Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (born Rachel Meghan Markle on August 4, 1981, in Los Angeles) is an American media personality, entrepreneur, and former actress who became a member of the British royal family upon marrying Prince Harry in 2018. She first gained fame playing Rachel Zane on the legal drama Suits (2011–2018) and ran a lifestyle blog, The Tig, while advocating for women's issues. After welcoming two children, Archie and Lilibet, the couple stepped down as working royals in January 2020 and relocated to Southern California, where they launched the business and charitable organization Archewell Inc.. She has remained a prominent public figure through her explosive 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, and her podcast Archetypes, and she officially launched her lifestyle brand As Ever in April 2025. Raised in a mixed-race household, she studied theater at Northwestern University and briefly interned at the US embassy in Buenos Aires before pursuing her acting career.