Meghan Markle Made Her TV Debut On A Famous Soap Opera

Meghan Markle took on several acting roles before holding one of her most important roles as the Duchess of Sussex. The royal had been acting for years prior before marrying Prince Harry. Most notable was her role as Rachel Zane on the hit drama show "Suits." Meghan was on the show for seven of the nine seasons before eventually making her exit, with many fans speculating she departed due to her relationship with Prince Harry. In a BBC interview, Meghan revealed how difficult it was to maintain such a busy schedule with acting and committing to royal duties. At the time, the humanitarian was just trying to make it all work out, but it just seemed a bit too hectic.

Regardless of how she left, fans of the show loved her character. But, before breaking into the industry with her role as Rachel Zane, Meghan, like any other actor, had to take on any role that she could get. This included commercial gigs, being a model on "Deal or No Deal," and even starring in one of the most famous soap operas.

From a young age, Meghan Markle was no stranger to being on television. At just 12 years old, the humanitarian was interviewed by Nick News. Even back then, she had stood up for what she believed in and spoke out against the tagline Procter & Gamble had at the time, which was "Women are fighting greasy pots and pans with Ivory [Soap]."

Although this was televised, it was not the actress's first credited role. That came in 2002 when she starred in the beloved soap opera show, "General Hospital." Insider shared that at just 21 years old, Meghan played the role of Nurse Jill in two episodes of the soap opera show. Despite it being a small role, Meghan reportedly shared her thoughts on the part in her lifestyle blog, The Tig, which has since been taken down. The actress wrote, "And there I was, behind the scenes of a glossy soap opera and a TV sitcom, surrounded by famous actors and their glam teams, multi-million-dollar budgets, and crew lunches that always included filet mignon and enough sweets to make you think you were at Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory" (via Toronto Sun).

Meghan would have to wait nine years before landing her role on "Suits," which eventually catapulted her into success.

Meghan Markle had taken on various royal duties when she married Prince Harry and left her television career behind. However, when the couple made the controversial decision to leave the royal family and the obligations that come with it, they prepared to become "financially independent," according to their January 2020 statement.

Just a couple months after the announcement was made, Meghan made her return to television. But, it was in a slightly different way than many people may have expected. Disneynature shared the news on social media that Meghan was returning as a narrator for the nature documentary titled "Elephant." Another famous streaming service that had a deal with the couple was none other than Netflix, according to The New York Times. However, the couple faced some trouble getting their Netflix series out.

Since the release of "Elephant," Meghan has not, as of this writing, made any attempt to come back to television. Instead, she ventured into a new project. According to NBC News, the Duchess of Sussex negotiated an exclusive contract with Spotify for her podcast "Archetypes" back in December 2020. Now, the podcast has several episodes with special guests such as Serena Williams, Mariah Carey, and more. Per Town & Country, the podcast was put on hold after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. "Archetypes" would later return with brand-new episodes for everyone to listen to.