Before royal engagements, palace appearances and life in the public eye, Meghan Markle was carving out a place for herself in Hollywood one audition at a time.
The actress would eventually become a household name as Rachel Zane in Suits, but her path to the legal drama was far from straightforward.
Photographs from that period offer a look at a very different chapter of Meghan’s life before she met Prince Harry and her Hollywood ambitions gave way to royal duties.
“If I was going in for an audition, it was either [the] ‘girl next door’ that was typically blonde-haired, blue-eyed and a certain look [or] a character that had any sort of ethnicity,” she said during an appearance on Aspire with Emma Grede.
The Hollywood hopeful – 2005
A 24-year-old Meghan looked worlds away from the polished Duchess she would eventually become when she attended the Kari Feinstein Pre-Emmy Style Lounge in September 2005.
Finding her feet – 2006
By the following summer, Meghan was becoming more familiar with Hollywood’s social circuit.
At the Coach Legacy Photo Exhibit, she opted for a loose navy dress with a pale blue clutch and metallic heels.
She attended alongside her then-boyfriend Trevor Engelson, whom she would marry several years later.
The Deal or No Deal years – 2006 to 2007
Before Rachel Zane became her defining television character, She had a very different role on Deal or No Deal.
She joined the US game show as one of its briefcase models during its second season, appearing in a series of glamorous dresses and heels.
Years later, she admitted that the experience left her uncomfortable with an environment she felt placed greater emphasis on appearance than ability.
“It was solely about beauty and not necessarily about brains,” she said on her Archetypes podcast.
The casual Hollywood era – 2006
At a November 2006 event for the National Kidney Foundation, Meghan showed another distinctly 2000s look, pairing faded bootcut jeans with a fitted black top and cropped jacket.
Chasing the acting dream – 2007
Meghan was beginning to put her modelling days behind her as she focused more firmly on acting.
At a celebrity event ahead of the 2007 Golden Globes, she opted for a strapless black-and-white mini dress featuring an oversized bow.
Married life and growing ambitions – 2011
By 2011, Meghan had taken another significant step in her personal life, marrying Trevor Engelson in Jamaica after several years together.
That October, she attended the Anti-Defamation League Entertainment Industry Awards dinner with her new husband, wearing a fitted black pencil dress and loose, caramel-highlighted waves.
The Suits breakthrough – 2011 to 2012
Meghan’s career changed when she landed the role of ambitious paralegal Rachel Zane in Suits in 2011.
The part finally gave her the kind of sustained television exposure she had spent years chasing.
By early 2012, she was appearing at industry events with the confidence of an actress whose profile was beginning to take off.
At the HBO Luxury Lounge that January, she wore her long brunette hair loose and voluminous as Suits continued to build an audience.
A new red-carpet confidence – 2012
Meghan’s style was evolving alongside her career. At the Warner Bros. and InStyle Golden Globe After Party in January 2012.
From actress to red-carpet regular
By the time Suits celebrated its second season in June 2012, Meghan had fully embraced the glamour of her growing profile.
Despite finally landing her breakthrough, Meghan later revealed that she remained convinced her success could disappear at any moment.
“All of season one on the show, I was convinced I was going to get fired,” she admitted.
The chapter before royalty
Meghan would ultimately remain with Suits for seven seasons, leaving the series after becoming engaged to Prince Harry in 2017.
2026-08-14 19:53:00
