TV and film star Felicity Huffman has revealed that she has barely worked since she was embroiled in the college admissions scandal four years ago and served 11 days in federal prison.
“I did a pilot for ABC recently that didn’t get picked up,” the “Desperate Housewives” star said in an interview with The Guardian published this week.
“It’s been hard,” Huffman continued. “Sort of like your old life died and you died with it. I’m lucky enough to have a family and love and means, so I had a place to land.”
This may be a shocking reality to a once-in-demand Hollywood star, but some aspects of Huffman’s struggles would be sadly familiar to the majority of men and women who leave jails or prisons with conviction or arrest records.
This group of Americans has a remarkably high rate of joblessness, with over 60% of those who leave prison still unemployed a year later, seeking work but not finding it, the New York Times reported. In 2022, the White House said that “significant barriers” affect more than 70 million Americans with criminal records, hindering their ability to find work, achieve economic stability and experience a successful reentry into society.
Huffman joined these 70 million Americans after she was identified as one of more than 30 wealthy parents who were arrested in Operation Varsity Blues and accused of paying bribes to get their children fraudulently admitted to top colleges. In Huffman’s case, the Emmy winner was accused of paying $15,000 to have her daughter’s SAT score fraudulently boosted.
After being caught, Huffman readily admitted her crime, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud charges and apologized in court to her daughter, her husband, actor William H. Macy, and to “the educational community.” She furthermore apologized to students “who work hard every day to get into college” and to parents “who make tremendous sacrifices supporting their children.”
After completing her brief stint in prison at Dublin’s Federal Correctional Institution, Huffman was said to face an uncertain future, with industry experts wondering if she could benefit from the sort of career “redemption story” that Hollywood often loves.
After leaving prison, Huffman also performed 250 hours of community service. In a TV interview in December, Huffman revealed that she’s still works with the nonprofit that allowed her to do her court-ordered service.
The nonprofit, A New Way of Life, helps formerly incarcerated women with housing, job training and clothing, KABC in Los Angeles reported. Huffman told the news outlet that she joined the organization’s board of directors, saying that she wanted to use her experience “and what I’ve gone through and the pain to bring something good.”
As Huffman acknowledged to The Guardian, she’s not without “means” — unlike many people who leave jail or prison and also struggle to find housing, get an education or support their families.
Huffman and her husband became wealthy celebrities through their film and TV work. Writer Ryan Gilbey noted that Huffman’s “means” lay at the heart of the American public’s outrage over the conduct of her and other parents arrested in the scandal, including “Full House” star Lori Loughlin and affluent parents from the Bay Area.
“It seemed outrageous that a figure of such obvious privilege (Huffman was born into a wealthy banking family) should throw even more weight on the scales,” Gilbey wrote, referring to Huffman seeking to provide her already privileged daughter even more of an edge in the competitive college admissions process.
Huffman acknowledged the range of reactions she has encountered from the public since her arrest. “I’m not in any way whitewashing what I did but some people have been kind and compassionate,” she said. “Others have not.”
As The Guardian interview also revealed, she’s not entirely without employment options or opportunities to continue to pursue her art. In fact, Huffman conducted the interview in London, and was promoting her appearance in a West End theater revival of “Hir,” described as a 2015 play about “an average 21st-century American family in freefall.” Huffman plays Paige, the “manic, liberated mother” of a transgender son.
Speaking of LGBTQ depictions in film, TV and theater, Huffman admitted that the emphasis on “authentic casting” means she probably wouldn’t be able to play a transgender character “now.” She famously portrayed a trans woman in the 2006 film “Transamerica,” a performance that won her an Academy Award nomination.
Meanwhile, Huffman knows that people who come to see “Hir” at the acclaimed Park Theatre will wonder about its infamous star and her high-profile role in the real-life Varsity Blues drama.
“I walk into the room with it. I did it. It’s black and white,” Huffman said, referring to he scandal. As Huffman sat, perched on the edge the theater’s stage during the interview, she said she’s not sure how to answer questions about how she feels about her involvement in the U.S. criminal justice system.
“How I am is kind of a loaded question,” she said. “As long as my kids are well and my husband is well, I feel like I’m well.”
“I’m grateful to be here,” Felicity said. “But how am I? I guess I’m still processing.”
TV and film star Felicity Huffman has revealed that she has barely worked since she was embroiled in the college admissions scandal four years ago and served 11 days in federal prison.
“I did a pilot for ABC recently that didn’t get picked up,” the “Desperate Housewives” star said in an interview with The Guardian published this week.
“It’s been hard,” Huffman continued. “Sort of like your old life died and you died with it. I’m lucky enough to have a family and love and means, so I had a place to land.”
This may be a shocking reality to a once-in-demand Hollywood star, but some aspects of Huffman’s struggles would be sadly familiar to the majority of men and women who leave jails or prisons with conviction or arrest records.
This group of Americans has a remarkably high rate of joblessness, with over 60% of those who leave prison still unemployed a year later, seeking work but not finding it, the New York Times reported. In 2022, the White House said that “significant barriers” affect more than 70 million Americans with criminal records, hindering their ability to find work, achieve economic stability and experience a successful reentry into society.
Huffman joined these 70 million Americans after she was identified as one of more than 30 wealthy parents who were arrested in Operation Varsity Blues and accused of paying bribes to get their children fraudulently admitted to top colleges. In Huffman’s case, the Emmy winner was accused of paying $15,000 to have her daughter’s SAT score fraudulently boosted.
After being caught, Huffman readily admitted her crime, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud charges and apologized in court to her daughter, her husband, actor William H. Macy, and to “the educational community.” She furthermore apologized to students “who work hard every day to get into college” and to parents “who make tremendous sacrifices supporting their children.”
After completing her brief stint in prison at Dublin’s Federal Correctional Institution, Huffman was said to face an uncertain future, with industry experts wondering if she could benefit from the sort of career “redemption story” that Hollywood often loves.
After leaving prison, Huffman also performed 250 hours of community service. In a TV interview in December, Huffman revealed that she’s still works with the nonprofit that allowed her to do her court-ordered service.
The nonprofit, A New Way of Life, helps formerly incarcerated women with housing, job training and clothing, KABC in Los Angeles reported. Huffman told the news outlet that she joined the organization’s board of directors, saying that she wanted to use her experience “and what I’ve gone through and the pain to bring something good.”
As Huffman acknowledged to The Guardian, she’s not without “means” — unlike many people who leave jail or prison and also struggle to find housing, get an education or support their families.
Huffman and her husband became wealthy celebrities through their film and TV work. Writer Ryan Gilbey noted that Huffman’s “means” lay at the heart of the American public’s outrage over the conduct of her and other parents arrested in the scandal, including “Full House” star Lori Loughlin and affluent parents from the Bay Area.
“It seemed outrageous that a figure of such obvious privilege (Huffman was born into a wealthy banking family) should throw even more weight on the scales,” Gilbey wrote, referring to Huffman seeking to provide her already privileged daughter even more of an edge in the competitive college admissions process.
Huffman acknowledged the range of reactions she has encountered from the public since her arrest. “I’m not in any way whitewashing what I did but some people have been kind and compassionate,” she said. “Others have not.”
As The Guardian interview also revealed, she’s not entirely without employment options or opportunities to continue to pursue her art. In fact, Huffman conducted the interview in London, and was promoting her appearance in a West End theater revival of “Hir,” described as a 2015 play about “an average 21st-century American family in freefall.” Huffman plays Paige, the “manic, liberated mother” of a transgender son.
Speaking of LGBTQ depictions in film, TV and theater, Huffman admitted that the emphasis on “authentic casting” means she probably wouldn’t be able to play a transgender character “now.” She famously portrayed a trans woman in the 2006 film “Transamerica,” a performance that won her an Academy Award nomination.
Meanwhile, Huffman knows that people who come to see “Hir” at the acclaimed Park Theatre will wonder about its infamous star and her high-profile role in the real-life Varsity Blues drama.
“I walk into the room with it. I did it. It’s black and white,” Huffman said, referring to he scandal. As Huffman sat, perched on the edge the theater’s stage during the interview, she said she’s not sure how to answer questions about how she feels about her involvement in the U.S. criminal justice system.
“How I am is kind of a loaded question,” she said. “As long as my kids are well and my husband is well, I feel like I’m well.”
“I’m grateful to be here,” Felicity said. “But how am I? I guess I’m still processing.”