Meet Joseph Zada’s Girlfriend: All About the ‘Hunger Games’ Star’s Relationship
Sunrise on the Reaping star Joseph Zada isn’t keeping his relationship a secret while he promotes The Hunger Games prequel. The 21-year-old actor, who steps further into the spotlight as the franchise’s young Haymitch Abernathy (originally played by Woody Harrelson), quickly shut down fans shipping him with costar and Maysilee Donner actress McKenna Grace.
“Yeah, it’s pretty weird. We’ve both got partners,” Joseph told Refinery29 Australia in November. Grace added, “Joe’s like family. I think that’s like the fun of the internet, is that they can ship whatever characters or people or anything that they want as long it’s not intruding on people’s own lives.”
Zada has earned himself a number of fans since starring in series like We Were Liars and East of Eden, and he’s bound to gain even more after Sunrise on the Reaping. So, who is the girlfriend supporting him through it all? Learn all about Polly Talarico and her relationship timeline with Zada below.
Who is Joseph Zada’s girlfriend?
Zada is dating Polly Talarico, who’s based in Sydney. Her Instagram account is private, but she has a public TikTok account that she last posted on in 2024. Zada occasionally posts her on his own Instagram profile, though they keep their relationship private for the most part. On November 9, Zada shared an Instagram carousel of photos, which included Talarico, from his time in Paris.
Joseph Zada / Instagram
A couple of days before his Paris photo dump, the actor’s New York City carousel also featured Zada and Talarico together. They went to a New York Knicks game!
In October, the actor told The Hollywood Reporter that he was planning to fly back to Sydney and spend the Australian summer — which are the winter months in the United States — with his family and girlfriend. They’ve been dating since December 2025.
“Her name is Polly, and she’s not an actress,” he said. “She doesn’t much care for the business which is perfect for me. Because she’s helped me relax and not think about work so much.”
In another interview with Vanity Fair, Zada said that Polly is a student, and they met in a Sydney bar. He added that she and his friends “constantly complain how everyone is my favorite actor and everything is my favorite movie, because I’m so inspired. Sometimes I feel like I’m more of a fan than an artist.”
During the same interview, Zada mentioned having another girlfriend during the pandemic. He wrote a short film for his then-girlfriend, who he didn’t name, and presented it during her virtual acting class. A classmate’s mother spotted Zada on the Zoom screen and wanted to be his agent, which led to his entry into the entertainment industry.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, In Theaters, November 20, 2026
