Meghan signed a historic production deal with Netflix earlier this year alongside Prince Harry, fuelling speculation that she may return to her acting past. Meghan was becoming an established actress when she met her husband back in 2016. Her career had taken off after she first joined the US legal drama, Suits, in 2011.
But during her Twenties, Meghan had endured the same difficulties most aspiring actors face, and struggled with the constant cycle of auditions and rejections.
Writing in his newly released biography, ‘Meghan Misunderstood’, author Sean Smith explained how the industry’s rejections started to wear her down just before she secured her gig on Suits.
He explained: ”Meghan was running on empty — tired and miserable as she went from one audition to the next.”
He added: “Meghan would go five straight years making pilots that never amounted to much.”
She had small roles in dramas such as General Hospital,Century City and the CSI franchise.
Meghan Markle (Image: Getty)
Meghan and Harry recently signed a historic deal with Netflix (Image: Getty)
She also featured in a few films called Deceit, A Lot Like Love, When Sparks Fly and a comedy show called Cuts.
However, as Mr Smith pointed out: “Meghan’s merry-go-round continued — one step forward, one step back and just enough work to keep going.
“A daily run, yoga and watching her weight by not eating too many French fries was her routine.
“Occasionally she would treat herself to a facial — something she had been doing since she was a teenager.
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Meghan starred in Deal or No Deal (L) before landing a role on Suits (Image: Getty)
“And then there were pity parties — the evenings after she realised that all her scenes had been cut — a ‘tailspin of sobbing in bed with a bottle of wine and a box of cookies’.”
She reportedly understood that this was all part of the “game” that comes with trying to break into acting.
Even so, Meghan had to resort to working as a restaurant hostess in Beverly Hills and as a calligrapher which she later admitted was “super lucrative” to make ends meet.
She then taught informal classes on the art of calligraphy, along with a class on the best gift wrapping.
The Duchess of Sussex also had to take a part on the US version of Deal or No Deal, where she would hold a suitcase in a short dress and wait to be chosen by the contestants who would guess which case held the most money.
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Meghan in 2009 and 2010 before she landed her famous Suits role (Image: Getty)
Meghan as her Suits character, Rachel Zane (Image: Getty)
It provided the best salary Meghan had earned at that time, as she was paid $800 (£606) per episode and sometimes there were up to seven episodes filmed per day.
Yet, she rarely enjoyed it.
However, once she secured the Suits gig, her reputation was elevated — and she finally had the time and the name to make an impact in the humanitarian sector.
Even the UN took notice of her and made her an ambassador in 2015.
Suits also meant Meghan became a self-made millionaire — a status which would later impact her life behind royal lines.
Meghan in 2006, when she was still an aspiring actress (Image: Getty)
As Robert Jobson told the Daily Mail: “There is only one self-made millionaire in the Royal Family and that is Meghan Markle.”
The royal author argued that this should have influenced how the Royal Family treated her.
He explained: “If they had sat down with her at the start and said, ‘Let’s talk about the things you are interested in’, things might have been different.”
He continued: “They made the mistake of dealing with the spare’s wife thinking she was just a routine royal. She was never going to be a routine royal.”
‘Meghan Misunderstood’ by Sean Smith was published by HarperCollins in 2020 and is available here.
