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Culture April 3, 2017
Meghan Markle currently holds the title of the most searched woman on Google. Since news about her relationship with Prince Harry surfaced, Markle’s profile has skyrocketed and everyone seems to be interested in her past, present and future.
But here at ENTITY we know that a woman is more than just her relationship to a man. So, we’re here to introduce her to you outside of Prince Harry.
What has she been up to and who is Meghan Markle, exactly? Here are five facts you should know.
Markle is best known for her role as the tenacious and intelligent paralegal Rachel Zane on “Suits.” Rachel is one of the female leads on the show, one that Markle describes as the “dream girl.” She’s beautiful, confident and intelligent. But on top of that, Markle feels that Rachel’s biracial identity has also “helped shift the way pop culture defines beauty.” Before Rachel, “dream girls” were blonde and blue-eyed, not “some biracial ‘can’t tell what she is’ girl.”
But aside from “Suits,” the 35-year-old actress has also made appearances on the big screen. She was in “Horrible Bosses” as Jamie, “Remember Me” as Megan and “Fringe” as Junior FBI Agent Amy Jessup.
Although Markle and Rachel Zane have similarities, Markle is definitely more laid back than her on-screen character. In real life, her wardrobe is more approachable and less like the “false reality” Rachel Zane portrays. When asked about her own personal style, Markle uses Rachel as a point of comparison and tells Ebony, “Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s an Instagram filter?”
Markle also has her own website, The Tig. According to her, The Tig aims to create a hub of positivity and affirmation. “On the show, people see me in $5,000 Tom Ford skirts, but that’s not what I have in my closet at home. I never want to lose touch with reality,” she explains. “I want Tig to be like a friend that’s always there for you; a great place that makes you feel good.”
The website is ad-free with a calm aesthetic and you can find many of Markle’s inspirations on this website. With this, Markle is free to be more like herself, one who is accessible and unpretentious.
When news of Markle’s romance with Prince Harry made headlines, many people were on the defense about her ethnicity. As a half black and half white woman, she was harassed for being “almost straight outta Compton.”
However, the 35-year-old actress has since been outspoken about being biracial and how proud she is of it. In an open letter posted on Elle UK, Markle discusses her experience growing up and how she came to accept her identity.
“While my mixed race heritage may have created a grey area surrounding my self-identification, keeping me with a foot on both sides of the fence, I have come to embrace that,” she writes in her letter.
As a United Nations global ambassador, Markle dedicates a good chunk of her time in other countries. For starters, she’s worked as an advocate for the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.
Then in 2016, Markle became an ambassador for World Vision’s Clean Water Campaign. Under that title, she traveled to various communities in Rwanda to help build a well and to teach the community how to use that well. With the newly constructed wells, young girls didn’t have to walk all day to gather water, which in turn made them less susceptible to trafficking.
In addition, Markle also served as a counselor for the international charity One Young World in 2014, where she spoke about gender equality and modern-day slavery.
As her humanitarian work proves, Markle isn’t shy when it comes to gender equality issues.
She recently visited Delhi, India as a World Vision ambassador and there she learned more about women’s hygiene, healthcare and education in the country. Her experience pushed her to write an open letter on TIME about the stigma against menstruation, explaining the problem and why it’s important. At the end of the letter, she also encouraged others to help women in impoverished regions gain access to education.
“When we empower girls hungry for education, we cultivate women who are emboldened to effect change within their communities and globally. If that is our dream for them, then the promise of it must begin with us,” Markle wrote.
And overall, even though she does a lot to be proud of, Markle admits to Ebony, “I don’t sit around thinking about my titles and roles. I just do what feels right.”
What’s not to love about her?
