From Struggling Teen to Global Icon: Meghan Markle Opens Up About Her Hard-Earned Journey and Life-Threatening Birth Scare

Long before she became a household name, a duchess, and a face on magazine covers around the world, Meghan Markle was just a young girl in Los Angeles trying to make sense of where she belonged.

Born to a Black mother and a white father, Meghan often felt caught between identities — not quite fitting the mold at school, in society, or even within the assumptions strangers made about her family.

“I’m biracial,” she once said plainly. “My mom is African American, and my dad is white. That shaped a lot of how I saw myself growing up.”

Microwave Meals and Big Questions

Raised primarily by working parents — her mother Doria Ragland, a makeup artist, and her father Thomas Markle Sr., a TV lighting director — Meghan often came home to an empty house and a freezer full of microwave dinners.

“I had a lot of solo nights with frozen meals and game shows,” Meghan recalled. “Watching Jeopardy! while eating off a TV tray — that was my normal.”

However, her father has disputed parts of her account, claiming he was more present than Meghan suggests — saying he either picked her up from school daily or arranged transportation when he couldn’t.

What stayed with Meghan most were the awkward encounters in public with her mom — people questioning whether the woman with darker skin could possibly be her mother. Doria once recounted a woman at the grocery store assuming she was Meghan’s nanny.

Finding Belonging — and Her Voice

After her parents’ divorce, Meghan lived with her dad until college, while her mom moved to a predominantly Black community where a close-knit group of women helped raise Meghan.

“She was always empathetic, kind, and mature,” Doria recalled in Meghan’s Netflix series. But their relationship wasn’t always conventional. “At one point, I asked her if I felt like her mom, and she said I was more like her older, bossy sister.”

Meghan never saw herself as the “pretty one” growing up. “I was the nerdy kid,” she admitted. “Smart, not cool — and definitely not the beauty standard.” But that didn’t stop her from taking a stand early on. At 11, she wrote a letter to protest a sexist TV ad — a move that hinted at the bold advocate she’d one day become.

She also remembers what little luxuries meant to her family. “Going to the salad bar at Sizzler felt like a treat,” she once said. “My parents worked so hard — I knew even those moments were earned.”

Later, when her father reportedly won $750,000 in the lottery, Meghan’s path changed dramatically. Her half-brother claimed that windfall helped pay for top schools and acting programs that opened the doors to Hollywood.

Growing Up on Set — and in Between Worlds

From babysitting gigs to selling donuts at a local stand, Meghan worked from a young age. But she found her passion on set, visiting her dad at Married… with Children. “It was a strange environment for a Catholic schoolgirl,” she joked, “but it sparked something in me.”

Her early career was challenging. Casting agents struggled to place her. “I wasn’t white enough for white roles or Black enough for Black roles,” she once explained. “I felt like I didn’t belong anywhere — again.”

But in her early 30s, something shifted. “I turned 33 and realized — I’m happy,” she wrote in a personal essay. “Learning to be kind to yourself takes time.”

Hollywood Fame to Royal Spotlight

Her breakout came with the role of Rachel Zane in Suits, but Meghan’s real-life story became front-page news when she met Prince Harry in 2016. The couple married in 2018 at Windsor Castle and have since welcomed two children: Archie and Lilibet.

Yet behind the royal titles and global fascination, Meghan faced serious struggles as a mother.

A Dangerous Health Crisis After Birth

In the debut episode of her podcast Confessions of a Female Founder, Meghan shared a deeply personal story — she had developed postpartum preeclampsia, a rare and potentially fatal condition, after giving birth.

“It’s something people don’t talk about enough,” Meghan told guest Whitney Wolfe Herd. “You’re still trying to show up for your family, especially your kids, while dealing with something that’s incredibly serious and scary.”

Whitney echoed her sentiment: “It’s truly a matter of life and death.”

Meghan survived, but not long after, she suffered a miscarriage — a heartbreaking experience she later wrote about in a moving essay.

Taking Control of Her Story

From lonely dinners in a small LA home to state banquets in the U.K., Meghan’s life has been anything but ordinary. But through every phase — outsider, actress, royal, mother — she has sought to own her story.

“I spent so much of my life trying to be seen,” she said. “Now I’m using my voice to help others feel less alone.”

Her journey is no fairy tale. It’s real, complicated, and deeply human. And now, with a microphone in hand and two young children by her side, Meghan is writing her next chapter — one honest word at a time.