Jeremy Meeks

Jeremy Ray Meeks (born February 7, 1984)[1] is an American fashion model and actor. A former member of the Crips street gang, Meeks was arrested in 2014 during a gang sweep called Operation Ceasefire in Stockton, California,[2] after which police posted his mugshot on Facebook, which went viral due to his appearance. He was convicted on federal charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and grand theft.[3] Meeks' mugshot was noticed by modeling agencies and, upon his release from Mendota Federal Correctional Institution in March 2016,[4] he began a modeling career.[5][6]

Jeremy Meeks
The mugshot of Meeks that went viral after its publication by the City of Stockton Police Department
Born (1984-02-07) February 7, 1984[1]
OccupationModel
Years active2016–present
Spouse
Melissa Meeks
(m. 2008; div. 2018)
PartnerChloe Green (2017–2019)
Children2
Modeling information
Hair colorBrown
Eye colorBlue-grey
AgencyWhite Cross Management (Los Angeles)

Biography

Early life

Meeks was born on February 7, 1984,[1] and is the son of Katherine Angier and Emery Meeks.[7]

In 2002, Meeks was charged with robbery and corporal injury to a child, assaulting a 16-year-old boy. He was sentenced to serve two years in a California prison, during which he admitted to claiming to be a member of the North Side Gangster Crips.[8]

2014 arrest and viral popularity

On June 18, 2014,[8] Stockton Police Department arrested Meeks and three other men in a multi-agency law enforcement mission dubbed Operation Ceasefire. Meeks was listed as a "convicted felon, arrested for felony weapon charges".[9] He denied the charges.[10] The same day, Meeks' and the other men's mugshots were posted on the Stockton Police Department's Facebook page.[9] Within 24 hours from when the photos were posted to the department's page, Meeks' photo had acquired more than 15,000 "likes" and 3,700 comments,[11] mostly from women enamored with his looks.[12] The next day, on June 19, news and entertainment site BuzzFeed recognized Meeks' mugshot as a "meme".[13] On Friday, June 20, Twitter fans created the hashtag "#feloncrushfriday" in honor of Meeks' mugshot.[14] Stockton Police Department spokesman Joe Silva acknowledged that the mugshot had received more attention than any other mugshot since they launched the Facebook page in 2012.[15] As of April 2021, the post has received 95,000 "likes", 24,000 comments, and 11,000 shares.[9]

A July 2014 court hearing was set, while Meeks awaited his trial at the San Joaquin County Jail, with his bail set at $1,050,000.[16] Meeks' mother, Katherine Angier, set up a GoFundMe page in an attempt to raise money for his bail.[12] His sister, Leanna Rominger, used the proceeds from the campaign to hire a defense lawyer for him.[17]

On July 3, 2014, a Northern California Grand Jury indicted Meeks on a charge of possession of a semiautomatic .45 caliber pistol that was transported across state borders in the commission of Grand Theft.[18] The state dropped its charges against Meeks and his case was handed over to federal prosecutors.[19]

On February 5, 2015, Meeks was convicted by a federal judge[20] of one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison. The judge further ordered Meeks to participate in the 500-Hour Bureau of Prisons Substance Abuse Treatment Program.[21] He was incarcerated at Mendota Federal Correctional Institution.[4] Meeks served 13 months of the sentence, and was released from prison March 8, 2016, after which he was ordered to reside in a transitional housing facility for a few weeks.[22]

Modeling career

Meeks with fashion photographer Jim Jordan at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival

On March 4, 2015, photographer and talent agent Jim Jordan's company White Cross Management confirmed having signed a management contract with Meeks.[23] Jordan began working with Meeks upon the latter's release from the transitional housing facility which he was ordered to stay in after his March 2016 release from prison.[24] Meeks' first modeling headshot was published in June 2016.[25] White Cross Management continues to manage Meeks,[26] and featured Meeks on the cover of their online magazines James Magazine USA Vol. VII[27] and White Cross Magazine Vol. 01.[28]

On February 13, 2017, Meeks made his runway debut for the Philipp Plein Fall/Winter 2017/2018 Women's And Men's Fashion Show collection at the New York Public Library during New York Fashion Week.[29] In April, Meeks was scheduled for an appearance and series of photo shoots in the United Kingdom, but was barred from entering the country upon landing in Heathrow Airport. Meeks was interrogated by officials and then sent back to the United States.[30] Meeks made his European runway debut in May 2017 at Philipp Plein’s resort 2018 presentation at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.[31] He then walked for Plein’s spring/summer 2018 sport collection on June 18 during Milan Fashion Week.[32]

In August 2017, Meeks appeared in a campaign for Israeli sunglasses fashion house Carolina Lemke, partially owned by Israeli model Bar Refaeli.[33] The campaign tagged Meeks' background as different from Refaeli's, who appeared in the campaign alongside Meeks, stating, "There has never been a mix like this".[34] In December, Meeks appeared on the cover of the men's fashion magazine MMScene.[35]

Meeks appeared in Tommy Hilfiger's Spring 2018 fashion show in Milan on February 25 of the same year. The show was a collaboration with model Gigi Hadid and ran during Milan Fashion Week.[36] He appeared on the cover of the Summer 2018 issues of the fashion and lifestyle magazines FV[37] and L' Officiel Hommes.[38]

In September 2019, Frankfurt-based fashion company Fashion Concept GmbH announced a $15 million partnership with Meeks to build a fashion line in his name.[39] The fashion line launched in July 2020.[40] In 2022, Fashion Concept GmbH filed for bankruptcy after alleged fraudulent practices were discovered.[41]

In November 2019, Meeks became brand ambassador for fragrance line Gisada Switzerland's fragrance duo "Gisada Ambassador."[42]

Acting career

In January 2018,[43] Meeks flew to Moscow to appear in the music video "Wi-Fi" by Russian pop singer Olga Buzova.[44]

Meeks made his feature film debut in 2020 with the BET+ streaming feature Trigger.[45] In 2021, Meeks appeared in the independent feature film Secret Society; the film was directed by Jamal Hill, and is based on the book of the same name by Miasha Coleman.[46]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2020 Trigger Trey Mass TV Movie
True to the Game 2 Saleem
2021 Dutch Craze
Secret Society Khalil
Dear Best Friend Jamie TV Movie
True to the Game 3 Saleem
2022 The Wrong High School Sweetheart Camp Sweetheart TV Movie
Circumstances 3 Big L
Unfair Exchange Chad Perry
Secret Society 2: Never Enough Khalil
2023 Dance For Me Seth Calloway TV Movie
TBA Beach Chain Dwayde
Doggmen Sparks
Rise of the Tarrogan Dime

Personal life

Meeks has a child with Melissa Meeks, to whom he was married from 2008 to 2018.[47]

In June 2017, it was reported that Meeks was in a relationship with Chloe Green, the daughter of British businessman Philip Green. Meeks had gone on a trip to Turkey, where the first images of him and Green came out on a yacht.[48] On May 29, 2018, Green gave birth to the couple's son.[49] In August 2019, it was reported the couple had amicably split and were selling their joint London home.[50]

References

  1. "Jeremy Meeks kisses Chloe Green on Courchevel ski break". Metro. February 7, 2019.
  2. Barsh, Emily. "Jeremy 'Hot Felon' Meeks: Convict to cover model? - HLNtv.com". hlntv.com.
  3. "'Hot mugshot guy' Jeremy Meeks has been sentenced to 27 months in federal prison". Washington Post. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
  4. Newman, Vicki (February 15, 2017). "Who is Jeremy Meeks? Everything you need to know about the 'Hot Convict' storming New York Fashion Week" (Online). Daily Mirror. London: Reach plc. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  5. Rocha, Veronica (March 9, 2016). "'Hot Felon' Jeremy Meeks released from federal prison and gets job offers" via LA Times.
  6. "The 'hot felon' is now a successful model". independent.co.uk. June 19, 2017. Archived from the original on June 8, 2022.
  7. McAfee, Tierney (June 20, 2014). "Jeremy Meeks: Sexy Felon Is A 'Crips Member,' Police Say". Hollywood Life. Archived from the original on August 15, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  8. Megan Rosshl (June 21, 2014). "Jeremy Meeks: Beat Up Teenager To A 'Pulp' In 2002 — Report". Hollywood Life. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  9. Stockton Police Department (June 18, 2014). "SPD NEWS - WESTON RANCH OPERATION CEASEFIRE ENFORCEMENT MISSION" (Social Media). Facebook.com. Menlo Park, CA: Facebook, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  10. Camilli, Doug (July 3, 2014). "Viral convict Jeremy Meeks scores a modelling agent". Montréal Gazette. Montréal: Postmedia Network: B14. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  11. McDonald, Ian (June 18, 2014). "4 Arrested in Weapons Sweep; 1 Getting Extra Attention Online". Fox40.com. Sacramento, CA: KTXL-TV. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  12. Banks, Sandy (July 1, 2014). "Swooning Over a Mugshot". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. CXXXIII (210): "World Report" section, p. 3. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
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  14. Stebner, Beth; Adams Otis, Ginger (June 21, 2014). "Web goes wild for 'model' prisoner". New York Daily News. New York: Daily News L.P. 95 (361): 3. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
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  31. Carballo, Charlie (May 25, 2017). "Former 'Hot Felon' Jeremy Meeks Hits the Runway With Paris Hilton for Philipp Plein's Resort 2018 Show" (Online). Footwear News. New York: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  32. Truong, Peggy (June 19, 2017). "Hot Felon Jeremy Meeks and His Shirtless Bod Are on the Runway Again" (Online). Cosmopolitan. New York: Hearst Communications. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
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  36. Adducci, Shannon (February 25, 2018). "Gigi Hadid and Tommy Hilfiger Closed Out Milan Fashion Week With a Race Car-Themed Extravaganza" (Online). Footwear News. New York: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
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  41. bender-pfitzmann (October 26, 2022). "FashionConcept insolvent: Jetzt Geld zurückholen von Pegasus". Bender und Pfitzmann Rechtsanwälte (in German). Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  42. Raičević Petrović, Sandra (November 18, 2019). "Gisada Ambassador Duo: New Fragrances" (Online). Fragrantica. San Diego, CA. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
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  46. Fashion Bomb Daily (March 21, 2021). "On the Scene at the Pajama-Themed Premiere of 'Secret Society' Movie in Atlanta Hosted by Claire Sulmers: Moments With the Film's Executive Producer Miasha Coleman and Stars 'Prison Bae' Jeremy Meeks, Erica Pinkett, Reyna Love + More". SME News. Moscow. Archived from the original (Online) on April 11, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  47. Cardoza, Riley (October 21, 2020). "'Hot Felon' Jeremy Meeks Talks Coparenting With Exes Chloe Green and Melissa Meeks: 'Incredible Mothers'" (Online). US magazine. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
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  49. Juneau, Jen (June 7, 2018). "'Hot Felon' Jeremy Meeks Welcomes Son Jayden with Girlfriend Chloe Green". People.
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