Ever since news broke that Prince Harry was dating Suits actress Meghan Markle in 2016, we've been increasingly interested with knowing everything about the 36-year-old former actress.
From the early days of the pair's romance, we've since learned the duo had already met each other's parents, Meghan gifted Kate Middleton a dream diary for her birthday 36th birthday, she helped choose out a Christmas tree with her royal beau for Kensington Palace, Prince Harry once made a 1,700 mile detour to visit the actress in Canada on his way back from Barbados and they've been spotted hitting private member's club Soho House on numerous occasions with friends.
From supporting female education, healthcare and empowerment to her starring role in USA Networks's hit television series, we explore everything you need to know about the new Duchess of Sussex:
What is Meghan Markle's age?
Meghan was born in Los Angeles on 4 August 1981 to Doria, a yoga instructor and clinical therapist, and Thomas, an Emmy Award-winning director of photography. She has an older brother called Thomas Markle Jr. and a half sister called Samantha. She is 36-years-old.
How tall is Meghan Markle?
It is widely believed the Duchess is 5ft 6in, which is a full four inches shorter than her sister-in-law Kate Middleton, who is 5ft 10in. As a result, this means Meghan is eight inches shorter than her husband and one inch taller than the UK average height for a woman.
She's also rumoured to wear a UK size 7 shoe.
Where is Meghan Markle from?
According to the Californian star's IMDb page, the self-proclaimed biracial actress is listed under the name 'Rachel Meghan Markle' – and not 'Meghan Markle' as we have come to know her as, which hardcore Suits fans will find ironic given the namesake of her Suits character, Rachel Zane in the show.
At the age of 11, she wrote to then First Lady Hillary Clinton to complain about a soap advertisement that suggested a woman's place was in the kitchen, according to the Telegraph. As a result, the soap's manufacturer altered the advert.
Meghan also graduated from Northwestern University in 2003 with a double major in theatre and international relations.
How did she become an actress?
To fund herself between early acting jobs, Markle reportedly worked as a freelance calligrapher.
In an interview with Matches Fashion, she revealed her acting career started when her friend passed on an amateur film she'd made at university to a manager at a party in Buenos Aires, Argentina when she was working there for the US Embassy.
The day after the event, she says the manager called her and said: 'You're going to make money, and I want to take 10 per cent'.
She attended Pippa Middleton's wedding
Hours after we were in mourning as to Meghan Markle's 'no-show' at Pippa Middleton's wedding at St Mark's Church in Englefield, Berkshire in May 2017, Prince Harry reportedly made a 100-mile round trip to drive back to Kensington Palace to pick up his girlfriend, to bring her back to Englefield for Pippa's wedding reception in the gardens of her parents' estate.
Markle's appearance at the wedding came two months after she attended her first wedding with her beau in Jamaica for the nuptials of his schoolfriend Tom 'Skippy' Inskip and Lara Hughes-Young.
She used to work as a 'briefcase' girl on 'Deal Or No Deal'
In an interview with Esquire, the star revealed: 'I would put that in the category of things I was doing while I was auditioning to try to make ends meet.
'I went from working in the US Embassy in Argentina to ending up on Deal. It's run the gamut. Definitely working on Deal or No Deal was a learning experience, and it helped me to understand what I would rather be doing. So if that's a way for me to gloss over that subject, then I will happily shift gears into something else,' she added.
Following minor roles in television shows such as General Hospital, 90210, Knight Rider and CSI:NY, the went into star in box office hits including Get Him to the Greek and Horrible Bosses, starring Jennifer Aniston.
She previously starred in USA Network's legal drama Suits, as Rachel Zane, a paralegal at the law firm Pearson Hardman. Other than her undeniable beauty, Zane shows off a keen eye for detail, a tremendous work ethic and intelligence. She left the show in 2017 following her engagement to Prince Harry.
She became the most Googled actress of 2016
Other names that made the cut on the most popular searched actresses this year include Marion Cotillard, Leslie Jones, Alicia Vikander and Brie Larson.
Where does she currently live?
She currently lives with Prince harry at Nottingham Cottage, a two-bedroomed property in the grounds of Kensington Palace. Known by royal insiders as 'Nott Cott'. the house boasts two bedrooms, two reception rooms, a bathroom and a small garden.
Architectural Digest also reports that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex signed a two-year lease for a new home on the Great Tew Estate in the West Country, just two weeks after their royal wedding at Windsor Castle.
Before moving to the UK, Markle lived in Toronto with her dogs, Bogart and Guy where she filmed Suits.
Her house's decor featured mid-century modern furnishings, a mostly white palette with pops of colors and what seems like an endless supply of cozy materials. It's basically a Pinterest-lover's dream.
She adopted the dogs after visiting a dog rescue shelter and being told to become the animals' owner after a run-in with Ellen DeGeneres.
She previously told Best Health magazine: 'I saw him and I was sitting there with him and then Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi walk in. Now, I don't now her, but Ellen goes 'Is that your dog?' And I said, 'No,' and she's like, 'You have to take that dog.' And I said, 'Well, I'm deciding.' And she's like, 'Rescue the dog!'
How does she view herself?
Meghan hasn't been afraid to talk openly about her responsibility as a 'global citizen' over the years.
Explaining that her mother brought her up to be a 'global citizen', Markle wrote an essay for ELLE describing the difficulty balancing her fame and responsibility.
She writes: 'My parents came from little so they made a choice to give a lot: buying turkeys for homeless shelters at Thanksgiving, delivering meals to people in hospices, giving spare change to those asking for it.
'It's what I grew up seeing, so it's what I grew up being: a young adult with a social consciousness to do what I could and speak up when I knew something was wrong,' she adds.
What does she do in her spare time?
She was the founder of a lifestyle blog called 'The Tig', a name inspired by her first tasting of a wine called Tignanello - nicknamed 'Tig' - which she credits with helping her understand what wine experts meant when talking of 'the body, legs, structure of wine'.
'It was an ah-ha moment at its finest. For me, it became a 'Tig' moment – a moment of getting it,' she writes on her blog.
The blog featured a range of interviews, political-inspired essays, recipes, travel tips and lifestyle recommendations.
Three years after launching her lifestyle blog, Markle decided to shut down the 'passion project' in April as her romance with Prince Harry heated up.
On the day of closing the website, the 35-year-old Californian took to the homepage and her Instagram account to inform her readers of the news, explaining why she's made the executive decision to bid 'farewell' to the blog.
She wrote: 'After close to three beautiful years on this adventure with you, it's time to say goodbye to The Tig.
'What began as a passion project (my little engine that could) evolved into an amazing community of inspiration, support, fun and frivolity,' she added.
The actress has also recently left her role as brand ambassador of leather good's company Reitmans, prompting speculation she was preparing for an engagement to Prince Harry.
Days after attending Pippa Middleton's wedding and making her first public outing with Prince Harry at the the Audi Polo Challenge in Ascot, Berkshire last year, it appears Meghan Markle has another royal tradition she's eager to learn – how to play polo.
Former England polo player and friend of the prince, Malcolm Borwick, recently revealed the 35-year-old star has developed a new-found interest in the sport.
'I met Meghan the other day for the first time – she's a really, really nice person,' he recently told the Sun.
'She's not a polo player, but she's very keen to learn and I've offered to teach her,' he added.
She spent a month in Italy after reading 'Eat Pray Love'
Inspired to, in Meghan's words 'eat everything, pray (and meditate) often, and simply love my life, every ounce of it', she revealed on her blog that she spent August 2016 traveling around Italy – on a budget – while taking a break from filming Suits.
'It wasn't long ago (cough – about ten years ago – cough) that I only had $40 in my bank account, that I could barely book an audition, and that my circle of friends was even smaller. But even then, without all the pomp and circumstance, I made time to celebrate my life,' she wrote.
She loves to exercise
In an interview with Women's Health in 2016, Meghan revealed she loves to run, meditate and practice yoga.
'Running has always been my form of moving meditation, which I relish because it allows me to get out of my head,' she admitted.
'I love an intense vinyasa class - and even better if its blasting hip-hop and done in a dark room with candlelight,' she added.
She listens to Indie music
In a recent post to her lifestyle blog, The Tig, the 35-year-old shared a playlist of music she's currently listening, which includes the likes of Crystal Fighters, Maggie Rogers and Janelle Monáe.
In the post, she explains she wanted to share her musical tastes to perk up her fans' mood in Winter. 'Turn these tracks on as you're getting ready in the morning, when you need a mid-afternoon pick-me-up, or during your next evening celebration,' she writes.
'Because when the air is filled with positive vibes, there's no winter cold that can block out the warmth of happy hearts,' she adds.
What did her role as a philanthropist involve?
In 2016, the actress became the Global Ambassador for World Vision Canada, and has since traveled to Rwanda and India to support campaigns for clean water and women's education. She's also worked with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women as an Advocate.
In 2016, she wrote an essay for ELLE about finding her voice as a mixed race woman. In her piece, she detailed her difficulty growing up with her biracial identity and indicating her ethnicity. When asked to fill out a form at school to identify her ethnic background, she refused to ticket a box. 'Not as an act of defiance, but rather a symptom of my confusion,' she explained.
She added: 'It's either ironic or apropos that in this world of not fitting in, and of harbouring my emotions so tightly under my ethnically nondescript (and not so thick) skin, that I would decide to become an actress.'
We have a feeling we've only just scratched the surface on Meghan Markle's story.
What are Meghan's go-to beauty essentials?
Speaking to Allure, Meghan one revealed that she loves 'Nars blush in Orgasm. I use it on and off camera because it gives you a nice glow from within.' She also loves Diorshow Iconic and Make Up For Ever HD Powder which she says makes her skin looking 'shiny and fresh, but not greasy-shiny'.
And Meghan's top tip for taking your make-up from day to night?
'If I'm going to amp it up for night, then I use M.A.C. Teddy eyeliner, which is a really beautiful brown that has some gold in it. A make-up artist I work with often, Kayleen McAdams, turned me on to it. It's what she uses on Sofia Vergara, and who wouldn't want those gorgeous brown almond eyes?'
*Buys everything immediately*
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
