Her parents split but she had a loving upbringing... how Meghan became the woman she is
campaigning spirit surfaced early. “I was 11 or 12 years old when I became a member of the National Organisation for Women in the States,” she said. “I’ve always been a young feminist. It’s always been important to me to be vocal about what I feel is right, whether that’s as a woman, or being bi-racial.
“I was an outspoken little one – oh, my goodness, a handful! But I think it’s just who I am.”
Meghan remained close to her dad, who worked on one of the most popular TV shows in the US, a sitcom called Married... with Children, and he proved to be quite as definitive an influence as her mum.
Meghan spent a lot of time with him on set, becoming familiar with the set-up of a TV show from a very young age and getting used to being around actors, directors and the whole crowd involved in the medium. It is hardly surprising she went on to make her career in acting.
Meghan acknowledged as much. “My dad was a lighting director and director of photography,” she said. “Every day after school for 10 years, I was on the set of Married... with Children, which is a really funny and perverse place for a little girl in a Catholic school uniform to grow up.”
Life on set taught Meghan a lot about her future profession, but there was still the conventional education to undergo.
She was determined to succeed at school, to put her head down and get on with it. “Meghan was really charismatic and was a very hard worker and very focused and you could tell she was going to do something special with her life,” said one school friend.
She also picked up some talents that would stand her in good stead later when she was breaking into acting but had to support herself with other jobs on the side.
Many actresses wait on tables, but Meghan discovered her beautiful handwriting was an even better way to help her earn her daily bread.
“It was because I went to an all-girls Catholic school for like six years during the time when kids actually had handwriting class,” she Meghan & Harry said. “I didn’t wait tables. I did calligraphy for the invitations for, like, Robin Thicke and Paula Patton’s wedding.
“I used to do it for Dolce & Gabbana’s celebrity correspondence over the holidays. I would sit there with a little white tube sock on my hand so no hand oils got on the card, trying to pay my bills while auditioning.”
She was girl scout, too, with her mum being the leader of her troop, and she started taking an interest in acting while still at school – taking part in projects including musical comedy Damn Yankees!.
“Meghan acted in drama and most kids our age wouldn’t have felt as confident in their skills. She was bubbly, optimistic and positive. She was also very focused and had her eye on the prize – she knew where she wanted to go to college and she knew she wanted to do drama. She had the talent and focus to back it up and you could tell she knew the work it would take and she was willing to put in the work,” said a classmate.
It is thought she was homecoming queen, the person nominated to represent the school at homecoming – school reunion – events.
It all turned her into a remarkably self-possessed young woman.
But before she was ready to start her acting career, Meghan was off to university, the first member of her family to do so. Yet more barriers were falling down. ■ Extracted from Harry & Meghan - The Love Story, by Emily Herbert, published by John Blake.