Meghan Markle has gone from actress to future Duchess of Sussex, and this weekend she’s got the eyes of the world on her. Born 4 August 1981, Meghan grew up in Los Angeles, California. Her dad worked in the TV circuit, which is why Meghan and after she eventually ended up playing the lead female in US drama Suits. It’s her relationship with Harry which really propelled her to the spotlight.

Meghan and Harry’s romance has had the world on tenterhooks since it was first confirmed they were dating in November 2016 with the now infamous statement from Harry. The pair – Harry, 33, and Meghan, 36 – had been dating since July 2016, keeping things discreet for four months. One year after they confirmed they were serious, their engagement was then announced on 27 November 2017. But while Meghan – whose real name is Rachel Meghan Markle – might have given up her role on Suits to move to London to live with her Prince, she was famous in her own right long before he came into her life.

Meghan’s first appearance on screen was in the background of an episode of General Hospital. Other small roles for Markle, who, at 5ft 6, Meghan is shorter than her Prince, who is 6ft 1 tall, included in CSI: NY, The War At Home and Century City. While she was a jobbing actress, she worked as a freelance calligrapher to keep the money coming in. During this time she wrote the wedding invites for Paula Patton and Robin Thicke’s 2005 nuptials.

Other roles that came included Love, Inc, Knight Rider, Without a Trace, The League, Castle, Get Him To The Greek, Remember Me and Horrible Bosses. Somewhat more notable roles came when she was filmed in a scene for 90210 in which her character had to give one of the lead characters oral sex, when she was a Deal Or No Deal briefcase girl and then when she was a temporary burger griller for Men’s Health. In 2015, she wrote: ‘I wasn’t black enough for the black roles and I wasn’t white enough for the white ones, leaving me somewhere in the middle as the ethnic chameleon who couldn’t book a job.’ It was in 2011 when she landed the role of Rachel Zane in the USA Network show Suits. She stayed on Suits until the end of series seven, which finished filming at the end of 2017, when she quit the show to focus on her work as a royal wife.

Other projects include The Tig, which Markle ran from 2014 to 2017 when it was closed down. It was a lifestyle website and she coined the name from her favourite wine – The Tignanello. According to Know Networth, Meghan’s net worth is around $7million (£5m). It is, of course, a fraction of Prince Harry’s net worth, which is believed to be around £34million. Other projects include The Tig, which Markle ran from 2014 to 2017 when it was closed down. It was a lifestyle website and she coined the name from her favourite wine – The Tignanello. According to Know Networth, Meghan’s net worth is around $7million (£5m).