Meghan Markle to Join SXSW Women’s Panel with Katie Couric and Brooke Shields

Meghan Markle will be a keynote speaker at South By Southwest 2024 alongside Katie Couric and Brooke Shields.

Meghan has been chosen to participate in SXSW’s opening day keynote panel, “Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On and Off the Screen,” presented by The Archewell Foundation and The 19th, on Friday, March 8.

Meghan, who co-founded the Archewell Foundation and Archewell Productions with husband Prince Harry, will be joined at the Austin, Texas, event by Couric, Shields and Nancy Wang Yuen, a sociologist and diversity equity and inclusion consultant for Peoplism.

Moderated by Errin Haines, host of “The Amendment” podcast and editor-at-large for The 19th (a nonprofit news organization focused on gender and politics), the panel discussion will take place on International Women’s Day. Per the festival description, the panel will center around how social media has created “an often dangerous environment which has led to serious mental health issues for teenage girls in particular.”

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Additionally, the panelists will discuss “women’s representation across media, entertainment and social media,” according to The 19th.

“Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, Katie Couric, Brooke Shields, Nancy Wang Yuen and Errin Haines are the perfect finishing touch to eight days of remarkable Keynote Speakers,” Hugh Forrest, co-president and chief programming officer of SXSW, said in a statement. “We are so honored to host this distinguished group on International Women’s Day for a significant discussion on the importance of representation in media and entertainment.”

Meghan signed a deal with Lemonada Media in February, when a source exclusively told Us Weekly the Duchess of Sussex had a “dynamic” new podcast “in the works.” Her previous podcast, “Archetypes,” launched on Spotify in August 2022, but was removed from the platform when the deal was terminated in June the following year. Meghan will re-release episodes of “Archetypes” through her deal with Lemonada.

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“[She] wants to do mostly philanthropic-type content,” the insider told Us. “She considers herself too academic for entertainment-only. She doesn’t want the podcast to be celebrity-driven, though she’ll have some stars on.”

Per the source, the podcast will include some “inner reflecting” and personal stories from the Suits alum.

“Being able to support a female founded company with a roster of thought provoking and highly entertaining podcasts is a fantastic way to kick off 2024,” Meghan said in a statement released to Us Weekly on February 13. “Our plan [is] to re-release Archetypes so that more people can now have access to it, as well as launching a dynamic new podcast are well in the works.”

2024’s SXSW festival includes keynote speeches from Oscar-winning directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (known professionally as Daniels), as well as Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney of rock band The Black Keys.

Other featured speakers include several creatives with projects screening at the festival, including Sydney Sweeney (Immaculate), Lilly Singh (Doin’ It); Alex Garland, Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura and Cailee Spaeny (Civil War); Colman Domingo, Paul Raci and Clarence (Divine Eye); Maclin (Sing Sing); Pamela Adlon, Ilana Glazer and Michelle Buteau (Babes); and Nick Kroll (I Don’t Understand You) with Conan O’Brien.

SXSW will take place in Austin from March 8-16.