He sent the internet into meltdown when his smouldering mugshot went viral in 2014 – earning himself the nickname the ‘Hot Felon‘.
As he awaited his trial and sentencing, Jeremy Meeks won the hearts of social media users after Stockton Police Department shared his photo online.
The June 2014 jail visit that changed his life saw him and three others in a multi-agency law enforcement mission dubbed Operation Ceasefire, where he was listed as a ‘convicted felon, arrested for felony weapon charges’. He denied the charges.
In 2015, he was convicted of the crime of one count of being possession of a firearm, and was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison and ordered to participate in the 500-Hour Bureau of Prisons Substance Abuse Treatment Program.
However, the sudden fame that came following the viral mugshot changed Jeremy’s life, as he went on to secure a modelling contract and star in multiple films after his release from Mendota Federal Correctional Institution.
In June 2017 he was revealed to be dating Chloe Green, daughter of billionaire businessman Philip. They welcomed a son together, Jayden, the following year.
Yet after a brief period in the spotlight Jeremy has retreated from the public eye again, so, where is he now?
Jeremy Meeks sent the internet into meltdown when his smouldering mugshot went viral in 2014 – earning himself the nickname the ‘Hot Felon’
The sudden fame that came following the viral mugshot changed Jeremy’s life, as he went on to secure a modelling contract and star in multiple films (pictured in 2020)
Following his release from prison, he signed to White Cross Management company and kicked started his career in the fashion industry (pictured in February)
Jeremy currently works with charities, helping with underprivileged youths to avoid gang crime and prevent going down the wrong paths.
He also helps incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals turn their lives around.
In an update to Instagram last month, he shared an insight into his work and wrote: ‘God is so Good……. With projects like this it makes me feel like I’m actually walking in my Purpose !!!
‘We had the most incredible conversation yesterday about an upcoming project to potentially changes lives for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals. Thank you.’
In another photo from a church inside California Youth Authority, he wrote: ‘God is doing the most incredible things in my life right now, thank you Jesus.
‘This picture was taken at the California Youth Authority juvenile prison when I was speaking to a group of kids ages 17-23.
‘And every time I go up there and I talk to a group of kids. It reminds me how much I wish I had someone who looked like US… To come talk to US, but I’m very grateful for ALL the trail and tribulations, I’m thankful for the people he’s put in my life. I can feel a polar shift coming. Stay Prayed up EVERYONE.’
He previously said: ‘I mean they definitely need education and proper father figures, and people to look up to. It’s a serious issue, especially in my neighborhood with gun violence at a young age, and so that’s the situation…
‘It’s something that really holds dear to my heart, because it affects me on a weekly basis…Someone I know has been killed and shot… it’s really rapid’.
Jeremy currently works with charities, helping with underprivileged youths to avoid gang crime and prevent going down the wrong paths
In an update, he wrote: ‘This picture was taken at the California Youth Authority juvenile prison when I was speaking to a group of kids ages 17-23’
On the charity work, Jeremy added: ‘We’ve been doing a lot of stuff right now with the kids. Recently I’ve been working with a charity called WOSMOH (Women of Substance Men of Honor) and visiting many group homes…
‘Going to the juvenile halls, and talking to the kids, and just telling my life story, letting them know that I’ve been exactly where you are. So I’m going to start getting involved a lot more with kids, because as cliché as it sounds, they are the future.’
He also moved from the penitentiary to the pen by writing his own memoir, Model Citizen, which was released in March this year.
Speaking about the book, Jeremy said: ‘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’.
The synopsis for his book reads: ‘In his harrowing autobiography, Jeremy tells his personal story about his battles with gang violence, poverty, race and the inevitable life-changing moments that turned his world around’.
The book also includes 46 photos, featuring 24 full-page color modeling photos by celebrity photographer Jim Jordan.
While he has slowed down his modelling career, following his release from prison he signed to White Cross Management company and kickstarted his career in the fashion industry.
He told BuzzFeed in 2020: ‘If anyone would’ve told me 10 years ago that I was gonna be traveling the world, walking fashion shows, acting in movies? I don’t know what I would’ve done.’
Jeremy is a father-of-two and shares Jeremy Junior with his ex wife Melissa, who he was married to from 2008 until 2018
His second son Jayden born of his shock relationship with Topshop boss Philip Green’s daughter Chloe (pictured together in 2018)
Jeremy has also designed his own lines working with Fashion Concept GmbH in 2020 and releasing a line with Canon Mitchell in January 2024.
Aside from fashion he has starred in multiple films, he last featured in Dutch II: Angel’s Revenge in 2024 and will next be seen in Beach Chain, Doggmen and Rise of the Tarrogan – the release dates are yet to be confirmed.
Jeremy is also kept busy with his role as a father.
He shares Jeremy Junior with his ex wife Melissa, who he was married to from 2008 until 2018.
His second son Jayden born of his shock relationship with Topshop boss Philip Green’s daughter Chloe.
Jeremy and Chloe’s relationship first came to public attention after they were seen kissing aboard a boat in June 2017, while he was still legally married to his first wife Melissa Meeks, with whom he shares one child, Jeremy Jr.
The pair managed to keep Chloe’s pregnancy secret until the final month. She gave birth to Jayden Meeks-Green on May 29, 2018.
The Topshop heiress sparked rumours that she was engaged after sporting a massive diamond ring, but neither she nor Meeks confirmed the engagement.
They ultimately called it quits in August 2019, but remain amicable co-parents to their little boy, in addition to his great relationship to Melissa.
In 2020, he said: ‘I am single. I’m trying to focus on myself. I have an incredible relationship with Chloe, the mother of my 2-year-old…
‘And now I have a relationship with the mother of my oldest son. They’re in good places. I’m in a good place. We’re all co-parenting. They are incredible mothers.’
