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From Jail to Fashion model - Where is he now?
If I were to say the name Jeremy Meeks, you could be forgiven for saying 'Who?' But if I mention the man known as the 'Hot Felon', you might just go 'Ah yes, I know EXACTLY who you mean'.
The convicted felon with the piercing blue/grey eyes, whose police mugshot catapulted him to stardom in the fashion world in 2014, was a complete unknown in the world of beauty and celebrity, instead he was moving in circles involving gang violence and crime.
But it was his visit to Stockton Police Department, California, in June 2014 that changed his entire life, after police shared his mugshot online, and the internet fell in love. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Davide Maestri/WWD/REX/Shutterstock (8870514p) Jeremy Meeks on the catwalk Philipp Plein show, Runway, Spring Summer 2018, Milan Fashion Week Men's, Italy – 17 Jun 2017
As he awaited his trial and sentencing, on felony and weapons charges, which he denied, Jeremy Meeks won the hearts of the social media world, with his tall, athletic physique and devastating 'Bad Boy' good looks.
However, in 2015, he was convicted of one count of possession of a firearm, and was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison and ordered to take part in a Substance Abuse Treatment Programme in jail. Mandatory Credit: Photo by GeorgWenzel/face to face/REX/Shutterstock (8842193ht) Jeremy Meeks CANNES: 24th amfAR Gala, Cannes, France – 25 May 2017
But on his release from Mendota Federal Correctional Facility, he signed a modelling contract with 'White Cross Management' which saw him strut the fashion runways in Milan, Paris and beyond, and the man who had worn the orange prison garb for so long, was now wearing designer suits and on his way to becoming one of the world's best known models.
He also went on to star in a number of movies, co-designed a range of clothing, and even penned his own autobiography entitled 'Model Citizen', which was released in February 2024. Pic: AP
Meeks told 'Forbes Magazine' in 2017, that he's not stopping there, either. 'I can't limit myself to one thing,' he said. 'I'm not a model. I do modeling, but I also do acting and I'm about to start recording music.'
He is also a dad of two boys, his first son Jeremy Junior, born to his first wife Melissa Meeks in 2010, and a second son, Jayden, born in 2018 to Meeks and his then partner 'Top Shop' heiress Chloe Green. Jeremy Meeks with sons. Pic: Instagram
Jeremy currently works with a number of charities, helping underprivileged youths avoid gang crime, and also helps ex-prisoners to turn their lives around.
In an update to Instagram last month, he shared his charity work saying 'God is so good, with projects like this it makes me feel like I'm actually walking in my purpose'
The man who went from convicted felon to supermodel, actor and published author in a matter of months is now helping disadvantaged youngsters youths and ex-inmates like himself, to find a life free from crime.
