Meghan Markle Biography

Rachel Meghan Markle was born on August 4, 1981, in Los Angeles, California, to a Caucasian father of Irish origin and an African-American mother. Her father, Thomas W. Markle, is an Emmy Award winning lighting director, and her mother, Doria Radlan, is a therapist and yoga instructor. Her parents later got divorced, and she has a step-sister from her father's side. She spent a lot of time with her father on the sets of the film 'Married... with Children'. She attended Hollywood Little Red Schoolhouse as a child. Later, she went to Immaculate Heart High School, an all-girls independent Roman Catholic high school in Los Angeles. She completed double majors in theatre and international studies from Northwestern University, Illinois, in 2003. Following her graduation, she worked as an intern at the U.S. embassy in Buenos Aires.

According to Meghan Markle, who grew up in a mixed-race family, becoming an actress was not the obvious choice for her as it is one of the most label-driven industry in which each role comes with strict ethnic descriptions. A friend of her reportedly showed one of the student films she did in college to a manager who gave her a break into the entertainment industry. However, initially she found it hard to book a job because of her ethnic background; she was not black enough for a black role and neither was she white enough for a white one. She eventually bagged a role in an episode of the daytime soap opera General Hospital in 2002. In the following years, she appeared in a number of television shows; however, her breakthrough role came in 2011, when she landed the main role of Rachel Zane on the USA Network series Suits. The series ran for seven seasons from 2011 to 2017.

Apart from TV series, Meghan Markle has also worked in films, such as Get Him to the Greek (2010), Remember Me (2010), The Candidate (2010) and Horrible Bosses (2011).

Meghan Markle started dating producer, Trevor Engelson, in 2004 and finally got married on September 10, 2011. However, they separated within 20 months and divorced in August, 2013.

Meghan Markle reportedly met Prince Harry when she was in London to watch her friend Serena Williams play at Wimbledon in June 2016. They started dating soon after and made headlines post their announcement of engagement. She was one of Google's most searched personalities in 2016. They got engaged in late 2017 and the news of their engagement was officially announced on 27 November 2017. After her engagement, she decided to retire from the acting industry.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry got married on 19 May 2018 in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. The ceremony was attended by over 600 guests, including Queen Elizabeth and other important members of the royal family. In May 2019, the couple welcomed their first child, a boy named Archie. They are expecting their second child, a daughter, in 2021.

In January 2020, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry announced that they are stepping down from their role as senior members of the royal family, and would divide their time between the United Kingdom and North America. In an interview to Oprah Winfrey in 2021, Meghan Markle made allegations of racism against British royal household and revealed that she even contemplated suicide while she was a member of British royalty. Presently, Meghan and Harry are settled in Riven Rock in Montecito, California.

Following reports of her involvement with Prince Harry in 2016, Meghan Markle became Google's most searched actress that year.

Meghan Markle is close friends with Serena Williams, Jessica Mulroney, Priyanka Chopra and Mubina Rattonsey.

In 2016, the Time magazine included her in its list of "100 Most Influential People in the World".