More than a decade after his mugshot broke the internet, Jeremy Meeks, once dubbed the "world’s hottest felon," has had one of the most unlikely glow-ups in modern celebrity culture.
Back in 2014, Meeks was arrested in Stockton, California, facing five firearms charges.
Police described him as "one of the most violent criminals in the Stockton area."
But when the department posted his booking photo on Facebook, his piercing blue eyes and chiseled jawline quickly stole the spotlight.
The image racked up more than 20,000 likes and over 95,000 comments, earning him viral fame while still behind bars.
From Prison Time to Modeling Contracts
At the time, Meeks was a documented gang member with a lengthy rap sheet that included grand theft and forgery.
In February 2015, he was convicted of felony firearm possession and sentenced to 27 months in prison, according to KCRA3.
Speaking to BuzzFeed in 2020, he revealed: “While I was still incarcerated, I received, I believe, 45 contracts.”
He served just over a year.
Upon his release in March 2016, he thanked supporters via Instagram: “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.”
From there, Meeks’ transformation was nothing short of cinematic.
He signed with White Cross Management and landed runway gigs with designers like Philipp Plein and Tommy Hilfiger.
“I'm in a place where I will be able to provide for my family and really change my life,” he told ABC at the time.
By 2020, he was appearing in films like Trigger, Secret Society, and True to the Game 2 and 3.
He also made a cameo in Russian pop star Olga Buzova’s music video Wi-Fi and later inked a $15 million deal with Fashion Concept GmbH to launch his own clothing line, per WWD.
Reflecting on his journey, Meeks told BuzzFeed: “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.”
Author and Advocate
Now 41, Meeks still looks striking, but his style has shifted from street mugshot to sleek high fashion.
In 2024, he added “author” to his resume with Model Citizen: The Autobiography of Jeremy Meeks.
“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 said.
The book dives into the darker parts of his past, something he began opening up about in 2019 on the What’s Your Water podcast: “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 nine months old and killed my mom's best friend.”
According to the book’s synopsis, Model Citizen charts his rise from a “poverty-stricken and gang-tied adolescence” to global fame, calling Meeks “the new American Dream, finally realized.”
Life Off the Runway
While his career skyrocketed, Meeks’ personal life also made headlines. He shares a son, Jeremy Jr., with his ex-wife Melissa Meeks, and another son, Jayden, with Topshop heiress Chloe Green.
Although the couple split in 2019, Meeks later told Extra: “I have an incredible relationship with Chloe, the mother of my two-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.”
In 2024, he confirmed to People: “I am single. I'm trying to focus on myself.”
And, in a surprisingly candid moment at the premiere of Dutch III: International Gangster, Meeks admitted, “I've been celibate for almost three years ... 'Cause I'm not being distracted," per Complex.