Franco was born in Palo Alto, California, the son of Betsy (née Verne), a poet, author and editor, and Doug Franco. His maternal grandmother, Mitzi Levine Verne, runs the Verne Art Gallery, a prominent art gallery in Cleveland, Ohio. Franco's father is of Portuguese and Swedish descent, while his mother is Jewish, a descendant of immigrants from Russia.Franco grew up in California with his two younger brothers, Tom and Dave, and graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1996, where he was elected by his senior class as the boy with the "best smile". He then enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles as an English major, and studied acting. Much to the disapproval of his parents, he dropped out after his freshman year and chose to pursue a professional career as an actor, taking acting lessons with Robert Carnegie at Playhouse West.
In 2008, Franco received his undergraduate degree in English from University of California, Los Angeles. He plans to move to New York for graduate school next year, and attend Columbia University's MFA Writing Program and New York University's prestigious Tisch School of the Arts
Quick Fact
Born James Edward Franco
April 19, 1978, Palo Alto, California
Occupation actor, director, screenwriter, film producer, artist
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