Even in the United States, there remains a fascination with the British Royal Family. From royal weddings televised for millions to see, to award-winning television shows documenting the family struggles, we can't get enough of the royals.
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In 2018, the Royal family added a new member to their family, an American actress named Meghan Markle. Almost immediately, the world became enamored by her beauty, grace, and charm. Here are 30 interesting, little-known facts about the Duchess of Sussex…
What's in a Name
Despite what most people think, Meghan's true name is not Meghan at all, not her first name anyway. Her full name is Rachel Meghan Markle, she may have just chosen to go by her middle and last names because of the lovely-sounding alliteration.
Married with Children
Many people don't know this but Meghan's dad was actually involved in Hollywood even when she was a child. He was lighting director and director of photography on the television show, Married…with Children, and Meghan accompanied him on set every day after school for 10 years.
Lighting Her Way
Growing up on a TV set was, for lack of a better term, enlightening for Meghan. She learned how to act and more importantly, what light she looked best in and if she didn't her father would make sure to call her and give her advice.
Catholic Lass
Meghan attended an all-girls Catholic school as a child and learned a few lessons that seem to be missing from lessons today, things like cursive writing. It was in those classes that the previously nerdy-looking actress learned her incredibly neat handwriting and a love for writing in general.
Calligrapher
Her Catholic school experience helped her develop a particular aptitude for calligraphy. She admitted to Esquire that though no one seems interested in it anymore, she is happy to keep the lost art of calligraphy alive. She even turned it into a side hustle by designing handwritten invites for celebrities in her days as a waitress.
Preteen Advocate
Even from the tender age of 11, Meghan was an advocate for her people. She spoke out against sexism and became an early advocate for women's rights after seeing a commercial that overtly suggested only women did dishes.
Smarty Pants
A self-proclaimed "theater nerd" in college, Meghan also happened to be a very bright student indeed. Her keen interest in both performance and politics saw her taking a double major in theater and international relations at Northwestern University.
Embassy? Sweet
After college, Meghan managed to secure herself a position as an intern at the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires for a few months. She was only 20 years old, and even then saw herself truly developing a career in politics as opposed to the stage. She had no idea she might actually end up doing both.
Suitcase Gal
After that, the college graduate found herself a gig on the popular TV game show, Deal or No Deal. She didn't host or anything, just stood up with the other suitcase girls holding what could have been the winning case until she was picked and could get off the five-inch heels she'd found herself in.
Reflection in Character
Eventually, Meghan got a lead role on the television drama Suits as Rachel, an ambitious, driven young attorney who was ready to take life by the horns. As it happens, she sees a lot of herself in that character, which made the part that much easier to play in the long-run.
Foodie
Another thing that Meghan and her Suits alter-ego Rachel share, is a love of food. The show creators even made Rachel a foodie because of Meghan's foodie-sensibilities. She loves farm-to-table recipes and trying unique dishes wherever she goes.
Elevating Flavor
She doesn't just love eating food, she likes cooking it, too. Meghan claims that she can elevate a dish with only a few additional ingredients and that she prides herself on knowing what sort of things will add or detract from a meal.
Personal Style
While filming Suits, Meghan wore a wonderfully-designed array of styles, but she also chose to reflect even more of herself into Rachel's character as well. She would do so by wearing her own personal jewelry on set, items like her grandmother's charm bracelet and her signet ring.
Canadian Fashion
As an actress in 2015, Meghan managed to get a contract with Canadian retailer Reitmans and became their brand ambassador. Reitmans wanted to re-invigorate their brand and even released a capsule collection of dresses co-designed by Meghan herself in 2016.
The Tig Blog
Before she became a duchess, Meghan used to run a passion-project lifestyle blog called The Tig. It was born out of her discovering the difference between red and white wine. All that remains at the web address is a lovely message offering a farewell from Meghan to fans of The Tig.
Unique Sounds
One of Meghan's favorite genres of music is Indie. Her current iPod playlist includes artists like the Crystal Fighters, Maggie Rogers, and Janelle Monáe, to name a few.
Distant Cousins
If you dive deep into Meghan's family history, there is actually a branch on her distant family tree that makes her and her new husband very, very distant cousins. This is, of course, fifteen or so generations back, however, so it's not superbly important, is it?
Special Nose
Meghan's beauty is easy for anyone with eyes to see and since she became a royal consort, her nose has been a major plastic surgery request all over the world; especially in Hollywood. She has since supplanted the Kardashians as the number one requested plastic surgery inspirations.
Apples to Apples
During her tenure on the set of Suits, Meghan enjoyed taking breaks to play Apples to Apples and drink some scotch with her fellow actors. Even when shooting would end late, they'd while away the wee hours playing the game and hanging out together.
Travel Bug
Meghan has always loved to travel and had begun traveling the world long before she crossed the pond and met Prince Harry. She has biked through Vietnam, driven a campervan in New Zealand, and toured the whole coast of Croatia. Lord knows where else she'll tour now that she's the Duchess of Sussex.
Balancing Act
Meghan is also highly health-conscience and has a balanced workout regime to keep her flawless figure. She usually uses a mix of running and yoga, two exercise methods that allow her to indulge her outdoorsy side.
Dog Mom
While visiting an LA dog shelter, Meghan ran into fellow celebrity Ellen DeGeneres and the comedian convinced her to adopt two dogs that she was playing with while she was there. Her logic was simple, if Ellen tells you to do something, you do it.
Tennis Pals
Meghan also happens to be close friends with tennis superstar Serena Williams. The two struck up a friendship around traveling and Serena became a sort of confidant when Meghan was on the road. They also share a love of hot sauce, fashion, and more than anything else, ambition to do more by exceeding expectations.
Another Ambassador
The new duchess also happens to be a global ambassador for World Vision Canada, which is only one of her philanthropic initiatives. She has traveled to Rwanda and India to support campaigns for clean water and women's education; something very close to her heart.
Classic Looks
Meghan prefers to stick to cult classic looks when she does her own makeup, though she doesn't have to much these days. She prefers Dior and Nars blush in Orgasm, both of which she says give her a nice glow from within that shows up on camera.
Plus-One
Before they were married, Meghan served as Prince Harry's plus-one for Pippa Middleton's wedding. He reportedly drove more than 100 miles to bring her to his sister-in-law's wedding reception. If that isn't love, we don't know what is.
A Duchess
Meghan's marriage to Prince Harry has garnered her the official title the Duchess of Sussex. She also happens to be the first women to hold that title. This will likely remain that way until the title Duke of Sussex is potentially bestowed upon one of her subsequent children.
A Written Account
Her estranged half-sister Samantha Markle is apparently writing a "juicy tell-all" about growing up with Meghan. The tentative title is The Diary of Princess Pushy's Sister, but will likely be quashed by any means necessary by Meghan's new royal family.
Heavily Googled
In 2016, Meghan was the most-Googled actress for the whole year. This was mostly due to her new relationship with Prince Harry. That high Google status was equally impressive the year she got married as well.
Boyfriend
Meghan was actually dating someone when she met Prince Harry. Of course, her relationship with Canadian chef Cory Vitiello had been on the rocks at that point and she didn't take up with the prince until after they had parted ways, but still the attraction was there.