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Tom Franco

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Tom Franco
Franco in 2016
Born
Thomas Andrew Franco

(1980-04-14) April 14, 1980 (age 46)
Palo Alto, California, U.S.
EducationUniversity of California, Santa Cruz (BFA)
California College of the Arts
OccupationsArtist, actor
Years active1990–present
Spouses
Julia Lazar
​
​
(m. 2014; died 2014)​
Iris Torres
​
(m. 2021)​
Children1
RelativesJames Franco (brother)
Dave Franco (brother)
Alison Brie (sister-in-law)

Thomas Andrew Franco (born April 14, 1980) is an American actor,[1] artist, and the founder of the Firehouse Art Collective in Berkeley, California.[2] He is the brother of actors James Franco and Dave Franco.[3]

Early life and education

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Franco was born Thomas Andrew Franco on April 14, 1980, in Palo Alto, California. His mother, Betsy Lou (née Verne; born 1947), is a writer and occasional actor.[citation needed] His father, Douglas Eugene Franco (1948–2011), ran a Silicon Valley business,[4][5] and was a "philanthropic entrepreneur".[6] Franco's father was of Portuguese (Madeiran) and Swedish descent.[7] Franco's mother is from a family of Russian Jewish ancestry; her parents had changed the surname from "Verovitz" to "Verne."[8] Tom was born the second of their three boys and is the middle child of three brothers; the older is actor, director, writer, and artist James Franco and the younger is actor and director Dave Franco. They were raised in Palo Alto.[6]

Franco is a graduate of Palo Alto High School, class of 1998.[9] He graduated in 2002 from University of California, Santa Cruz majoring in fine art,[9] then attended California College of the Arts in Oakland, California, majoring in ceramics.[6]

Career

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Franco started acting professionally with his role as Frog Boy in the comedy horror film Basket Case 2 (1990). He subsequently appeared in A Peace of History (2005) and The Devil Wears a Toupee (2007).[10] He had a small role in The Disaster Artist (2017), as a crew member on The Room, in which his brothers played the lead roles (James as Tommy Wiseau and Dave as Greg Sestero).

Franco is the founder and co-director of Berkeley's Firehouse Art Collective.[6] He shared directorship with his wife Julia Lazar Franco, who died in 2014.[11]

Personal life

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Franco's first wife, Julia Lazar, worked closely with him.[12] They married in a private ceremony on July 28, 2014 and she died one month later.[13][14] Her death was a result of liver failure (brought on by hepatitis C and liver cancer)[15] and kidney trouble. The two were married in a hospital solarium about a month before her death.[16]

On May 14, 2021, Franco married film producer Iris Torres.[17][18] On February 25, 2023, Franco and Torres revealed they were expecting their first child.[19][20] Their son, Lennon Jnaneshwar Franco, was born on May 4, 2023.[21][22]

References

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  1. ^ "Meet Tom Franco: The Franco brother you (probably) never knew about". News.com.au. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  2. ^ "Alumnus Tom Franco brings his collaborative art culture to UC Santa Cruz". University of California, Santa Cruz. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  3. ^ "My Day With the Franco Brothers". The Huffington Post. July 28, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  4. ^ Finn, Natalie (October 4, 2011). "James Franco's Father Dies at 63". E! Online. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  5. ^ Who's who of emerging leaders in America. Marquis Who's Who Inc. 1991. ISBN 0-8379-7202-7.
  6. ^ a b c d Fletcher, Ethan (September 21, 2012). "Tom Franco : Renaissance man sparks life into the East Bay art scene". Diablo Magazine. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  7. ^ "James Franco", Inside the Actors Studio, December 7, 2010.
  8. ^ "Dave Franco and Conan O'Brien Discuss Shalom Life's JILF List". ShalomLife.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2014.
  9. ^ a b "Tom Franco". MISSION CLAY. Archived from the original on August 9, 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  10. ^ "James Franco Joined by His 2 Brothers in 'The Disaster Artist'". TheWrap. January 25, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  11. ^ "Celebrate the life and lagment the death of our beloved Julia Lazar Franco who left but Julia will be remembered by all who knew her as an especially creative soul". Archived from the original on January 14, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  12. ^ "Help Save The Life of Bay Area Artist Julia Lazar-Franco". theoutsidersguidetotheinsideofhollywood.com.
  13. ^ "After a prolonged engagement, Julia and Tom married on July 28 in a ceremony". facebook.com.
  14. ^ "James and Tom Franco". missionclayartandindustry.squarespace.com.
  15. ^ Shensa, Jonathan (August 3, 2014). "Help Save The Life of Bay Area Artist Julia Lazar-Franco". The Outsider's Guide to the Inside of Hollywood. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  16. ^ "Firehouse Art Collective". Facebook. November 7, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  17. ^ "Happy 1 year wedding anniversary my sweet heart @iristorres9 ❤️❤️❤️ So much has happened in a year, but this day will forever be remembered for us as a winner :) So much more magic to make together ✨❤️🌺🙌🌸💎🏡🥂". instagram.com.
  18. ^ "Iris Torres and Tom Franco's Wedding Website". www.zola.com.
  19. ^ "Can't wait for our new adventures together @tom__franco ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️". instagram.com.
  20. ^ "Happy Father's Day to this amazing brand new dad!… your love and dedication to our family is our blessing.. We love you!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️ @tom__franco". instagram.com.
  21. ^ "It's been two years since you came into our lives and changed them forever. Lennon, we are beyond blessed and grateful that you chose us to be your parents. Celebrating you is our greatest joy. We love you with all our hearts, and we wish for this year to bring you endless learning, growth, and wonder as you continue becoming the incredible human you're meant to be. Thank you to all our friends who came to celebrate with us—and to those who couldn't make it but sent their love and presence from afar, we felt you with us. A special thank you to @itslianarae for the cutest cake, Ale for the most adorable piñata, and Blaine for being the ultimate piñata wrangler. We truly love and appreciate you all!". instagram.com.
  22. ^ "My little ray of sunshine! My beautiful boy! My little love! Lennon Jnaneshwar Franco, we are very grateful for having chosen us as your parents, we love you with all our heart ❤️. Happy birthday, my beautiful little sun! May this be the beginning of many more years and may everything in your life be pure joy". instagram.com.
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