Meghan Markle, Duchess of
Sussex is an American British actress and Consort of Prince Harry, Duke
of Sussex and sixth in line to the British throne.
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 University in Evanston,
Illinois (B.A., 2003).
Markle then returned to Los
Angeles to embark on 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).
