In 2002, Markle landed her first TV role with a guest spot on General Hospital, and she went on to appear in a number of other series that included Cuts, The War at Home, CSI: NY and 90210. As a biracial actress, Markle would eventually talk about the challenges of navigating Hollywood’s check-a-box casting landscape while also finding her voice as an actress.
When she was 11, Markle wrote a letter to various notables, including then-First Lady Hillary Clinton, about a TV advertisement featuring the idea of women being bogged down by greasy cookware. The youngster deemed the ad sexist when male classmates started yelling, upon seeing the commercial, that the kitchen is where women belonged. (The language of the ad was subsequently changed.) Markle went on to study theater and international relations at Northwestern University School of Communication, graduating in 2003.
In 2011, Markle had her big break, landing the role of paralegal Rachel Zane on the USA network series Suits, co-starring Gabriel Macht, Patrick J. Adams and Gina Torres. The legal drama centers on the shifting intrigues of a Manhattan corporate law firm, with the savvy Zane attending Columbia Law School to pursue her own dreams of becoming an attorney. The show became a top performer among USA Network’s scripted programs and began taping its seventh season in 2017, though the network announced that Markle would be leaving the program following the news of her engagement to Prince Harry.
Markle has done big-screen work as well, appearing in such films as Get Him to the Greek (2010), Horrible Bosses (2011) and Anti-Social (2015), as well as the TV movies When Sparks Fly (2014) and Dater’s Handbook (2016).
On November 27, 2017, Markle and Prince Harry revealed that they had secretly gotten engaged earlier in the month
A few weeks later, Kensington Palace announced that the royal wedding would take place May 19, 2018, in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. The news came shortly after Google's announcement that Markle had topped the year-end rankings for most searched actress for the second year in a row, finishing only behind fired TV personality Matt Lauer for 2017's most Googled person. On December 21, fans found another reason to hit their search engines with the release of the couple's official portrait photographs.
In January 2018, it was confirmed that Markle was adhering to royal tradition by shutting down her Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. Through Kensington Palace, Markle said she was "grateful to everyone who has followed her social media accounts over the years."
On February 10, more details about the royal wedding emerged: After the marriage ceremony, scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. U.K. time, the newlyweds would ride in a carriage along the High Street through Windsor Town, before returning to Windsor Castle along the Long Walk.
On the eve of Markle and Harry's nuptials, a few members of Markle's family became the subject of tabloid drama that unfolded on an almost daily basis.
Markle's half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr., wrote a handwritten letter, warning Prince Harry, not to marry Markle, describing her as a "jaded, shallow, conceited woman that will make a joke of you and the royal family heritage."
Following the wedding, the couple attended a birthday party for Prince Charles before heading off for their honeymoon. It was then on to more formal activities, with Markle making her Buckingham Palace balcony debut at Trooping the Colour, a ceremony to honor the Queen's birthday, on June 10.
Two days later, Kensington Palace announced plans for Markle and Harry's first royal tour: "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will undertake an official visit to Australia, Fiji, the Kingdom of Tonga, and New Zealand in the Autumn," read the announcement. "Their Royal Highnesses have been invited to visit the Realms of Australia and New Zealand by the countries’ respective governments. The Duke and Duchess will visit the Commonwealth countries of Fiji and Tonga at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office."
In June 2019, Markle appeared at her first public event since giving birth by sharing a carriage with Prince Harry, the duchess of Cambridge and the duchess of Cornwall at Trooping the Color.
In late September 2019, Markle, Harry and son Archie headed to Africa for the baby's first royal tour. In October, ahead of the airing of the ITV documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, the duchess made headlines for a clip in which she revealed her struggles with being a new wife and mother amid intense media scrutiny.
Stepping Back From Royal Duties
On January 8, 2020, after spending the holiday season in Canada, Markle and Harry delivered the stunning announcement that they planned to "step back" from their senior roles in the royal family and work to become "financially independent."
"It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment. We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honor our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages," they wrote in a joint statement on Instagram. "This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity."
A few days later, Buckingham Palace released a statement that addressed several details of the new arrangement, including confirmation that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would no longer receive public funds for royal duties or use the honorific His/Her Royal Highness styling. The Queen released an accompanying statement to express her support of the young couple, noting that she was "particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become one of the family."
Having set up shop in their new home base of Los Angeles, Markle and Harry closed their @SussexRoyal Instagram account and formally signed off as senior royals on March 31, 2020.
In February 2021, Markle and Harry confirmed that they would not be returning to their royal roles. They will retain their titles, but no longer use them. "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have confirmed to Her Majesty The Queen that they will not be returning as working members of The Royal Family,".
