on Twitter were "not accurate". Franco added, "'If I have done something wrong, I will fix it — I have to'".
Education
Franco attended Palo Alto High School and later studied English at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He also attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for his MFA in creative writing .
Franco's diverse career and business ventures have contributed to his enduring success in the entertainment industry, despite facing personal controversies. His ability to adapt and explore different creative fields has solidified his position as a versatile figure in Hollywood.
Franco produced and directed a documentary titled Saturday Night, which documented a week in the production of an episode of SNL. The film began as a short for an NYU class, but grew due to his two episodes as host, while short stories he wrote for other classes appeared in Esquire and McSweeney's. In summer 2010, the fictional Franco from General Hospital held an exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, while the real Franco held an exhibit at the museum based on his experiences on the soap opera.
In 2011, Franco taught a graduate-level film course at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He has also taught film classes at USC and UCLA, as well as a screenwriting class on the online learning community Skillshare. For his students' film projects, Franco has helped to attract actors, including Seth MacFarlane, Kate Mara, Natalie Portman, Chloe Sevigny, Kristen Wiig and Olivia Wilde.
Franco developed an aptitude for art—painting in particular—during his high school years while attending the California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA). Franco has said painting was the "outlet" he needed in high school, and he "has actually been painting longer than he has been acting". His paintings were displayed publicly for the first time at the Glü Gallery in Los Angeles, from January 7, through February 11, 2006. He launched his first European art exhibition in 2011 at Peres Projects in Berlin.
Franco moved to New York to simultaneously attend graduate school at Columbia University School of the Arts for writing, New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for filmmaking, and Brooklyn College for fiction writing, while also attending the low-residency MFA Program for Writers at North Carolina's Warren Wilson College for poetry. He received his M.F.A. from Columbia in 2010. As of 2010, Franco was studying in the Ph.D. program in English at Yale University. He has also attended the Rhode Island School of Design.
In March 2013, Franco was featured in half-page print advertisements for his alma mater UCLA which celebrated the university's famous alumnus as a "prolific academic" and carried the tagline: "Some A-Listers Actually Get A's".
On January 11, 2018, the Los Angeles Times reported that five women were accusing Franco of inappropriate or sexually exploitative behavior during the period when Franco was serving as their acting teacher or mentor. One former student stated that Franco "would always make everybody think there were possible roles on the table if we were to perform sexual acts or take off our shirts" in his projects. Another alleged that Franco held a sex scenes class and removed students' vaginal guards while simulating oral sex with them. Franco's attorney, Michael Plonsker, disputed the allegations.
On March 31, 2011, the actor took part in "An Evening with James Franco", a Washington D.C. dinner benefit for 826DC, a non-profit after-school literature program. Franco became involved with Dave Eggers' 826 National after Eggers asked him to do a conceptual idea for the program, and he directed a documentary for them and has since been a supporter of them. At the event, he spoke about how he thought schools needed to be more original with their literature programs. "Writing can do things that video cannot", he added. In April 2011, Franco autographed a T-shirt that would be auctioned off through the Yoshiki Foundation, with the proceeds being donated for Japanese tsunami relief. On June 14, he was honored by amfAR, the foundation for AIDS research, at the Museum of Modern Art. Franco received the Piaget Award of Inspiration for his humanitarian work and contributions to men's style.
