MEGHAN’S SISTER TELLS ALL
Samantha Grant shares new details about Meghan Markle’s childhood and family drama
Asa little girl, Meghan Markle never wanted to be a princess. “I never saw her dress up [ like that],” her half-sister, Samantha Grant, tells Life & Style, “or make a point to watch the royals any more than she watched Care Bears or Sesame Street.”
Now, of course, the 36-year-old actress is about to become a princess when she weds Prince Harry, 33, on May 19. And in an exclusive interview, Samantha (who shares a father with Meghan) is opening up about everything from her sister’s hidden talents to her treatment of their dad, Thomas Markle. “I’m proud of her,” Samantha, 53, tells Life & Style. “As a young woman, she was always the light of my life.” But those feelings are now bittersweet. The siblings haven’t been in contact for years. “I do strongly feel that no matter how busy you are,” Samantha says, “you keep in touch with family.”
DIFFERENT WORLDS
Samantha insists she and Meghan aren’t actually estranged. The onetime actress and academic, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2008 and is w wheelchair-bound, was 16 when her father, a former Hollywood lighting direct tor, 73, and his second wife, Doria Ragland, 61, a social w worker and yoga instructor, had Meghan. ( They s split six years later.) They were close but lost touch around the time Meghan landed Suits in 2011. Samantha was hurt when she wasn’t invited to Meghan’s wedding that year to producer Trevor Engelson. “We were never distant other than that we both got busy,” says Samantha. “I do feel [my disability] might have been an embarrassment [to her] because... there was no reason to not invite me.”
She also thinks Meghan should do more to help their dad, who filed for bankruptcy in 2016 and lives in Mexico. “When I say my dad was amazing and selfsacrificing for us, that’s an understatement,” says Samantha. “She definitely needs to appreciate and reciprocate.” Samantha says Meghan, who talks to their dad “maybe once every couple of weeks,” hasn’t offered him financial assistance. “And she could have. If you can spend $75,000 on a dress [for engagement photos], you can spend $75,000 on your dad. He should be comfortable and in a great house with security.”
Despite some tension in their relationship, Saman- tha says she’s happy for Meghan. Being a royal “is going to be stressful [with] a demanding schedule, but she’ll handle it perfectly,” she notes, adding that as a child, Meghan was “wellmannered and extremely disciplined.” If acting hadn’t worked out, Samantha says, Meghan has hidden talents she could’ve fallen back on: “She’s very artistic and could be a fabulous impressionist painter. She’s also a good dancer.”
Samantha believes her sister and Harry are a perfect pair. So will she be invited to the royal wedding? “I would hope so,” she says. “Of course I’d be hurt if I wasn’t invited. We were family.”