This is What Meghan Markle Was Really Like Before She Became Famous, Her Teacher Reveals
Her former acting coach tells all.
Prior to becoming the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle was just another girl trying to make it in Hollywood. Born in Los Angeles and raised by her mother, Doria Ragland, and father, Thomas Markle, who divorced in 1987, the future wife of Prince William had a modest upbringing. After attending Northwestern University and double majoring in theater and international studies, Meghan returned to Los Angeles and decided to pursue a career as an actress. She signed up for acting classes and struggled to find roles, while taking odd jobs on the side. Many people wonder what Meghan was like during that time period, before she met Prince Harry. Well, now one of her teachers is telling all.
Prior to landing her career-changing role on Suits, Meghan studied with acting coach Margie Haber. Haber has trained several budding thespians over her five-decade career. A few of those who found fame? Brad Pitt, Sophia Bush, and Tiffany Haddish. "We never know what people are going to become, do we?" she told InStyle.
"I've worked with a lot of people before they've landed a big show, like Mariska Hargitay before she landed Law & Order and Meghan before she was on Suits. Look at her now!" she told the magazine. "It was just before Suits and I was teaching auditioning for film and television, so she was in class for that."
According to Haber, Meghan was lovely to teach and had natural talent. "She was a really nice person, who was a really good actress and I just helped her create … but didn't know what she would become later in life!"
After landing some bit parts in series such as CSI: NY and Fringe, Meghan scored a gig as a briefcase model on the game show Deal or No Deal. "I would put [Deal or No Deal] in the category of things I was doing while I was auditioning to try to make ends meet," she told Esquire."Definitely working on Deal or No Deal was a learning experience, and it helped me to understand what I would rather be doing."
In 2011, her auditioning class paid off when she landed her most high profile role as Rachel Zane on Suits, which was filmed in Toronto, Canada. She spent seven seasons playing the role, until she met Prince Harry and opted out. "I don't see it as giving anything up. I just see it as a change," she told the BBC at the time about transitioning from her acting career to becoming a working Royal. "Now it's time to work with Harry as a team."
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However, in 2020 the couple shocked the world when they announced they were stepping down from their Royal duties and heading back to Meghan's home state of California. Now, Meghan is back in the entertainment industry and making more money than ever, with the couple's deals with Netflix and Spotify. Next up for the Duchess? A podcast series called Archetypes, which was slated to premiere this summer.
