Little-known acting roles Meghan Markle had before her huge ‘Suits’ show success

Before she became the now Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, had an array of TV and film roles that all led to her role as Rachel Zane in the hit US show Suits

Long before she said yes to the role of the leading lady in Harry’s life, the now Duchess of Sussex graced TV screens for reasons other than royalty.

An actress for many years prior, she gained both profile and popularity as one of the protagonists in the US TV series, Suits. Working on the hit show in the role of Rachel Zane from 2011 to 2017, she played a headstrong paralegal.

Her final two-hour-long episode aired in 2018 – the same year she married her prince. She said about her departure from the show: “I don’t see it as giving anything up.”

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Markle played a headstrong paralegal during her time on the hit show Suits
She continued: “I just see it as a change. It’s a new chapter, right? And also, keep in mind, I’ve been working on [Suits] for seven years. We were very, very fortunate to have that sort of longevity on a series.”

Her Suits success was, perhaps, down to the lesser-known roles leading up to it. Markle first appeared on Nick News (Nickleoden’s American educational television news magazine aimed at children and teenagers) challenging gender equality in advertising.

Cut to 2002 and she appeared in her first onscreen appearance as a nurse in General Hospital where her father, Thomas Markle, was the lighting director. Guest roles in Century City (2004), The War at Home (2005) and CSI:NY (2004) followed before she became the ‘briefcase girl’ on the US game show, Deal or No Deal in 2005.

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Reflecting on her time on the show she told Esquire: “I would put [Deal or No Deal] in the category of things I was doing while I was auditioning to try to make ends meet. Definitely working on Deal or No Deal was a learning experience, and it helped me to understand what I would rather be doing.”

The couple married the same year her last episode of Suits aired
Following her time on Deal or No Deal, Markle made brief appearances in episodes of Cuts (2005); Love, Inc (2005); Beverly Hills 90210 (2008); Knight Rider (2008); Without a Trace (2002); The League (2009); and Castle (2009). That same year she starred in the rom-com movie ‘A lot Like Love’ with Ashton Kutcher.

She also featured in movies including ‘Get Him to the Greek’ in 2010 and ‘Remember Me’ in the same year before starring in Horrible Bosses in 2011. She now lives in the celebrity enclave of Montecito, Southern California, with her husband Prince Harry and their two children Archie and Lilibet.