20. Serena Williams is one of her girls
The whole world knows that anything that involves the royal family’s personal business it's huge news. It appears that Prince William’s little brother, Prince Harry has a girlfriend, her name is on everyone’s lips. We know that her name is Megan Markle and that she is an actress.
And while we know the basics about the 35-year-old beauty, there is plenty of interesting things about her life that we don’t know about her. Well now you know...
Whether she’s showing up for Wimbledon matches or standing by Williams at New York Fashion Week when the star debuts her fashion collections, Markle is pretty tight with our favorite tennis icon.
19. She grew up with yoga
Now how can we get in the crew?
Markle’s mother, who is Black, is a talented yoga instructor. The two actually took part in mommy-and-me yoga classes when she was a kid.
18. People didn’t think her mom was her biological mother growing up
Markle still practices it to this day, including hot yoga, and is quite the flexible yogi.
“My mom is a yoga instructor, 100% Black with dreadlocks,” Markle told Ebony in an interview earlier this year. “And when people find out ‘that girl’ on Suits is her daughter, there is often this disconnect and sometimes disbelief.
17. She struggled to fit in
It took me a long time to find myself.”
Markle also told Ebony that while she could pass as both Black and White growing up, she didn’t really fit in. “I could get into twice as many rooms, but was turned down twice as often as many of my peers,” she told the publication. “It’s that dichotomy that we can go through: ‘What are you? Where do you fit in?
16. Meghan is her middle name.
I want to put you in this box and I want you to stay there.’ I never want to complain. I get that so many people have it worse than I do. But it took me deep into my twenties to come to the realization that I am ‘enough’ exactly as I am, and I don’t have to be more or less of anything for other people.”
We may call her Meghan Markle, but it’s actually her middle name. Her whole name is Rachel Meghan Markle.
15. Like her new beau, Meghan is a humanitarian
Interesting enough, Rachel is also the name of her Suits character.
Meghan has dedicated a great deal of her time and energy to helping other people. She traveled to Rwanda as a UN advocate to work on the Clean Water Campaign. She is also a counselor for One Young World and she is a Global Ambassador for World Vision Canada.
14. She was married once
She has spoken out on many issues from modern day slavery to gender equality. She is a person who truly cares about her would and the people in it.
Meghan is a divorcee. She started dating a man named Trevor Engelson in 2004. On September 10, 2011, after 7 years of dating, the couple decided to get married. They married at the Jamaica Inn in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. The couple were barefoot when they were married, and 102 guests attended the wedding.
13. She didn’t plan on being an actress
Sadly, the couple spit in May 2013 after only two years of marriage. They kept the separation very quiet and the divorce was finalized in August 2013. In November 2016, it was reported that Meghan did not want any type of financial support from Engelson. Her divorce made room for her to start dating the Prince.
As she told Focus Magazine: “I didn’t intend to be an actress – I went to Northwestern University as an English major but quickly changed to a double major in Theater and International Relations. It really wasn’t until after working for the US Embassy abroad and coming home for the holiday that a friend from college gave a manager a student film I did – he watched it and called me, telling me he thought I should stay home and give acting a shot.
12. She can throw down in the kitchen
I did, and I was so grateful.”
Markle loves to cook. She is actually so good at it, her lifestyle website, The Tig, has a whole section dedicated to food. When she’s not shooting and doing humanitarian work, she’s cooking.
11. She attended Northwestern University
Oh, and also traveling, which she loves. Trips to London I’m guessing?
10. She was in a sorority
Markle is an alumni of Northwestern University (Communication, c/o ’03).
While a student at Northwestern University (Communication, c/o ’03), Markle was in a sorority, but not one of the ones you’re probably thinking of.
9. She was inspired by Ellen to adopt her first pound puppy
The actress was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma.
8. She lives in Canada
Markle revealed to Best Health magazine that in addition to supporting two-legged creatures in need, she's also an advocate for animals and was inspired to adopt her own set of furbabies by television personality Ellen DeGeneres.
Despite being born and raised in Los Angeles, Markle lives north of the border.
7. She was once on a gameshow
Following the success of Suits, she relocated to Toronto, where the show is filmed, and seems to have made herself at home.
One of her earliest turns in TV came in the mid-aughts when she appeared as one of the briefcase models for a season of Deal or No Deal.
6. She started her mission to change the world early on in life Among her plethora of charitable credits, Markle became an advocate for United Nations Women and the HeforShe Gender Equality Campaign in 2014 and was named the Global Ambassador for World Vision Canada in 2016. She's also actively involved in One Young World and the international Clean Water Campaign and traveled with the USO to Afghanistan in 2014. And her interest in making a positive difference for the world began incredibly early in her life, as she detailed on her website.
She told Esquire that while the gig isn't one of her favorite career moments of all time, it helped to keep the lights on when she was still working her way into more significant work opportunities.
6. She started her mission to change the world early on in life
Among her plethora of charitable credits, Markle became an advocate for United Nations Women and the HeforShe Gender Equality Campaign in 2014 and was named the Global Ambassador for World Vision Canada in 2016.
5. She has her own lifestyle brand
She's also actively involved in One Young World and the international Clean Water Campaign and traveled with the USO to Afghanistan in 2014. And her interest in making a positive difference for the world began incredibly early in her life, as she detailed on her website.
4. She has royal taste (in clothing)
Markle founded her own lifestyle website called The Tig (short for Tignanello, a type of wine that inspired her) to document her global encounters with various aspects of culture—from food and wine to fashion to traveling to exotic locales and discovering the local flora and fauna to her human interactions with locals and natives in any given area.
Being a clothing designer, Meghan has shown elegance and sophistication in her choice of clothing, much like the Duchess of Cambridge. Kate and Meghan wore the same dress within a two year time and while they both looked beautiful, the ladies put their own twist on the lace Diane von Furstenberg's Zarita dress.
3. Charity is more important to her than acting
Kate opted for a full length black version of the dress in 2014 while Meghan went for a slightly sexier shorter length navy version in 2014.
2. She has an interesting hidden talent
When forced to choose between her meet-and-greet duties as a Hollywood star and her altruistic interests, Markle says she always chooses the latter.
It’s all in her handwriting. As Markle told Good Housekeeping, calligraphy used to be her side hustle. “I used to be a calligrapher for weddings and events — that was my side job while I was auditioning,” Markle told the publication.
“I think handwritten notes are a lost art form. When I booked my first pilot, my dad wrote me a letter that I still have. The idea of someone taking the time to put pen to paper is really special.”