From Struggling Actress To Royal: A Look Back At Meghan Markle's Life Through The Years

Dec 02, 2020 by apost team

Now a household name synonymous with modern Royalty, Meghan Markle has established herself as an accomplished actor, philanthropist, and activist. Glamorous as her life might be now, the former Suits star worked hard to get to where she is today. We're taking a look back at Meghan Markle's remarkable career and charitable efforts throughout the years.

Born Rachel Meghan Markle to parents Doria Ragland, a former makeup artist, and Thomas Markle Snr, a retired television director of photography and lighting, Markle grew up in sunny Los Angeles, California. After her parent's divorce, she went on to live with her mother, with whom she shares a close relationship up to this day. As a young girl, she had already taken up an interest in show business, spending afternoons with her dad on the set of Married... with Children.

"Every day after school for ten years, I was on the set of Married... with Children, which is a really funny and perverse place for a little girl in a Catholic school uniform to grow up," the former actress jokingly told Esquire in a 2018 interview.

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After finishing school, Markle enrolled in the Northwestern University (NU) in Evanston and earned a double-major Bachelor's degree in theater and international studies in 2003. Determined to pursue her dream of becoming an actor, she picked up some odd jobs left and right while auditioning for parts in television. 

In 2011, Markle married her first husband, Trevor Engelson, in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, after six years of dating. According to the Sun, the ceremony was a quick affair, lasting just 15 minutes, after which a party of 102 friends and family of the couple danced the night away. While the 4-day-celebration seemed like a fairytale at the time, the couple divorced two years later, citing "irreconcilable differences."

Markle would star in roles on the small screen in CSI: Miami, 90210, and General Hospital, as well as some minor movie roles in films like Remember Me and Horrible Bosses, before finally landing her breakthrough role Rachel Zane in Suits in 2011. 

"I was doing calligraphy, and I was a hostess at a restaurant — and all those things that actors do," she told Vanity Fair in 2017. "My father knew how hard it is for an actor to get work, so he above all people was so proud that I was able to beat the odds."

The early 2010s saw Markle shoot into the mainstream, with her then pursuing other interests close to her heart. As a child, acting was not her only passion. At just aged 11, Markle wrote letters to then-first lady Hillary Clinton and Gloria Alred to express her frustration with a commercial she had seen on TV, which marketed a soap towards women, saying, "women are fighting greasy pots and pans."

That same passion for fighting for causes she cares about led to Markle becoming a counselor at the One Young World NGO. She made her debut with the organization with an impassioned speech about gender equality at a conference in Dublin in 2014, in which she sat at a panel challenging gender stereotypes and bias in the media.

That following year, Markle was invited to speak at the UN Women conference on International Woman's Day. Her stirring, emotional speech earned her a standing ovation from the audience – including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. 

Since then, Markle has had philanthropy centered in almost everything she does. "While my life shifts from refugee camps to red carpets, I choose them both because these worlds can, in fact, co-exist. And for me, they must," she wrote in an essay for Elle in 2015.

In 2016, rumors started to speculate that Prince Harry had become romantically involved with an American actress. By then, the two had been spotted and photographed on multiple occasions in London and Toronto, where Markle lived at the time, but both parties remained hush about their relationship.

By the end of the year, Prince Harry was forced to confirm their relationship through a lengthy statement in which he condemned media outlets for harassing Markle. In 2017, in a cover story for Vanity Affair, Markle gushed about her relationship with the Prince, saying, "We're two people who are really happy and in love." 

Just a few months later, the couple announced their engagement. With her new role as a senior royal that came with her upcoming wedding to Prince Harry, Markle quit acting and filmed her last scene on Suits on the season 7 finale. 

The couple wed on May 19, 2018, at St George's Chapel, Windsor, exchanging rings and vows before the Queen and another 600 guests. For the occasion, Markle wore a white boat-neck dress by British designer Clare Waight Keller and was walked down the aisle by her father-in-law, Prince Charles. 

One year later, Markle and Prine Harry welcomed their first child together, Archie Harrison Mountbatten. The family has since stepped away from their senior Royal roles in January 2020 and has relocated to the USA, where Prince Harry and Markle continue their philanthropic work. 

What do you think of Meghan Markle's remarkable life? Let us know in the comments, and make sure you pass this along to your friends and family!