Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981), is an American member of the British royal family and a former actress.

Markle was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Her acting career began while at Northwestern University. She attributed early career difficulties to her biracial heredity. Her last and most significant on-screen role was that of Rachel Zane for seven seasons (2011–2018) in the American TV legal drama Suits. She also developed a social media presence. This included The Tig (2014–2017) lifestyle blog which garnered recognition for her fashion sense and led to the creation and release of two clothing lines in 2015–2016. During The Tig period, Markle became involved in charity work focused primarily on women's issues and social justice.