Felicity Huffman laments her ‘old life died’ in 'Varsity Blues' scandal

 Felicity Huffman is hoping to make a career comeback following the 2019 college admissions scandal that led to her conviction.

In a new interview with The Guardian, the 61-year-old "Desperate Housewives" star opened up about her "Operation Varsity Blues" arrest and how it affected her life and career.

Huffman said, "I walk into the room with it. I did it. It's black and white." "How I'm doing is kind of a complicated question. As long as my kids are OK and my husband is OK, I think I'm OK."

Huffman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud after paying a $15,000 bribe to a college preparation specialist to alter her daughter's SAT scores to get her into college. The actress was ordered to pay a $30,000 fine and complete 250 hours of community service after serving 11 days of a 14-day jail sentence.

'Transamerica star Felicity Huffman says she won't be able to play role today'

She still feels its consequences years later.

Although he got an appearance in "The Good Doctor" and a voice role in "Supreme: The Battle for Ro", he admitted that his career suffered.

He said, "I recently did a pilot for ABC, which wasn't liked. It's been tough." "It's like your old life died and you died with it."

She said she is "grateful" for her support system, which includes daughters Georgia, 21, and Sophia, 23, who she shares with her husband William H. Macy, 27. He faced no criminal charges in the fraud case.

"I'm very fortunate that I have family, love, and means, so I had a place to live," he said.

Huffman previously spoke to ABC7 Eyewitness News about what led to the crimes.

In December 2023, she said, "People assume I was looking for a way to cheat the system and make proverbial criminal deals in back alleys, but that wasn't the case."

He added, "I worked with a highly recommended college counselor named Rick Singer. I worked with him for a year and trusted him completely; he recommended programs and tutors and he was an expert." "And after a year, they started saying, 'Your daughter won't get into any college she wants to go to.' And, so, I believed him.

“When he slowly began to present the criminal plan, it felt like – and I know it sounds crazy at the time – that this was my only option to give my daughter a future. I know that Vision 20 /20, but felt like I would be a bad mother if I didn't do it. So, I did it."

Actress Lori Loughlin and her designer husband Mossimo Giannulli were also charged, while Singer was sentenced to three and a half years in prison and ordered to forfeit $10 million. Huffman's daughter re-took the SATs and earned a spot at Carnegie Mellon University, where she attends the drama program.

After mostly staying behind the scandal, the Oscar-nominated actress is preparing for her first big role as Paige, the mother of a transgender child, in the revival of Taylor Mac's "Heer" at London's Park Theater through Feb. 15. Will run till March 16. ,