Long before she was a member of the Royal Family, Meghan Markle was a prolific and popular actor. After a handful of embarrassing roles, she eventually became a household name thanks to the success of her show Suits. Prince Harry ultimately took Meghan away from the world of acting, and fans have been waiting for years to see her appear on the big screen or small screen once again.
Those fans have now gotten their wish, but not in the way they had hoped. Meghan Markle’s latest acting endeavor is a big step down from her previous successes, and it’s bad enough to make us wonder if she’s going through a midlife crisis. What is Meghan’s acting career like these days, and what rocky road led her here? Keep reading to find out!
A rocky early career
It’s easy to think that Meghan Markle was always a star. After seven seasons on Suits, it certainly seemed like she was born for this career. However, like most actors, she actually had a very humble start before she got her big break.
For example, Meghan appeared in many police procedural series, but none was quite as silly as when she appeared on CSI: New York as a maid who cleans homes in her undies. And her role as a barely-clothed cage fighter in the Knight Rider reboot was arguably even worse. She also memorably appeared in Deal Or No Deal, and while she had most of her clothes on for the role, being one of the show’s infamous briefcase girls is embarrassing in an entirely different way.
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Becoming a breakout star
It’s possible that Meghan Markle could have turned all those odd acting jobs into a career in its own right. She might have even become a legendary character actor. But fortunately for her career, she left obscurity behind when she landed a leading role in the successful USA Network show Suits.
On that show, she played a paralegal named Rachel Zane who eventually became a lawyer. Arguably, though, the real draw of the show was her steamy onscreen relationship with her costar Patrick J. Adams. Ironically, that onscreen relationship was cut short thanks to Meghan’s offscreen romance with the most unexpected possible suitor!
Leaving acting for the best reason
Suits went on for nine seasons, but Meghan Markle left after season seven. She didn’t leave because she got a better acting gig, though. Instead, she left because her unexpected relationship with Prince Harry had gotten more serious than either of them had anticipated.
She and Prince Harry ended up getting married in 2018, and everyone was hoping the two would enjoy their own happily ever after. Unfortunately, behind-the-scenes drama led to her and Harry leaving England altogether and moving to America. Soon enough, Meghan’s fans were clamoring for her triumphant return to acting, especially when she and Harry ended up making Los Angeles their new home.
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Her media deals sparked hope for a return to acting
After leaving England, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ended up giving a bombshell interview to Oprah which aired plenty of their dirty laundry. One of the juicier tidbits was that Prince Charles had angrily cut Harry off from the family fortune. Since he and Meghan were stepping down from their positions as working royals, they were going to have to make their own money once they got to America.
To do that, the two rebellious royals ended up striking media deals with Spotify and Netflix. The Spotify deal ended up fizzling out, but Meghan’s appearance on the Netflix show Harry & Meghan caused a stir among her many fans. Those fans all began asking the same question: how long would it be before she began starring in movies and television shows yet again?
Fans hoped to see Meghan Markle in a ‘Suits’ reunion show
While fans were happy to stream Harry & Meghan, things came full circle for Meghan Markle once Netflix began streaming Suits. The show ended up setting some major records for the streaming giant, and it also led to rampant fan speculation that we would end up getting a Suits reunion show.
The jury is still out on whether we’ll get such a show, and even if we do, it’s equally uncertain whether Meghan Markle will reprise her role. However, after seeing her recent disappointing return to acting, we’re hoping she’ll return to starring in quality shows once again.
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Meghan’s real return to acting is a disappointment
Recently, you could say that Meghan Markle began putting her mouth where her money is. She has been a longtime investor in Clevr Blends, a company that sells instant latte blends consisting of probiotics, adaptogens, and mushrooms. Meghan appeared in a video that the brand posted to Instagram, and it looks like the Duchess is having plenty of fun.
You can see her doing a variety of activities in the commercial: working on a computer, packing boxes, scoping out the fridge, and even failing to deliver a successful fist bump. While we love to see Meghan kicking back and having fun in this ad, we can’t help but feel that her return to acting is a major disappointment. She used to captivate millions of people a week in one of the world’s most famous dramas…now, she’s hawking coffee on Instagram, and it’s more than a little sad to witness.