Meghan Markle is celebrating her 40th birthday today.
To mark the occasion, we’ve taken a look back at her rise to stardom.
From her small acting roles to her Suits fame, right up until her Royal Wedding and that shocking Oprah interview – we have rounded up some of her stand-out career moments.
Take a look:
2002-2006
Before making it big in Hollywood, Meghan starred in a series of smaller TV roles.Â
The actress landed her first TV role on the daytime soap General Hospital in 2002, in which she played a girl named Jill.
In 2003, Meghan graduated from Northwestern’s School of Communication with a double major in theater and international studies.
After graduating, she went on to make appearances in shows including Cuts, The War at Home, CSI: NY and 90210.Â
In 2005, Meghan landed a film role in Ashton Kutcher’s ‘A Lot Like Love’, playing ‘Hot Girl’.
The Los Angeles native also landed a role in game show ‘Deal or No Deal’ as a briefcase model in 2006.
In the game show, contestants choose from 26 sealed briefcases containing various amounts of cash.
The aim of the game is to open the last briefcase to reveal a high sum of money, which the contestant wins. Meghan appeared on the show for the first two seasons.
2008-2010
In 2008, Meghan landed the role of Sadie Valencia in an ABC film Good Behaviour.
The Duchess met Patrick J. Adams on the set of this movie, who she would go on to star alongside in Suits.Â
Meghan appeared in popular teen drama Beverly Hills, 90210 for two episodes in 2008.
That same year, she played the role of Junior Agent Amy Jessup in FBI drama Fringe, and appeared in sitcom The League.Â
In 2010, Meghan had a role in the romantic drama film ‘Remember Me’, starring Robert Pattinson.
She played a bar woman named Megan in the film.
Her boyfriend at the time, Trevor Engelson, was a producer on the film.
2011
2011 was an important year for the Meghan’s career and personal life.
The actress married her boyfriend Trevor Engelson in Jamaica in September of that year.
She also had a small role in the hit film Horrible Bosses.
The real success came when she landed her role as Rachel Zane in legal drama series Suits.
She played the love interest of bogus lawyer Mike Ross (played by Patrick J. Adams), and appeared as a core cast member in the series for seven seasons.
2014-2016
After divorcing her husband Trevor in 2013, Meghan focused on her career.
She set up a fashion blog called The Tig in 2014, which had a large readership thanks to her Suits fanbase.
The blog, which she ran until 2017, resulted in Meghan releasing two clothing lines with Reitman’s in 2015 and 2016.
Meghan starred in two Hallmark films as her career really took off, playing lead character Amy Peterson in ‘When Sparks Fly’ in 2014, and Cass in ‘Dater’s Handbook’ in 2016.
It was in 2016 that a mutual friend introduced Meghan to her now-husband Prince Harry, and her life changed forever.
2017-Present
In 2017, Prince Harry and Meghan made their first public appearance at the Invictus Games in Toronto. They announced their engagement shortly afterwards.
Meghan’s last episode of Suits aired in 2018 as she focused on her Royal commitments. The show ran for another two seasons after her departure.
On May 19 2018, millions of people around the world tuned into Meghan and Harry’s wedding day, which took place in Windsor Castle in front of a host of famous friends.
Meghan stepped out in a stunning Givenchy silk white gown, which was created by the British fashion designer Clare Waight Keller.
The 40-year-old also wore Queen Mary’s diamond bandeau tiara, which she borrowed from the Queen.
On October 15 that same year, Kensington Palace announced that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were expecting their first child.
Harry and Meghan welcomed their first child together on May 6, 2019 – a baby boy named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
On January 8, 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they would be stepping back from their roles as senior working members of the Royal Family.
The couple then moved to America together, purchasing a home in Montecito, Santa Barbara – neighbouring US chat show host Oprah Winfrey.
Later that year, Meghan tragically suffered a miscarriage, opening up about her heartache in an opinion piece for the New York Times.
On Valentine’s Day in 2021, Meghan and Harry delighted fans by announcing they are expecting their second child.
In their explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey, which aired on CBS on March 7, the couple revealed they are expecting a baby girl.
In the same interview, the couple made some shocking revelations about the Royal Family and the ‘institution’ – who Meghan claimed refused to help her while she was suicidal during her pregnancy with Archie.
Meghan and Harry welcomed their second child at the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California on June 4 – a baby girl named Lilibet Diana.
The couple named their daughter after Queen Elizabeth, whose family nickname is Lilibet, while her middle name pays tribute to Harry’s late mother Princess Diana.
Meghan wrote a children’s book titled ‘The Bench’, which was released on June 8, and credited her husband Prince Harry and their son Archie for inspiring the story.
The actress-turned-royal’s latest role will be as an executive producer on a new animated series for Netflix entitled ‘Pearl’, which will follow the adventures of a 12-year-old-girl who “is inspired by a variety of influential women from history”.
