Meghan Markle is a former American actress and a member of the British Royal Family through her marriage to Prince Harry, the second son of King Charles III. Through her marriage, she earned the title Duchess of Sussex.

Markle was born Rachel Meghan Markle in Los Angeles, California, on August 4, 1981. She was raised in LA by her mother, Doria Ragland, and attended Northwestern University. She graduated in 2003, earning a bachelor's degree with a double major in theater and international studies.

Markle's early acting roles included small parts in Get Him to the Greek, Remember Me and Horrible Bosses. She joined the cast of Suits in 2011, playing the part of Rachel Zane on the hit legal drama for seven seasons.

Simultaneously, Markle began building a social media following and launched her now-defunct lifestyle blog, The Tig, in 2014. During this time Markle also became involved in charity work focused primarily on women's issues and social justice.

Markle's first marriage was to American film producer Trevor Engelson who she married in 2011. They divorced in 2014.

Markle met Prince Harry through mutual friends in 2016 and announced their engagement in November 2017, at which time Markle announced that she would be retiring from acting. The couple married in a televised ceremony in Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018. Markle and Harry welcomed a son, Archie, on May 6, 2019. Their daughter, Lilibet, was born on June 4, 2021.

In January 2020, the couple announced that they were stepping down as working members of the royal family amid intense media scrutiny that took a toll on Markle's mental health. They soon relocated to California and launched Archewell Inc., a mix of for-profit and charitable business organizations.

Markle also launched a now-cancelled podcast, Archetypes and appeared alongside her husband in Harry & Meghan, a Netflix docuseries about their exit from and life after the royal family, which was released in December 2022.

In 2024, Markle launched American Riviera Orchard, a lifestyle brand selling a range of homeware, cookware and food products.