Before Meghan Markle became the Duchess of Sussex, she had a prominent acting career in the United States. Her biggest success was working as a lead in the series ‘Suits’.
The now-wife of Prince Harry played the character of Rachel Zane in the legal drama that aired for six years on USA Network. Learn more about the series and what Meghan Markle had to say about her future as an actress.
Meghan Markle in Suits
The series Suits was a drama set in an American law firm focusing on the professional and personal lives of a group of high-powered lawyers.
Meghan in the first season of Suits was paralegal Rachel Zane, but over the course of the show, she made a series of personal and professional developments that made her a lawyer and the love interest of Mike Ross, played by Patrick J. Adams.
How many seasons of Suits was Meghan Markle in?
Meghan Markle appeared in more than 100 episodes in the seven seasons she was on Suits, from 2011 to 2017.
How many seasons Suits has?
The show aired 134 episodes and ran for nine seasons.
The series had a large audience and was well-received by critics earning an average audience score of 87% on Rotten Tomatoes.
When was Suits filmed?
Suits were filmed from 2011 to 2019. The series was set in New York City but was also partly filmed in Toronto, Canada, where cast members were based during production.
When did Meghan Markle leave suits?
In Meghan’s last appearance on the show, she was part of the season seven finale, in which her character Rache Zane marries Mike Ross.
The final six episodes of the season were filmed in 2017 and aired in April 2018.
As a fun fact, the Zane and Ross wedding episode aired just weeks before Meghan’s royal wedding to Prince Harry took place.
How much did Meghan Markle make on Suits?
Meghan made about $2 million for the 100 episodes she appeared on Suits.
Why did Meghan Markle leave Suits?
Meghan left Suits when she got engaged to Prince Harry, and her life would take a 180-degree turn when she became a member of the British royal family.
When did Meghan Markle start dating Prince Harry?
The actress met her future husband, Prince Harry, during a summer 2016 filming break in London and they began dating seriously soon after. At the time, Meghan was still working on Suits and living in Toronto.
Meghan and Prince Harry officially announced their engagement on November 27, 2017.
What year did Meghan Markle get married?
Meghan got married for the second time on May 19, 2018. The royal wedding between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex was held at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
Which Suits actors attended Meghan and Harry’s wedding?
When Meghan Markle married Prince Harry she invited several of her Suits colleagues. Among them was Patrick J. Adams, who played Meghan’s on-screen love interest.
Also in attendance were Sarah Rafferty, who played Donna Paulson; Abigail Spencer, who played Dana Scott; Gabriel Macht, who played Harvey Specter; Rick Hoffman, who played Louis Litt; and Gina Torres, who played Jessica Pearson.
The group stood in prominent positions near the altar in St. George’s Chapel alongside the royal family and other Hollywood stars.
Where to watch Suits?
All nine seasons of Suits are available to stream in the UK and the US on Netflix.
Will Meghan Markle return to acting?
Meghan has spoken openly about her Hollywood career, and while she effectively retired from her on-screen acting profession when she left Suits, since leaving the monarchy in 2020 there has been growing speculation about whether she would return to acting.
On whether she would continue with her career in front of the camera, Meghan assured in her first official interview for the BBC as a future member of the royal family that she saw it as a simple change and not a resignation from her life as an actress.
“It’s a new chapter, right? And also, keep in mind, I’ve been working on my show [Suits] for seven years. So we’re very very fortunate to be able to have that sort of longevity on a series and for me, once we hit the 100 episode marker I thought you know what I have, I have ticked this box and I feel really proud of the work I’ve done there and now it’s time to, as you [Harry] said, work as a team with you.”
After their marriage, Meghan and Harry began working as royals. After a difficult period with the press and royals, the couple decided to step away from the monarchy in 2020 and move for a time to Canada, then moved with their son, Prince Archie, to California, where they founded their organization Archewell, Archewell Productions and Archewell Audio.
The couple signed multi-million dollar content creation deals with Netflix and Spotify, but it was not confirmed if Meghan will return to acting.
After the explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, and the Queen’s death in September 2022, Meghan spoke openly about her career goals and future in the entertainment industry.
Speaking to Variety magazine in October 2022, Prince Harry’s wife spoke of her desire to work on projects behind the camera.
During the interview, the Duchess of Sussex was asked if she considered returning to acting.
Meghan replied, “No. I’m done. I guess never say never, but my intention is to absolutely not.”
“I left Suits right after the 100th episode, in 2018,” she said. “I didn’t think I’d ever be in the entertainment industry again. But the entire culture has changed; streamers have changed things. The ability to create zeitgeist moments like we had in the ’90s-where everyone would tune in at the same time for a show or gather for one moment?-that doesn’t happen anymore.”
At the moment the Duchess of Sussex has no plans to return to acting and there is speculation that she also wants to get into content creation by reviving her old blog ‘The Tig’.