Meghan, Duchess of Sussex facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Meghan
Duchess of Sussex (more)
Meghan in 2024
Born	Rachel Meghan Markle (1981-08-04) August 4, 1981 (age 43) Los Angeles, California
Spouse	Trevor Engelson ​ ​ (m. 2011; div. 2014)​ Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex ​ (m. 2018)​
Issue	Prince Archie of Sussex Princess Lilibet of Sussex
House	Windsor (by marriage)
Father	Thomas Markle Sr.
Mother	Doria Ragland
Alma mater	Northwestern University (BA)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2001–2017 (actress)
Signature

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American woman who became part of the British royal family. She used to be an actress. She is married to Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, who is King Charles III's younger son. In 2020, they decided to step back from their official royal duties and now live in the United States.

Meghan has written a children's book called The Bench. She also hosted a podcast named Archetypes in 2022. She has appeared in the Netflix series Harry & Meghan (2022) and With Love, Meghan (2025).

Early Life and Education

Rachel Meghan Markle was born on August 4, 1981, in Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California. Her mother, Doria Ragland, was a social worker and makeup artist. Her father, Thomas Markle Sr., was a television lighting director who won an Emmy Award.

Meghan's parents separated when she was two and divorced four years later. She has a close bond with her mother. Her father worked on TV shows like General Hospital and Married... with Children. Meghan sometimes visited the set of Married... with Children when she was a child.

She grew up in View Park–Windsor Hills, Los Angeles. She went to Hollywood Little Red Schoolhouse. Both her parents raised her until she was nine. After that, her father mostly took care of her as her mother focused on her career.

Meghan was raised as a Protestant. She went to Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles, which was an all-girl Catholic school. She took part in plays and musicals there, and her father helped with the lighting.

In 1999, she started studying at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She joined the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. After her third year, she got an internship at the American embassy in Buenos Aires. She thought about a career in politics. However, she decided to return to Northwestern.

She also studied abroad in Madrid. In 2003, Meghan earned her bachelor's degree from Northwestern's School of Communication. She studied both theater and international studies.

Acting Career Highlights

Markle with Suits co-star Patrick J. Adams at Paley Center for Media, 2013

Meghan's acting career began while she was at Northwestern University. Her first TV role was a small part as a nurse in the soap opera General Hospital. Her father worked as a lighting director for that show. She also had small guest roles on other TV shows like Century City (2004), The War at Home (2006), and CSI: NY (2006).

From 2006 to 2007, Meghan was a "briefcase girl" on the game show Deal or No Deal. She appeared in 34 episodes. She also had a role in the Fox series Fringe as Junior Agent Amy Jessup in the first two episodes of its second season.

Meghan appeared in movies such as Get Him to the Greek, Remember Me (2010), and Horrible Bosses (2011).

In July 2011, she joined the cast of the USA Network show Suits. She played the character Rachel Zane, who started as a paralegal and later became an attorney. She worked on Suits until late 2017. While filming Suits, she lived in Toronto for nine months each year.

Meghan also created a lifestyle blog called The Tig, which ran from 2014 to 2017. During this time, she started getting involved in charity work, especially focusing on women's issues and social justice.

Personal Life

Meghan was married to American film producer Trevor Engelson from 2011 until they divorced in 2014.

Marriage to Prince Harry

Carriage procession through streets of Windsor, May 2018

Meghan stopped acting when she married Prince Harry in 2018. After her marriage, she became known as the Duchess of Sussex.

Before the wedding, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, baptized Meghan and confirmed her in the Church of England. The wedding ceremony took place on May 19, 2018, at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. Her wedding dress was designed by Clare Waight Keller.

Meghan and Harry have two children. Their son, Archie, was born on May 6, 2019. Their daughter, Lilibet, was born on June 4, 2021. The family has a Labrador named Pula and two Beagles named Guy and Mamma Mia.

Stepping Back from Royal Duties

In January 2020, Harry and Meghan decided to step down as working royals. They later moved to California. The Palace confirmed that they would no longer carry out royal duties as representatives of the Queen. They would also no longer receive financial support for these duties. They kept their "Royal Highness" titles but agreed not to use them in their daily lives.

Political Views and Advocacy

Meghan was open about her political views before marrying Prince Harry. When she was nine, she and her friends campaigned against the Gulf War. Later, she supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 United States presidential election. She also spoke out against Donald Trump.

In 2022, she supported the Supreme Court nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson. In June 2022, she publicly supported Moms Demand Action, a group that works for safer gun laws in the US.

Further Career and Projects

In October 2020, Meghan and Harry launched Archewell Inc.. This is an American organization that focuses on non-profit activities and creating media projects.

Meghan released a children's picture book called The Bench. She also started a podcast called Archetypes.

In October 2021, Meghan and Harry announced a partnership with Ethic, a company that helps with sustainable investments.

Meghan and Harry filmed an interview with Oprah Winfrey, which aired in March 2021. They also created a Netflix docuseries called Harry & Meghan, released in December 2022.

In March 2024, Meghan launched a lifestyle and cooking brand called American Riviera Orchard. In April 2024, it was announced that Archewell Productions is working with Netflix on two new shows: one about lifestyle and one about polo.

Her lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan, premiered on Netflix in March 2025. In the same month, it was announced that Meghan would launch a second podcast series, Confessions of a Female Founder, with Lemonada Media. She also launched an online site where creators can share links to their favorite items and earn money.

Charity Work and Support

Markle addressing the audience during a USO show at Naval Station Rota, Spain, December 2014

Meghan Markle supports several charities and non-profit groups. One of them is World Vision Canada, where she is a Global Ambassador. World Vision is a group that works to improve the lives of children and families around the world. Meghan traveled to Rwanda in February 2016 for World Vision Canada's clean water campaign.

She also co-founded Archewell with Prince Harry. Archewell aims to make a positive difference through non-profit work and creative projects. The organization has raised money and helped causes like vaccine fairness, supporting women-owned small businesses, and assisting Afghan and Ukrainian refugees.

Meghan is also very interested in mental health, fighting racism, and supporting women's rights.

Public Image and Influence

Markle (third from left) at New York Fashion Week in 2013

In 2018, Time magazine chose Meghan as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. She was also on their shortlist for Person of the Year. Her name appeared on the list again in 2021. She and her husband were featured on one of the magazine's covers.

In 2019, Time named Meghan and Prince Harry among the 25 Most Influential People on the Internet. She was also recognized by British Vogue magazine as one of the 25 most influential women in the United Kingdom in 2018, 2019, and 2021. Her influence was also noted in the Powerlist, which lists the 100 most influential Britons of African and Afro-Caribbean descent, in 2019 and 2020.

In 2022, Worth magazine named her one of the 50 Women Changing the World. Variety also honored her for its Power of Women issue. The Financial Times included her on its list of "25 most influential women of 2022."

Privacy and the Media

Meghan has spoken out about how media attention has affected her mental health. She has taken legal action against some media outlets for invading her privacy.

Oprah Interview

The TV special Oprah with Meghan and Harry aired on CBS on March 7, 2021. In the interview, Meghan talked about her personal life and her experiences as a royal. She spoke about feeling a lack of protection for herself and her son within the royal institution. Meghan also mentioned facing racism as part of the British royal family. The interview caused a lot of discussion and different reactions.

Interesting Facts About Meghan

• She identifies as mixed race.
• At age 11, she and her classmates wrote to Procter & Gamble to ask them to make a dishwashing soap commercial gender-neutral.
• As a teenager, she worked at a frozen yogurt shop, and later as a waitress and babysitter. She also volunteered at a soup kitchen in Skid Row, Los Angeles.
• Along with Catherine, Princess of Wales, Meghan is seen as a royal style icon. In 2018, Tatler magazine included Meghan on its list of Britain's best-dressed people.

Titles, Styles, and Arms

Meghan became a princess of the United Kingdom when she married Prince Harry. She was given the style of Royal Highness. After her marriage, she was known as "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex". She also holds the titles of Countess of Dumbarton and Baroness Kilkeel. She is the first person to hold the title "Duchess of Sussex".

After the Duke and Duchess decided to step back from royal duties in 2020, they agreed not to use the style of Royal Highness in their daily lives. However, they are still referred to as "His/Her Royal Highness" in legal situations.

During Meghan's trip to Nigeria in May 2024, she was given special traditional titles: Ada Mazi (meaning 'the daughter of the Igbo ancestral palace') and Adetokunbo (meaning 'royalty from across the seas').

Arms of the Duchess of Sussex

Notes The Duchess bears the arms of her husband impaled with her own. Thomas Woodcock, Garter King of Arms, the senior officer of the College of Arms, helped the Duchess with the design, which was approved by the Queen. Adopted May 25, 2018 Coronet Coronet of a child of the sovereign. Escutcheon Quarterly 1st and 4th Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or armed and langed Azure (England), 2nd Or a lion rampant Gules armed and langued Azure within a double tressure flory counterflory (Scotland), 3rd Azure a harp Or stringed Argent (Ireland), the whole differenced by a label of three points Argent, each point charged with an escallop Gules (Prince Harry); Impaled with a shield Azure a feather bendwise Argent quilled Or between two bendlets Or all between two like feathers Argent quilled Or (Markle). Supporters On the dexter side the lion used as a supporter by the Duke of Sussex and to the sinister a songbird Argent wings spread, unguled Or and gorged with the coronet of the Duke of Sussex. Compartment Below the shield, a mount of grass with golden poppies and wintersweet in flower. Symbolism The blue background of the shield represents the Pacific Ocean off the California coast, while the two golden rays across the shield are symbolic of the sunshine of the Duchess's home state. The three quills represent communication and the power of words. Beneath the shield on the grass sits a collection of golden poppies, California's state flower and wintersweet, which grows at Kensington Palace. The songbird with wings elevated as if flying and an open beak represents the power of communication.

Filmography

Television Roles

Film Roles

See Also

In Spanish: Meghan Markle para niños