Meghan’s second act
As she bows out of acting, a far greater stage awaits
It was just too good a plot twist for the executives to resist: Meghan Markle simply had to bow out with a wedding. On Wednesday night, Prince Harry’s fiancée said farewell to Hollywood with a fairytale ending to her acting career – marrying her on-screen Suits sweetheart in an emotional season finale. Nearly a million American viewers watched her utter the words: “You are the husband I have always wanted.”
You have to wonder whether she laughed or cried when she saw the script.
The final episode of the show’s seventh series was filmed on November 11. That she was attending an Anzac Day memorial service at Westminster Abbey with the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry on the day it was aired in the US just shows how far she has come.
Many have wondered how she will look back on her decision to walk away from her career as it was peaking. But it was always going to be thus. Aaron Korsh, the creator of Suits, revealed to the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 that he had begun to write Ms Markle out well before her engagement was announced, with the writers deciding to “take a gamble” that her relationship with Prince Harry was likely to progress.
Like Grace Kelly before her, who bowed out with the aptly titled High Society before retiring and becoming Princess of Monaco, maintaining a career as an actress while a member of the Royal family would have been impossible.
Almost immediately after the final scenes were shot she packed up the Toronto home she lived in during filming and moved across the Atlantic to be with Prince Harry.
Two weeks later, they announced their engagement. The signs that this was coming were already there. In April 2017 she had shut down her lifestyle blog The Tig – a sign for many that her freewheeling days were over – likely both on advice of courtiers, and out of her own common sense.
Growing up in Los Angeles, Ms Markle had worked hard to become an actress. At secondary school – the all-girls Catholic Immaculate Heart – her father, Thomas, an Emmy awardwinning lighting director, would do the lighting for her school plays.
“She was very dedicated. I knew she would be something special,” said
Gigi Perreau, a Hollywood film star in the Forties, Fifties and Sixties, who was Ms Markle’s drama teacher for four years. Yet right from the start, there were hints that she would make her mark in a world beyond acting.
Aged 11, Ms Markle was watching TV advertisements in class as part of a social studies assignment, when she was angered by a commercial for dishwashing soap, which proudly asserted that “women all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans.” She was especially horrified when two boys in her class loudly proclaimed that women “belong” in the kitchen. Inspired by her determined mother, Doria Ragland, who juggled several jobs to raise her, Ms Markle took up a letter-writing campaign to protest against the ad – writing to Hillary Clinton, who was First Lady at the time, and high-flying feminist lawyer Gloria Allred. Shortly after, the company changed their slogan to say: “People all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans.”
At university in Chicago she studied theatre and international relations, and spent a few months working at the US embassy in Buenos Aires, where she became convinced she’d end up working in politics.
“I knew I wanted to do acting, but I hated the idea of being this cliché
– a girl from LA who decides to be an actress,” she told Marie Claire magazine in 2013.
“I wanted more than that, and I had always loved politics, so I ended up changing my major completely, and double-majoring in theatre and international relations.”
It is telling that Ms Markle is said by friends to see Angelina Jolie as a role model – someone who has successfully transitioned from actor to campaigner. And it is no surprise that she has reportedly struck up a keen friendship with Amal Clooney, too. Following in both of their footsteps, she became an advocate for UN Women, giving a speech on gender equality in 2015. She is also an ambassador for World Vision, travelling to Rwanda and India to support their work.
“Meghan sees Angelina Jolie as a huge inspiration and perfect example of a woman who balances family, work and charity drives,” a seasoned La-watcher says.
“She has often spoken about her bravery to go into war zones. For women Meghan’s age, Angelina was an acting influence, but she meant a lot more to her. She feels the actress’s morals are something she strives for.”
If some saw her abandoning her career as an outdated and sad sign, Ms Markle herself certainly doesn’t see it that way. While the Duchess of Cambridge seems content with a more traditional role within the Royal household, Meghan is likely to take a different approach and see it as a way she can naturally progress towards humanitarian work. “With Harry beside her, she’s confident she would be able to have the right kind of backing to support her,” a source said.
Having documented her love of food in her blog, Ms Markle is also said to be inspired by Michelle
‘I hated the idea of being an LA girl who decides to be an actress’
Obama, who led the Let’s Move! public health campaign. According to those who know her she loves to cook and prides herself on her healthy diet. Whether she follows Obama’s example, we’ll have to wait and see, but it is sure that, while she walked away from her acting career, the spotlight will remain firmly on her and whatever she does next.
“As a strong woman marrying into our Royal family, she’s going to be a role model for any woman – black, white,” Idris Elba, the British actor, said in December. “Of course she’s going to be a beacon and of course she’s going to be someone that people look towards.”
Asked if that is important to him, he replied: “I think it is. Absolutely. Our country is built on our monarchy, we love our monarchy and it’s good to be connected.”
“It’s not like she’s walking away from her acting career,” adds John Ferriter, an La-based talent manager at The Alternative Company. “In fact Meghan is about to play the greatest role of her life.”