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In January 2020, Meghan and Harry announced that they were stepping back from their roles as senior members of the royal family, and that they would be living between the UK and North America. Having followed through with their plans, the couple and their children now live in the Los Angeles area.

Sources: (People)

▲Growing up in a place very different from Buckingham Palace, Markle started getting a taste of fame on a Nickelodeon show and other TV series.

▲Since her father worked in the entertainment industry, Markle spent a lot of time in and around it. However, she was only discovered by an agent after acting in a film in college.

▲Long before she was a duchess, Markle wrote an open letter, titled "I'm More Than An 'Other,'" about creating her identity and finding her voice as a mixed-race woman.

▲She reflected on the difficulty of growing up in a non-diverse area, hearing her mother called the N-word, and being ethnically ambiguous in an acting world of clearly defined labels.

▲"You continue living your life feeling muddled in this abyss of self-misunderstanding, or you find your identity independent of it." You can tell which one she chose.

▲Markle appeared in an episode of the soap opera 'General Hospital,' and then went on to act in episodes of various other series, such as 'CSI: New York,' '90210,' and 'Without a Trace.'

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But it was in 'Suits' that Markle rose to fame. She played Rachel Zane, one of the show's main characters.

▲In 2011, she married American film producer Trevor Engelson after the couple had been together for five years. However, they divorced just two years later in 2013.

▲The Kensington Palace Twitter account announced on October 15, 2018, that the royal couple was expecting.

▲Markle was into fashion before she met Prince Harry, even becoming an ambassador for Canadian retailer Reitmans, for whom she helped design two capsule collections.

▲Markle met Prince Harry on a blind date in 2016, and rumors quickly surrounded the two. The couple appeared together for the first time in Toronto at the Invictus Games, of which Prince Harry is patron.

▲Markle was subject to some racist and sexist slander when their relationship first hit the news.

▲She is positively radiant on walkabouts, where well-wishers eat her up.

▲The royal wedding was the moment everything palpably changed.

▲The two aren't afraid of some PDA, and the press is glad for it.

▲All of her "rule-breaking" has been endlessly entertaining. She and sister-in-law Kate Middleton share that in common.

▲Although Markle became a duchess due to her marriage to Prince Harry, she was actually already related to the British royal family...

▲Researchers of the New England Historic Genealogical Society revealed that she's a descendant of King Edward III of England, which makes her a very distant (more than 240 times over) cousin to her husband!

▲And started fueling the public's desire for a little one of her own. Luckily, one wasn't far behind.

▲Markle certainly raised the bar for maternity looks. People raved about her clothing throughout her pregnancy.

▲Markle was born in Los Angeles to Thomas Wayne Markle and Doria Ragland (pictured).

▲Archie was Her Royal Highness and Prince Philip's eighth great-grandchild. The couple's second child was their 11th. Sadly, in November 2020, Markle revealed in an essay in The New York Times that the couple had previously suffered a miscarriage.

▲Royalty met (Hollywood) royalty when Meghan Markle got to spend some time with Queen Bey at the UK 'The Lion King' premiere.

▲However, every story has its controversies. There have been numerous articles pondering whether Kate Middleton and Markle actually get along, or if it's all just for the cameras.

▲Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcomed Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor on May 6, 2019.

▲Behind Prince Harry, of course. And their second child, daughter Lilibet, is seventh in line to the throne.

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also had a landmark event with Archie's christening. They opted for making it very private, and did not pose for press photos after the ceremony had occurred.

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Even with Meghan Markle's face continuously splashed across most magazines and tabloids, how much do you really know about the Duchess of Sussex? How does a TV actress become British royalty with a son (and later also a daughter) in line for the throne, and then seemingly give it up? Well, her journey is anything but ordinary. Check out this gallery to see her regal road from 'Suits' to Sussex and back to Southern California.