New couple alert! James Franco has a new lady in his life. The 39-year-old actor is dating Isabel Pakzad, a source confirms to Us Weekly.
Pakzad, a 24-year-old Penn State alum, has been spotted with the Pineapple Express actor recently, including accompanying him to the IndieWire Honors event in West Hollywood on Thursday, November 2, where she was spotted chatting with her boyfriend’s brother Dave Franco.
“Isabel hugged Dave and hung out with him for a while and they seemed chummy, very close,” an event onlooker tells Us. “[When James received his award] Isabel got a huge smile on her face. She cocked her head to get a better viewpoint and applauded a lot during his speech and giggled at his jokes. She had a huge grin on her face and seemed absolutely smitten with him.”
The two also were spotted grabbing lunch with friends on Friday, November 3, at Jon and Vinny’s where an insider tells Us: “They were sitting pretty close to each other and they seemed really happy.”
Pakzad is from Tenafly, New Jersey, and previously worked as a television publicist. She went back to school and is currently attending USC studying communications and journalism.
In 2016, the actor opened up about his often-questioned sexuality in an interview with New York Magazine saying: “Yeah, I’m a little gay, and there’s a gay James.” However, Franco clarified that he doesn’t sleep with men.
“If your definition of gay and straight is who I sleep with, then I guess you could say I’m a gay c–k tease,” he said. “It’s where my allegiance lies, where my sensibilities lie, how I define myself.”
Franco split from his girlfriend Ahna O’Reilly in July 2011 after nearly five years of dating and hasn’t been linked to anyone until now.
