For most people, seeing a mugshot spread across social media would be humiliating, but for Jeremy Meeks it became the start of an entirely different life.
Back in 2014, the Stockton Police Department uploaded Meeks’ mugshot to Facebook after his arrest.
The Washington native was taken into custody on June 18 that year on a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and in February 2015 he was sentenced to 27 months in prison.
CBS News reported at the time that the judge also ordered Meeks to take part in the 500-Hour Bureau of Prisons Substance Abuse Treatment Program.
That was not his first time behind bars, either. Before the 2014 arrest, Meeks had already served nine years in prison for grand theft from a person, with that sentence running from 2002 until 2011.
Once the 2014 mugshot was posted online, however, the image spread rapidly and drew huge attention from people reacting to his appearance. Within a week, the photo garnered more than 95,000 comments and 20,000 likes after being posted on Facebook.
That unexpected fame opened the door to a modelling career after he was released in March 2016. He was signed to White Cross Management prior to entering prison, and in 2017, he made his runway debut by walking for Philipp Plein at New York Fashion Week.
Not long after leaving prison, Meeks posted an Instagram message that said: “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.”
His career soon expanded beyond modelling. According to PEOPLE, Meeks also moved into acting and fashion design, and in 2019 he reportedly secured a $15 million deal with Fashion Concept GmbH to create a clothing line.
He later introduced his second Canon Mitchell collection in January 2024.
On the film side, Meeks has appeared in films including Trigger (2020), True to the Game 2, Dutch, Secret Society (2021), Secret Society 2, Dance for Me (2023), Love After Holidays (2024) and Beach Chain (2024).
He has also added author to his résumé with the release of his autobiography, titled Model Citizen: The Autobiography of Jeremy Meeks, set for release on August 25, 2026. The book includes 46 photos, featuring 24 full-page color modeling photos by celebrity photographer Jim Jordan.
Speaking to PEOPLE before the book came out, Meeks 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.”
His rise in fame has not come without serious personal struggles, and Meeks has previously spoken about battling drug addiction.
During an appearance on the Inside True Crime Podcast in March 2026, he recalled: “The mother of my second child was struggling with me struggling. She took a video of me sleeping, my breathing was very delayed and my lips were turning blue and I was pretty much overdosing in my sleep.”
Meeks shares his youngest child with former girlfriend Chloe Green, who is the daughter of billionaire Philip Green. The couple would welcome a son together in 2018 before separating a year later.
Continuing the story, he said: “She was four months pregnant,” and added, “So she’s like, ‘Dude, if something happens, like there’s nothing I can do’, and so luckily she made a phone call and got some help and got a doctor in there and it was very expensive, but they got me the treatment that I needed.”
During his prison time, Meeks also faced unexpected challenges from his sudden fame. He was limited to two visits per week at Sacramento County Jail, but those spots were often taken by strangers rather than family members. “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!'” he told the podcast.
Since then, he has reportedly spent thousands of dollars to stay sober. Today, Meeks continues to work as a model and appears regularly at high-fashion events and runway shows.
If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can call American Addiction Centers on (313) 209-9137 24/7, or contact them through their website.