Before the tiaras, the royal protocols, and the global headlines, Meghan Markle was just a girl chasing her dreams in a world that didn’t always make space for someone like her. Long before she became the Duchess of Sussex—and long before she became a figure that divided the British press and public—she was a woman with a voice, a vision, and a life that some have tried to erase or ignore completely. But that life tells us more about who she really is than any palace press release ever could.
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Meghan grew up in Los Angeles, the daughter of a Black mother and a white father. Her upbringing was filled with contradictions—an ordinary American childhood, but with the backdrop of Hollywood's glitter and grit. Her mother, Doria Ragland, worked as a social worker and yoga instructor, while her father, Thomas Markle, was a lighting director in the TV industry. Meghan was no stranger to film sets and behind-the-scenes glamour, but she also experienced something far less enchanting: the sting of being treated differently because of her race.
From a young age, Meghan was deeply aware of what it meant to be biracial in a country still struggling with its identity. In a now-famous essay she wrote for Elle, she recalled how she was told to “pick a side”—to define herself as either Black or white. Instead, she chose to define herself as herself. Her experience in a Catholic high school where she stood out for her background, and her later college years at Northwestern University where she double-majored in theater and international studies, shaped her into someone both ambitious and socially conscious.
While most people know her from Suits, where she played the sharp and stylish Rachel Zane, Meghan’s acting career was no overnight success. She worked tirelessly, often in the shadows of more famous peers. She did everything from brief roles in TV shows to carrying a silver briefcase on Deal or No Deal—a job she later admitted made her feel "objectified." But she kept going, not just because she wanted fame, but because she had something to prove: that women who looked like her belonged on screen, in complex and dignified roles.
But Meghan's real passion wasn’t just acting—it was activism. Long before she stepped onto royal grounds, she was traveling to Rwanda with the United Nations, speaking out on gender equality, and writing essays on racism and women's rights. Her blog, The Tig, was a mix of style tips, food posts, and thoughtful reflections on life—proof that she wasn’t just another celebrity, but someone trying to build a meaningful voice in a crowded world.
When she met Prince Harry, the public's attention shifted. Suddenly, her past became a target. Tabloids dug up old family feuds, questioned her motives, criticized her every move, and began reshaping her story. Her years of hard work, her activism, her passions—all seemed to disappear in favor of a single label: royal wife. She was cast in roles she never auditioned for—diva, manipulator, outsider. But the truth is, Meghan had always been more than someone’s wife or someone’s princess.
The Palace expected her to fold herself into a centuries-old mold, to smile quietly and follow the script. But Meghan had lived a full life before royalty—one shaped by challenge, determination, and a desire to make a difference. That life didn’t fit within the palace’s walls, and perhaps it never could. She wasn't raised to be silent. She was raised to speak up.
And that’s what makes Meghan’s story so powerful. It’s not just about how she married into one of the most famous families in the world. It’s about how she refused to let them erase who she was before the wedding. In a world that tried to redefine her, she stood firm in her identity—not just as a duchess, but as a woman who had built a life worth remembering long before the crown came calling.