Inside ‘Hot Felon’ Jeremy Meeks troubled previous: From overcoming heroin-addled childhood, crime and habit to changing into creator, philantropist and co-parenting to millionaire inheritor
He won universal notoriety when his smouldering mugshot went viral in 2014 – earning himself the nickname the ‘Hot Felon‘.
And while Jeremy Meeks’ looks won him adoration, behind the scenes the criminal, now 41, had a life thwarted with tragedy – including heroin-addicted parents, his own substance abuse battles, a jail spell and bankruptcy.
The June 2014 jail visit that changed his life saw Jeremy 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.
Jeremy however changed his life – with his mugshot landing him a modelling career and also seeing him date heiress Chloe Green, with whom he shares son Jayden, six, and now penning a searingly honest book alongside his charity work to keep kids off the streets.
So what happened in Jeremy’s tragic life to lead him to his charmed existence?
Where is the ‘Hot Felon’ now? Jeremy Meeks’ 2014 mugshot (pictured) helped him overcome heroin-addled childhood, gun crime and addiction to become philanthropist, author and co-parent to millionaire hei
Far from his criminal, he has move from the penitentiary to the pen by writing his own memoir, Model Citizen, which is due for release later this year (Jeremy pictured last week)
The June 2014 jail visit that changed his life saw Jeremy and three others in a multi-agency law enforcement mission dubbed Operation Ceasefire (Jeremy pictured in court in 2014)
After earning the nickname the ‘Hot Felon’, Jeremy left a life of crime to become a model, actor and philanthropist (pictured walking the Extremedy runway in Milan in 2020)
JEREMY’S SHOCK CHILDHOOD
Jeremy was born in Tacoma, Washington, on February 7, 1984, to parents Katherine Angier and Raymond Meeks. His birth came amid a crack cocaine epidemic that affected much of the US from the early 80s to early 90s.
He opened up about his fraught childhood and how his family were affected, saying: ‘So, my childhood was very, very dark. Both my parents were addicted to heroin…
‘I was a child who grew up on heroin. Growing up in a family with heroin is really hard. You have to grow up really fast, take care of yourself and bring something to the table so everyone can eat’.
Jeremy was born in Tacoma, Washington, on February 7, 1984, to parents Katherine Angier (pictured) and Raymond Meeks.
Beyond his father’s addictions, he was jailed in 1984 for stabbing Laura Leon-Melara 36 times and strangling her in a sustained five-hour attack.
A pearl-handled hunting knife, thought to have been the murder weapon, was found in a bin behind apartments where he was staying.
A neighbour also identified him as a man who had been knocking on doors looking for Laura in the house before her death.
He was tried twice for the murder, with the first trial ending in a hung jury; and the second, ending with a guilty verdict for first-degree murder.
Raymond was given a 45-year sentence by Pierce County Superior Court Judge J. Kelley Arnold, and was eventually released in September 2017 after serving 33 years.
A week after the murder, when he had been questioned and bailed pending charges, Raymond Meeks was accused of the rape and abduction of another woman.
Jeremy later said of the murder: ‘My dad committed a murder when I was nine months old and killed my mum’s best friend. Because he was looking for us and she was the only one who knew where we were at.’
Speaking to DailyMail.com in 2019, Jeremy said he keeps his distance because he is ‘still a piece of s***.’ Raymond had previously said: ‘I talk to Jeremy all the time and I’ve spoken to Chloe. I am looking forward to seeing Jeremy again — it’s been a while.
‘He’s a good looking boy and I am proud of him. To me, he was famous when he was born. He’s beautiful and I love him.’
His mother Katherine had been a felon herself, having been accused of being a fraudster and violent for an assault and battery on a pregnant woman.
She previously explained: ‘It was a $27 check that bounced and I slapped my own daughter during a domestic row – that’s all. This is consuming us and I am exhausted.
He opened up about his fraught childhood and how his family were affected, saying: ‘So, my childhood was very, very dark. Both my parents were addicted to heroin’ (Jeremy pictured in 2019)
GANG LIFE
Jeremy has previously confessed that he felt like he always had a penchant ‘to make bad decisions’.
He claimed bad decisions, along with a learning disability, made him susceptible to the gang life when he moved from Washington State to LA in the sixth grade.
He said: ‘Next you know I’m fighting and fighting and fighting and I had to learn really fast about colors, and gangs, and neighborhoods, and sets.
‘At a really young age, I got put on to the hood and from there, I moved out of the house at 15 and was in the streets’.
That very same year he would be sent to his first juvenile hall, get shot five times and beaten up by a gang members with baseball bats shortly after his release.
In all Jeremy revealed he has spent about 10-and-a-half years behind bars in his young life, and that experience was made even worse because he is light-skinned mixed race, he said.
Jeremy went on to have a son, Jayden, with Topshot boss Philip Green’s daughter Chloe before the couple split in 2019 (pictured in 2018)
‘For most light-skinned people, you’re not black enough and you’re not white,’ he said, while also referencing that his good looks also made him a target in prison.
A grand theft and firearm possession conviction in 2014 would be a game-changer for his life; it was the mugshot from the arrest that would help launch him to international stardom.
His chiseled cheekbones and piecing blue eyes helped capture the hearts, compassion and, in some cases, generosity of people on the internet.
As a result, he began getting some 300 letters a day, some fans would send him money inside books, and there would be major interest from the modeling industry.
A judge would end up sentencing him to 27 months, instead of the recommended 63 months, so he could take advantage of his viral fame, which Meeks is still grateful for to this day.
‘The only thing that saved me, which was such a blessing, was my judge. He helped me in so many ways,’ he admitted.
Jeremy is a father-of-two – with his son Jayden born of his shock relationship with Topshop boss Philip Green’s daughter Chloe (the couple pictured in 2017)
WHERE IS HE NOW?
FATHERHOOD
Jeremy is a father-of-two – with his 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 rumors that she had gotten 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.’
He dated Chloe while still married to his ex Melissa Meeks
AUTHOR
Far from his criminal, he has move from the penitentiary to the pen by writing his own memoir, Model Citizen, which is due for release later 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, Meeks 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.
Far from his criminal, he has move from the penitentiary to the pen by writing his own memoir, Model Citizen, which is due for release later this year (pictured in 2017)
CHARITY WORK
Jeremy has also undertaken charity work – working with underpriviledged youths to avoid gang crime and prevent going down the wrong paths.
He 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’.
On the charity work, he said: ‘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 cliche as it sounds, they are the future.’
The star is seen in 2021
