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Meghan Markle was born on August 4, 1981, in Los Angeles, California, at West Park Hospital in Canoga Park. As of 2017, her mother, Doria Ragland, a social worker and yoga instructor lives in View Park–Windsor Hills, California. Markle has often described a very close friendship with her mother. Her father, Thomas Markle Sr., who lives in Rosarito, Mexico, is a retired television director of photography and lighting director, whose profession resulted in his young daughter often visiting the set of Married...with Children. Markle's parents divorced when she was six years old. She has two older paternal half-siblings, Thomas Markle Jr. and Samantha Markle, from whom she is reportedly estranged.

Describing her heritage in a 2015 essay for Elle, Markle states that her "dad is Caucasian and my mom is African American. I'm half black and half white ... While my mixed heritage may have created a grey area surrounding my self-identification, keeping me with a foot on both sides of the fence, I have come to embrace that. To say who I am, to share where I'm from, to voice my pride in being a strong, confident mixed-race woman."

Markle grew up in Hollywood. She was educated at private schools, beginning at age two at the Hollywood Little Red Schoolhouse. At age 11, her successful campaign to get Proctor & Gamble to change a national television commercial she viewed as sexist was profiled by Linda Ellerbee on Nick News. Though she was raised as a Protestant, Markle attended Immaculate Heart High School, an all-girl Catholic private school in Los Angeles. She then attended Northwestern University, where she joined Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and participated in community service and charity projects. Markle graduated from Northwestern's School of Communication in 2003 with a bachelor's degree and a double major in theater and international studies. She also served an internship at the American embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and studied for a semester in Madrid, Spain.

Acting career

Early in her career, Markle worked as a freelance calligrapher to support herself between acting jobs. Her first on-screen appearance was a small role as a nurse in an episode of the daytime soap opera General Hospital. Markle had small guest roles on the television shows Century City (2004), The War at Home (2006), and CSI: NY (2006). She also took on several contract acting and modeling jobs, including a stint as a "briefcase girl" on the US game show Deal or No Deal. She appeared in Fox's series Fringe as Junior Agent Amy Jessup in the first two episodes of its second season. Markle had some difficulty getting roles early in her career. In 2015, she wrote: "Being 'ethnically ambiguous', as I was pegged in the industry, meant I could audition for virtually any role ... Sadly, it didn't matter: I wasn't black enough for the black roles and I wasn't white enough for the white ones, leaving me somewhere in the middle as the ethnic chameleon who couldn't book a job."

In July 2011, Markle joined the cast of the USA Network show Suits, playing Rachel Zane. The character began as a paralegal and eventually became an attorney. She completed work on the seventh season in late 2017. According to a critique in The Irish Times, Markle deftly and "actively re-positioned" her character from ingenue to "the show's moral conscience" and gave viewers the unique portrayal of a daughter, whose African-American father is in a position to help her career and advance her "desire to crack both racial and gender glass ceilings". She appeared in two 2010 films, Get Him to the Greek and Remember Me, and one 2011 film, Horrible Bosses. She also appeared in episodes of Cuts; Love, Inc.; 90210; Knight Rider; Without a Trace; The League; and Castle.

From 2014 to 2017, she was founder and editor-in-chief of the lifestyle website The Tig, a name she derived from Tignanello red wine. One of The Tig's features was "Tig Talk", a column that profiled women including Jessica Alba, Gail Simmons, Ella Woodward, Daphne Oz, Elizabeth Hurley, Lauren Bush, Ivanka Trump, Dianna Agron and Jessica Stam. She closed The Tig in April 2017, and in January 2018, she deleted all of her social media accounts. At the time of its closing, her Instagram account had 1.9 million followers. In a statement issued by Kensington Palace, Markle thanked "everyone who has followed her social media accounts over the years".

In November 2016, Markle and Canadian clothing company Reitmans released lines of women's fashion workwear and casual-wear. The lines, based on her personal style, and that of her Suits character, described as "aspirational girl next door", quickly sold out. In 2010, Markle was paid $187,000 for her role in Remember Me and $171,429 for her role in the short film The Candidate. For her role on Suits, Fortune magazine estimated that Markle was paid $50,000 per episode, amounting to an annual salary of about $450,000. In addition, it was estimated that as a lifestyle blogger she earned about $80,000 annually from endorsements and sponsorships. In 2017, her total net worth was estimated at $5 million. In 2018, she was among the nominees for the 2018 Teen Choice Awards in the category Choice Style Icon.

Personal life

Markle began a relationship with actor and producer Trevor Engelson in 2004. They married in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, on September 10, 2011, and separated through a no-fault divorce in August 2013, citing irreconcilable differences.

Markle was in a relationship with celebrity chef and restaurateur Cory Vitiello for almost two years. They lived together in their residence in Toronto. Their relationship ended in May 2016.

In June 2016, Markle began a relationship with Prince Harry, who was then fifth in line to the British throne. Markle and Prince Harry met on a blind date set up by a mutual friend. The press began to report on the relationship in October 2016. On November 8, 2016, the British royal family's communications secretary released an official statement that addressed a "wave of abuse and harassment" directed toward Markle. The statement described sexism, racism and defamatory stories directed at her. During a September 2017 interview with Vanity Fair, Markle spoke in public for the first time about her love for Prince Harry. Later that month, they made their first public appearance together at an official royal engagement at the Invictus Games in Toronto.

While working on Suits, Markle lived in a rented house in the Seaton Village neighborhood of Toronto, Canada, where the show is filmed. She lived in Canada for nine months each year, making a few close friends. She moved out in late November 2017 after work on the seventh season had been completed.

Markle has two rescue dogs, a labrador-shepherd named Bogart and a beagle named Guy, whom she adopted in 2012 and 2015 respectively.

Royal marriage

Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and Wedding dress of Meghan Markle

Markle's engagement to Prince Harry was announced on November 27, 2017. By then, she had met Queen Elizabeth II, Harry's paternal grandmother, several times. The engagement announcement prompted generally positive comment about the possible social significance of a mixed-race member of the royal family. The ring Harry gave Markle consists of a large central diamond from Botswana, with two smaller diamonds from the jewellery collection of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. Following the engagement, Markle announced she would retire from acting, and began the years-long process of becoming a British citizen.

In preparation for the wedding, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, baptised Markle and confirmed her into the Church of England on March 6, 2018. The private ceremony, performed with water from the River Jordan, took place in the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace. The marriage ceremony was held on May 19, 2018, at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. The Duke and Duchess live at Nottingham Cottage in London, in the grounds of Kensington Palace.

Public Life

Markle accompanied Harry for the first time during an official public appearance after their engagement at a walkabout in Nottingham on December 1, 2017, in connection with World AIDS Day. The Queen invited them to celebrate Christmas 2017 with the royal family at her Sandringham estate. In early 2018, Markle accompanied Harry on his engagements in Brixton, Cardiff, Goldsmiths' Hall, and Edinburgh. On February 28, 2018, Markle attended an official engagement at the first annual forum of The Royal Foundation, "Making a Difference Together" with the prince. She became the fourth patron, alongside Harry and the Dukeand Duchess of Cambridge, after her marriage into the royal family. Markle and Harry marked International Women's Day by attending an event in Birmingham hosted by the Stemettes. Along with the Queen and other members of the royal family, she attended the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey on March 12, 2018. The couple made their first visit to Northern Ireland on March 23, 2018. Markle carried out a total of 26 public engagements prior to the wedding.

The Duchess's first official engagement after the wedding came on May 22 when she and her husband attended Prince Charles' 70th birthday garden party to celebrate his charity work. Her first trip abroad at the request of the British government was to Dublin, Ireland, in July 2018. According to a review in The Irish Times, her visit became a unique national obsession. In June 2018, Kensington Palace announced that the Duke and Duchess would tour Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand around the time of the Invictus Games which will be held in Sydney in October 2018.

Titles, styles, and arms

Titles and styles

Upon her marriage to Prince Harry, Meghan Markle became a princess of the United Kingdom entitled to the style of Royal Highness, as well as Duchess of Sussex, Countess of Dumbarton and Baroness Kilkeel. She is styled as "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex", and she is the first person to hold that title.

Ancestry

On her mother's side, the Duchess of Sussex is descended from African Americans enslaved in Georgia, and on her father's side from German, English, and Irish settlers. One of her possible forefathers, Heinrich Martin Merckel, emigrated to the United States from Lampertsloch, an historically German-speaking town in Alsace, and later changed the spelling of his name to Markle. Among her father's distant ancestors are Captain Christopher Hussey, King Robert I of Scotland, Sir Philip Wentworth, and Edward III of England.

Filmography Television Year

Title

Role

Notes

2002

General Hospital

Jill

1 episode (aired November 14, 2002)[23][24]

2004

Century City

Natasha

"A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Lose" (season 1: episode 4)

2005

Cuts

Cori

"My Boyfriend's Back" (season 1: episode 5)

2005

Love, Inc.

Teresa Santos

"One on One" (season 1: episode 9)

2006

1 vs. 100

Herself

Mob member number 7

2006

The War at Home

Susan

"The Seventeen-Year Itch" (season 1: episode 17)

2006

CSI: NY

Veronica Perez

"Murder Sings the Blues" (season 3: episode 7)

2006

Deceit

Gwen

TV film

2006

Deal or No Deal

Herself

Holder of Case #24; 34 episodes[138]

2008

Good Behavior

Sadie Valencia

TV film

2008

90210

Wendy

"We're Not in Kansas Anymore" (season 1: episode 1) "The Jet Set" (season 1: episode 2)

2008

'Til Death

Tara

"Joy Ride" (season 3: episode 2)

2008

The Apostles

Kelly Calhoun

TV film

2009

Knight Rider

Annie Ortiz

"Fight Knight" (season 1: episode 14)

2009

Without a Trace

Holly Shepard

"Chameleon" (season 7: episode 15)

2009

Fringe

Junior FBI Agent Amy Jessup

"A New Day in the Old Town" (season 2: episode 1) "Night of Desirable Objects" (season 2: episode 2)

2009

The League

Random Girl

"The Bounce Test" (season 1: episode 2)

2010

CSI: Miami

Officer Leah Montoya

"Backfire" (season 8: episode 20)

2010

The Boys & Girls Guide to Getting Down

Dana

TV film

2011–2018

Suits

Rachel Zane

Series regular (seasons 1–7)

2012

Castle

Charlotte Boyd/Sleeping Beauty

"Once Upon a Crime" (season 4: episode 17)

2014

When Sparks Fly

Amy Peterson

Hallmark Channel TV film

2016

Dater's Handbook

Cassandra Brand

Hallmark Channel TV film

Film

Year

Title

Role

Notes

2005

A Lot like Love

Passenger on plane

2010

Remember Me

Megan

2010

Get Him to the Greek

Tatiana

Uncredited

2010

The Candidate

Kat

Short film

2011

Horrible Bosses

Jamie

2012

Dysfunctional Friends

Terry

2013

Random Encounters

Mindy

UK Title: A Random Encounter

2015

Anti-Social

Kirsten