What Did Meghan Markle Do Before She Became Famous?

Although she is now one of the most famous people in the world, with millions of fans watching her every move, Meghan Markle hasn’t always had the easiest time of it.

She’s had to work hard from a very early age, making her way through a wide variety of jobs, well before making it big as a successful actress. While many of her fans know her from the popular TV show Suits, Markle’s other jobs are somewhat surprising.

Did Meghan Markle ever work in a restaurant?

It has become somewhat of a cliche, but Markle, like many aspiring actors and actresses, once had to make ends meet as a hostess. Markle has explained in the past she took a number of odd jobs, including working as a hostess for several restaurants. She started early as well and took her first job in a frozen yogurt shop when she was only 13 years old.

Markle’s work ethic served her well, and soon she was able to explore some of her other talents while waiting for her big break in Hollywood. Markle is an expert calligrapher and even taught freelance calligraphy for a number of years, which she admitted in a 2013 interview is actually very lucrative because there are so few people in that line of work. Markle managed to be quite successful while offering her calligraphy services and even scored big projects like writing out celebrity wedding invitations and tracing out design house Dolce & Gabbana’s celebrity correspondence. 

What were Markle’s first acting jobs?

Although Meghan Markle had many other jobs and maintained many hobbies, she started scoring acting jobs in her early twenties. Her attractive looks and athletic charm made her a memorable character actress, and though she has admitted that she had difficulty getting as many roles as she wanted, she began to carve out quite the name for herself.

She first found success on television, with early roles in shows like General Hospital, Century City, and CSI: NY. She even dipped her toe in the world of television game shows when she did a stint on Deal or No Deal as a “briefcase girl” in 2006, around the same time as model Chrissy Teigen. While the two didn’t work together long enough to become close, Teigen later recalled that Markle was lovely, and had the unique ability to communicate well with just about anyone. 

What was her big acting break?

2010 was a good year for Markle, as she booked parts in several major Hollywood films, including Remember Me and Get Him to the Greek, opposite Russell Brand and Jonah Hill. In 2011, Markle appeared in the comedy Horrible Bosses, gradually becoming more and more familiar to audiences around the world.

That same year, she finally received her big break when she was cast as paralegal Rachel Zane on the TV show Suits. Markle’s character quickly became a fan favorite, and over the next seven seasons, she explored her character’s journey from paralegal to an experienced attorney. Markle also started to become more comfortable with public life, starting her own lifestyle blog and getting involved in charitable causes.

While she has since retired from acting in order to focus on her life with Prince Harry, Meghan Markle’s years of experience in Hollywood, and the skills learned from her wide variety of jobs, should help give her the coping mechanisms to deal with the demands of life as a member of the royal family. As she prepares for motherhood, her biggest role of all, Markle’s fans can follow along with the palace’s social media accounts to see what their favorite duchess does on a day to day basis.