6 Things You Should Know About Meghan, Duchess of Sussex

Meghan is biracial, the daughter of Doria Ragland, an African American social worker and yoga instructor, and Thomas Markle, a lighting director, who is white. Meghan often struggled with her identity, finding herself between two worlds, while occasionally being forced to identify as either white or Black. With her lighter skin, she avoided the overt racism that her mother experienced—until she began dating Prince Harry. It was then, Meghan claimed, that she was first treated as a Black woman. At the time, it was hoped that her marriage to Harry would promote greater acceptance of race and diversity in the U.K. Instead, the duchess was subjected to what many considered racist coverage by the media. One tabloid’s headline wondered if Harry was “marry[ing] into gangster royalty.” In addition, the couple accused the monarchy of “unconscious” racism, which brought renewed attention to the royal family’s struggles with its colonial past. Meghan and Harry ultimately left the royals—a move they largely attributed to racism.

Meghan was a feminist from an early age. At 11 she wrote to Procter & Gamble to complain about the company’s commercial for Ivory dish soap. She felt that the tagline—“Women all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans”—was sexist and asked that women be changed to people. The company agreed, and the revised slogan debuted a month later. Meghan has spoken out about a number of other women’s issues, including suffrage and reproductive rights. Her powerful speech about gender equality at the UN in 2015 continues to resonate on social media. After joining the royal family, Meghan used her higher profile to promote various causes. In 2018 she publicly discussed the stigma associated with menstruation. It was an issue that she had also highlighted the previous year.

Meghan’s early activism was accompanied by an interest in politics, and at Northwestern University (B.A., 2003) she majored in theater and international studies. In 2002 she interned at the U.S. embassy in Argentina—Meghan is fluent in Spanish—and, according to reports, she seriously thought of pursuing a political career. Although she instead focused on acting, she remained committed to effecting “change for the good,” a goal she shared with Harry. After leaving royal life, Meghan became more vocal on political issues, especially in 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which had established abortion as a constitutional right. In addition, that year she wrote a letter to U.S. politicians, asking for legislation that provides for paid family leave. Does Meghan have political ambitions? Only time will tell.

Another early interest of Meghan’s was acting. Her father was a lighting director for various TV shows, including Married…with Children (1987–97). It was on that sitcom that Meghan made her acting debut, appearing in an uncredited role in 1995. She subsequently concentrated on her education, but, after graduating from college, she embarked on a career in acting. She made her movie debut in the 2005 comedy A Lot Like Love, cast as “hot girl.” While more work followed, she struggled to land a breakthrough role. Then in 2011 she began appearing as Rachel Zane on the popular legal drama Suits. She played the character, a paralegal who becomes a lawyer, for seven seasons. Meghan quit acting in 2017 because of her relationship with Harry. However, she soon found herself on a much bigger stage.

Their early relationship sounds like the plot of a rom-com. In the summer of 2016 Harry saw a video—altered with a dog-face filter—of Meghan and a mutual friend on Instagram. They exchanged numbers and shortly thereafter had their first date. They went out a few more times before Harry invited Meghan on a trip to Botswana. There the couple camped out for five days, and Harry realized he’d found “his soulmate.” After a Halloween party in Toronto, the couple’s relationship was made public, igniting a media frenzy. Harry confirmed the relationship in November 2016, and in May 2017 they made their first public appearance. A month after Meghan had tea with Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan and Harry announced their engagement in November 2017. The ring includes two diamonds from the collection of Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana. On May 19, 2018, the couple wed at St. George’s Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle, with a reported two billion people tuning in on TV.

Meghan is perhaps the ultimate trendsetter. Whatever she wears generates incredible interest, which often translates into huge sales. After she was seen in a pair of black pants from Outland, the company had a 2,000 percent increase in online purchases. This economic phenomenon became known as the “Meghan effect.” However, it’s not Meghan’s first time being an influencer. From 2014 to 2017 she ran the lifestyle blog The Tig; the name was inspired by her favorite red wine, Tignanello. The blog included information on food, travel, and beauty. During this time Meghan also served as brand ambassador to the Canadian retailer Reitmans and collaborated on several clothing collections with the company.