SeeHer Story Celebrates Meghan Markle, Who Broke Barriers as a Royal, in Episode 7
SeeHer Story: Meghan Markle
We're celebrating Meghan Markle's birthday by taking a look at her journey from actress to Duchess of Sussex!
Meghan Markle has redefined what it means to be royal.
The Hollywood actress turned duchess has always stayed true herself, despite being launched into the public eye as part of the British Royal family.
Since becoming a royal, the 39-year-old continues to break barriers, which is why the team at SeeHer Story chose to celebrate her accomplishments in this week's episode.
Katie Couric Media and PEOPLE partnered to create the second season of SeeHer Story, a weekly digital video series produced to celebrate various female trailblazers from the past 100 years to today.
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Born in 1981 in Los Angeles, Markle was itching to make a difference in the world from a young age.
At only 11, she noticed sexist language in one of Procter & Gamble's cleaning ads and was determined to have it changed. Markle decided to write to the company, requesting that they rework the commercial.
“I don’t think it’s right for kids to grow up thinking these things, that just Mom does everything," she said in a clip from her childhood.
To her surprise, the company listened.
In high school, Markle took an interest in acting and spent time volunteering at a soup kitchen on L.A.'s Skid Row. She went on to study at Northwestern University, where she graduated with a double major in theater and international studies.
Markle hoped to make it in Hollywood shortly after graduation, but was met with few opportunities as a biracial actress.
Shane Mahood/USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Meghan Markle (left) on Suits
"I wasn't Black enough for the Black roles and I wasn't white enough for the white ones," she once described of her experience.
In 2011, Markle got her big break on the television drama Suits, playing Rachel Zane for seven seasons. That same year, she married producer Trevor Engleson, but the pair divorced two years later.
Markle first met Prince Harry in 2016 after a mutual friend set them up on a blind date.
"I didn’t know much about him, and so the only thing I had asked her when she said she wanted to set us up was — I had one question — I said, ‘Is he nice?’ ” she recalled asking before meeting the royal.
Ben STANSALL - WPA Pool/Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
Samir Hussein/WireImage
The two hit it off and announced their engagement in November 2017. In May 2018, the couple walked down the aisle, with nearly 2 billion people tuning in from around the world.
For Markle, becoming a royal wasn't easy. As a divorced American woman of color, Meghan was considered by many an unconventional addition to the family, and she and Harry received frequent backlash from the press.
In May 2019, Markle and Harry welcomed their first child, son Archie, and continued to be bombarded by media attention, much of which was negative.
The following January, the couple made the groundbreaking decision to step back as "senior" members of the royal family — a move that left the monarchy spinning.
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Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the couple relocated to Los Angeles and Harper Collins announced the upcoming biography about the couple, Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family. (A spokesperson for the couple previously said in a statement, "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not interviewed and did not contribute to Finding Freedom. This book is based on the authors’ own experiences as members of the royal press corps and their own independent reporting.")
Markle recently gave back to her community as the virtual commencement speaker at her former high school. During her speech, she addressed the Black Lives Matter movement and urged students to speak out about issues affecting their community.
Dominic Lipinski/PA Images
Meghan Markle
"We’re seeing people stand in solidarity, we are seeing communities come together and to uplift, and you are going to be part of this movement," she said in her speech.
SeeHer Story will be a regular feature in PEOPLE’s print edition, the weekday morning newsletter Wake-Up Call with Katie Couric and on PeopleTV’s entertainment show, PEOPLE Now.
"SeeHer Story celebrates the important contributions of bold women from the past 100 years who have changed our country forever,” said Couric in a statement. “We hope recognizing them and telling their stories will not only give them their due but will also inspire the next generation of leaders.”
She added, “Together with Meredith and PEOPLE, I’m so excited to bring back a second season of stories of women whose names you may know — and put those whose achievements are not as well-known — front and center so we can celebrate them as well.”
