Felicity Huffman ‘still processing’ college admissions scandal, says booking jobs after prison has ‘been hard’

Felicity Huffman ‘still processing’ college admissions scandal, says booking jobs after prison has ‘been hard’

Felicity Huffman is “still processing” life after the college admissions scandal and the 11 days she served in prison for her involvement. “How I am is kind of a loaded question,” the actress, 61, told the Guardian in an interview published Tuesday as she reflected on the ordeal. “As long as my kids are well and my husband is well, I feel like Im well.” She also noted that she hasn’t worked much following her release from prison in October 2019. “I did a pilot for ABC recently that didnt get picked up. Its been hard,” Huffman detailed. “Sort of like your old life died and you died with it.”

Felicity Huffman walking

Felicity Huffman told the Guardian Tuesday that while she is still “processing” the illegal college admissions scandal, she said she is “well” as long her family is. Getty Images

Felicity Huffman and husband William H. Macy walking

She also said finding work has been difficult following the scandal. AFP via Getty Images

Felicity Huffman walking

“Sort of like your old life died and you died with it,” Huffman added. AFP via Getty Images

“Im lucky enough to have a family and love and means, so I had a place to land,” she added. The failed pilot was a “Good Doctor” spinoff titled “The Good Lawyer,” according to Deadline. Huffman also starred in a pilot for an ABC comedy in which she played the owner of a minor league baseball team, but it did not get picked up either.


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The “Desperate Housewives” alum was sentenced to two weeks in prison after she pleaded guilty to paying someone $15,000 to take her daughter, Sophia Grace Macy’s SAT in 2019.

Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy and daughters

Huffman shares two daughters with her husband, William H. Macy. FilmMagic

Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy and daughters

In 2019, she was caught paying someone $15,000 to take their eldest daughter, Sophia’s, SAT for her. FilmMagic

She was formally charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. The actress served her time atthe Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, Calif. In addition, she was ordered to pay a $30,000 fine, complete 250 hours of community service and serve one year of supervised release. She shares Sophia Grace, now 23, and Georgia Grace Macy, 21, with her husband, “Shameless” star William H. Macy, 73.

    Felicity Huffman in 2023

She served 11 days in a California prison after pleading guilty to fraud. Getty Images

    Felicity Huffman  in 2022

She also paid a $30,000 fine and completed 250 hours of community service. Getty Images

Sophia eventually took the SAT on her own and was accepted to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa. Huffman broke her silence regarding the tumultuous period of her family’s life last December. “People assume that I went into this looking for a way to cheat the system and making proverbial criminal deals in back alleys, but that was not the case,” she told ABC7 Eyewitness News. She went on to explain she blindly followed William “Rick” Singer, a college preparation coach behind the entire scheme.

    Felicity Huffman speaking

In December 2023, Huffman said she felt like she had to cheat to secure a future for her daughter. ABC

    Felicity Huffman speaking

“It felt like I would be a bad mother if I didnt do it,” she told ABC7 Eyewitness News. ABC

“He recommended programs and tutors, and he was the expert. And after a year, he started to say, ‘Your daughter is not going to get into any of the colleges that she wants to,’ and so I believed him,” she reflected. “When he slowly started to present the criminal scheme, it seemed like that was my only option to give my daughter a future, and I know hindsight is 20/20, but it felt like I would be a bad mother if I didnt do it. So, I did it.” The Emmy winner added, “It felt like I had to give my daughter a chance at a future which meant I had to break the law.”

Lori Loughlin and daughter Olivia Jade Giannulli in 2018

Lori Loughlin also spent time in jail for bribing her daughters’ paths into college. FilmMagic

Of course, she wasn’t the only celebrity to spend time behind bars for the scandal; Lori Loughlin was infamously sentenced to two months behind bars for falsifying her daughters’ involvement in their high school’s rowing team to gain athletic scholarships to the University of Southern California. In addition to the jail time, she agreed to pay a $150,000 fine and perform 100 hours of community service after pleading guilty.

Her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, served five months in prison, paid a $250,000 fine and completed 250 hours of community service.

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