James Franco’s Longest Relationship Before Girlfriend Izabel Pakzad Was With a Highly Underrated Actress
- James Franco's reputation as an established actor took a huge hit after s*xual misconduct lawsuit.
- Franco dated actress Ahna O'Reilly for five years before it came to an end in 2011.
- The Spider-Man star admitted that his relationship with Izabel Pakzad helped him get through his tough time.
In the recent years, James Franco made headlines for the wrong reasons. His offscreen behavior landed him in quite a lot of trouble as lawsuits were filed against him due to s*xual misconduct. He went from being a sought-after actor to a Hollywood outcast before anyone could tell what happened.
If there is one thing that has been constant throughout the ups and downs of his career, it has been his relationship with actress and filmmaker Izabel Pakzad. Before his longtime relationship with Pakzad, he dated several other celebrities and one of them is a very underrated actress, Ahna O’Reilly.
James Franco Was Once in a Relationship with Ahna O’Reilly
James Franco was initially unsure about pursuing acting professionally, but ultimately dropped out of university to do it. His parents were not supportive of his decision, so he began working at McDonald’s while taking acting classes. He did some guest TV roles before getting his first big break in the TV series, Freaks and Geeks.
Franco earned wide recognition for playing the titular character in the biographical TV film, James Dean. He received a Golden Globe Award and nominations for an Emmy and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Thereafter, he gained worldwide fame for playing Harry Osborn in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man.
The Eat Pray Love actor dated actress Ahna O’Reilly from 2006 to 2011. The couple made several public appearances together and seemed to be happy. However, they parted ways in 2011. He later revealed in an interview with Playboy (via HuffPost) that it was because of his busy work schedule, and the distance between them because of his work. He said:
It’s over… We’d been living together in L.A. and then came to New York to go school for two years. Then I signed up for more school at Yale. I think that was it for her.
O’Reilly is best known for her work in the 2011 film The Help. She has appeared in several well-known projects like Prime Suspect and The Vampire Diaries. Despite working in such acclaimed films and series, she did not make it as a big star unlike some of her co-stars, Last year, she appeared in Where the Crawdads Sings as Ma and in the series Justified: City Primeval as Officer Charlene.
James Franco Is Grateful for His Relationship with Izabel Pakzad
Franco’s career took a huge hit when he faced a lawsuit due to s*xual misconduct from 5 of his female acting students. Things went downhill from there and his friendship with his longtime friend and collaborator, Seth Rogen also broke due to this. Luckily, the Pineapple Express star’s girlfriend, Izabel Pakzad continued to be by his side in his tough time.
Even the 15-year age gap between them seems to have not come in their way as they continue to be together even after seven years. During his appearance on The Jess Cagle Podcast in 2021, Franco said:
I had girlfriends. I could never be faithful to anybody. I cheated on everyone before Izabel.
He claimed that she had changed his life for the better and gave him a new perspective towards life. He also stated that alcohol and s*x addiction were the reason behind his controversial behavior behind-the-scenes. However, he believed that he overcame all those and was in a better place. As far as his friendship with Rogen is concerned, they do not seem to be in touch anymore.
