Meghan, duchess of Sussex (born August 4, 1981, Los Angeles, California, U.S.) is an American British actress and consort (2018– ) of Prince Harry, duke of Sussex and fifth in line to the British throne.
Meghan, duchess of Sussex (born August 4, 1981, Los Angeles, California, U.S.) is an American British actress and consort (2018– ) of Prince Harry, duke of Sussex and fifth in line to the British throne.
Meghan, duchess of Sussex, first became known as an actress, notably starring as Rachel Zane in the American television drama “Suits” (2011–18). In 2016 Meghan began dating Prince Harry, duke of Sussex (then Prince Harry of Wales), and the couple married at Windsor Castle in May 2018. Although Harry and Megan were initially embraced by the press, their desire for privacy resulted in negative media coverage, and in January 2020, amid rumors of growing tensions between the couple and other royals, Harry and Meghan announced that they would “step back” from their royal duties and become financially independent. On March 31, the pair officially ceased to be working members of the Royal Family; they planned to divide their time between the United Kingdom and North America.Markle was born to Doria Ragland, an African American former television studio intern who later became a social worker and yoga instructor, and her husband, Thomas Markle, a lighting director who was white; the couple met on the set of the soap opera General Hospital. Markle’s parents divorced when she was a young child, but both remained active in her life. In 1995 she had an uncredited role in the sitcom Married…with Children, for which her father served as director of lighting and of photography. After graduating from Immaculate Heart High School, an all-girls Roman Catholic school, in 1999, Markle studied theatre and international studies at Northwestern Universityin Evanston, Illinois (B.A., 2003).
Markle then returned to Los Angeles to embarkon an acting career. She quickly began landing guest roles in TV shows, including CSI: NY, 90210, CSI: Miami, and Fringe, and she supplemented her income working as a freelance calligrapher. Her big break came when she was cast as paralegal Rachel Zane in the popular USA Network legal drama series Suits(2011–19). She also played leading roles in such movies as Random Encounters (2013) and Anti-Social (2015). In addition, she ran a lifestyle blog, The Tig (2014–17).
Markle, who had briefly been married (2011–13) to producer Trevor Engelson, was introduced to Prince Harry by a mutual friend in 2016; Harry is the younger of the two sons of Prince Charles(later Charles III) and Princess Diana; his older brother is Prince William. An early date was a camping trip to Botswana. The tabloid press quickly discovered the relationship, and its coverage of the couple was seen by many as salacious and often insulting and racist. Late in 2016 Harry made the relationship public while berating the British press for its treatment of Markle. The couple’s engagement was announced in November 2017. The wedding took place at Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018, and Meghan was given the title duchess of Sussex. Their first child, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, was born on May 6, 2019.
