Where Is 'Hot Felon' Jeremy Meeks Now? Inside His Life 12 Years After His Mugshot Went Viral
Where Is 'Hot Felon' Jeremy Meeks Now? Inside His Life 12 Years After His Mugshot Went Viral
Nicole Briese, Emily KrauserThu, June 18, 2026 at 10:00 AM UTC
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Jeremy Meeks' mugshot ; Jeremy Meeks in 2025Credit: Stockton Police Department; Getty -
Jeremy Meeks was dubbed the "hot felon" after his mugshot went viral on a police department's Facebook page
In 2015, Meeks was convicted of felony firearm possession and sentenced to 27 months in prison
Following his release in 2016, Meeks became a model, fashion designer and actor, and wrote an autobiography in 2024
Life looks very different for Jeremy Meeks since his mugshot went viral in 2014.
His unusual rise to fame started in the mid-2010s. The Washington native was arrested in Stockton, Calif., on June 18, 2014, on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, per CBS News.
After the Stockton Police Department posted a photo of Meeks' mugshot, it immediately went viral. BuzzFeed picked up the image and labeled the moment as a meme, and Meeks quickly came to be known as the "hot felon" as he awaited his trial and sentencing.
Before going viral, Meeks grew up surrounded by drugs and violence. He spent over 10 years in juvenile detention and prison for various crimes. "Both of my parents were heroin addicts. I was a heroin baby ... My childhood was very dark. My dad committed a murder when I was 9 months old and killed my mum's best friend," he said on the What's Your Water?podcast in September 2019.
Reflecting on his life after prison, Meeks, who released a 2024 autobiography about his journey, told BuzzFeedin December 2020, "It's been a wild, wild ride, but I'm so grateful. I'm not taking anything for granted."
So, where is Jeremy Meeks now? Here's everything to know about his life since being labeled the "hot felon."
Jeremy Meeks is a model from Washington
Jeremy Meeks is spotted out and about in Los Angeles on June 27, 2019Credit: RHTY/starmaxinc.com/Shutterstock
Born in Washington, Meeks is a model, actor and internet personality who shot to fame in 2014 after his mugshot went viral.
He has appeared in films such as Trigger (2020) and Unfair Exchange (2022), and walked runways for top fashion designers, including Philipp Plein and Tommy Hilfiger.
He went viral for his 2014 mugshot
Jeremy Meeks is seen in a police booking photo after his arrest on felony weapon charges in Stockton, Calif., on June 18, 2014Credit: Stockton Police Department via Getty
Meeks is best known for his viral mugshot, which earned him the nickname "hot felon" in 2014. The BBC reported that within a week, the photo garnered more than 95,000 comments and 20,000 likes after being posted on the Stockton Police Department Facebook page.
The close-up picture, which showcased Meeks' piercing blue eyes, endeared him to many despite his criminal past.
A spokesperson for the department told the that the response to Meeks' mugshot was unusual. "I have not seen that many likes for a photo before," the spokesperson said.
Meeks told ABC News in February 2015 that he wasn't intentionally posing for his now-famous mugshot. "I was just thinking about missing my family," he said. "I was really thinking about my son a lot at that moment; that was the only thing that was on my mind."
Meeks parlayed his newfound fame into a career, signing modeling contracts, booking films and inking book deals. "While I was still incarcerated, I received, I believe, 45 contracts," he told BuzzFeed in 2020.
He was convicted of felony firearm possession
Jeremy Meeks attends the opening ceremony and screening of 'The Dead Don't Die' during the 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, on May 14, 2019Credit: George Pimentel/WireImage
According to the Los Angeles Times, Meeks was arrested after police found a semi-automatic handgun and two extended magazines in the trunk of his car during a stop. He was charged with five firearm-related charges and gang membership, per NBC affiliate KCRA 3.
ABC News reported that Meeks had been to prison several times before his 2014 arrest. In 2002, he was charged with grand theft of a person and served two years for the incident, according to the outlet. FOX40 reported that Meeks was convicted of charges of identity theft in 2005 and forgery in 2007, for which he also served time. Per the L.A. Times, Meeks also served two years in prison for grand theft auto.
In February 2015, Meeks was convicted of felony firearm possession and was sentenced to 27 months in prison, according to KCRA 3.
He was released in March 2016
Jeremy Meeks makes a court appearance in Stockton, Calif., on July 8, 2014Credit: Elijah Nouvelage/Getty
Meeks spent 13 months in jail after his 2014 arrest. He was sentenced to 27 months in prison on Feb. 5, 2015, per CBS News, and the L.A. Times reported that Meeks was released early on March 8, 2016.
He shared a post on Instagram expressing gratitude for his freedom on March 9, 2016, writing, "I want to thank my family and everybody for all your love, support and prayers. I'm overwhelmed and grateful for what lies ahead. I'm ready."
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During a March 2026 appearance on Matthew Cox'sInside True Crime podcast, Meeks opened up about how the attention affected him behind bars at the Sacramento County Jail. He was limited to two visits per week, but he said those spots were often taken by people he didn't know.
"I'm getting random people visiting me, and I'm denying them before I even walk up the stairs into the section, and I'm like, 'I don't know who that person is!' I could see him through the glass. I'm like, 'I don't know who that person is!' " he recalled.
He added, "They're like, 'Well, I'm still taking your visit. You can deny it, but I'm still going to take your visit for the week.' So now my family can't come because I got f---ing random people coming to see me, and it was so frustrating."
Meeks also shared that he received "probably 300 letters a day." "It was just too much. I'm getting naked pictures, money orders — just all kinds of money being sent in."
He got divorced in 2018 and has two children
Jeremy Meeks and Melissa MeeksCredit: Melissa Meeks/Instagram
Meeks was previously married to Melissa, a nurse, with whom he shares a son, Jeremy Jr. The pair officially divorced in June 2018 after nearly 10 years together.
A year before, Meeks was spotted kissing Topshop heiress Chloe Green. He reportedly filed for separation from Melissa on July 13, 2017, and two days later, he and Green were photographed holding hands.
That same month, Green posted a now-deleted photo on Instagram of herself with the internet star, seemingly confirming their budding relationship. "Just the Beginning ... We appreciate all the love and the hate," she wrote at the time.
Melissa, who claimed she was unaware that Jeremy wanted to split up before photos of him and Green were published online, opened up in October 2017 about their subsequent split. "He was an amazing husband, honestly. ... It was very, very heartbreaking for me," she told the U.K. TV show This Morningat the time.
Meeks welcomed a second son, Jayden, with Green on May 29, 2018. The former couple split in 2019 after two years together.
He told PEOPLE in April 2024 that he was single, explaining, "I'm trying to focus on myself." Later, in August 2025, Meeks told Complex that he had been celibate for three years "'cause I'm not being distracted."
Where is Jeremy Meeks now?
Jeremy Meeks attends the second annual Hollywood Unlocked Impact Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif., on June 24, 2022Credit: Prince Williams/Getty
Meeks was signed to White Cross Management before reporting for prison. "I'm in a place where I will be able to provide for my family and really change my life," he told ABC News in 2015.
Upon his release from prison, Meeks became a model, fashion designer and actor. "If anyone would've told me 10 years ago that I was gonna be traveling the world, walking [in] fashion shows, acting in movies? I don't know what I would've done," he said in his 2020 BuzzFeed video.
In 2019, WWD reported that Meeks had inked a $15 million deal with Fashion Concept GmbH to develop a clothing line. He debuted his luxury collection for the fall/winter 2020 season, per FROW magazine.
He has since continued to design, launching his second collection for Canon Mitchell in January 2024, which the brand shared on Instagram.
Meeks has also starred in films. "I shot five movies in 10 months," he told BuzzFeed, beginning with 2020's Trigger.
He has also appeared in Secret Society (2021), Dance for Me (2023), Love After Holidays (2024) and Beach Chain (2024), as well as the True to the Game and Dutch film franchises.
His autobiography, Model Citizen: The Autobiography of Jeremy Meeks, was released in February 2024. "I'm in a place in my life where I am extremely vulnerable and want to tell my story, the whole story, and hope that people can connect to it and understand how I came to be in the place that I'm at in my life," he told PEOPLE a few months after his memoir was published.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
