Meghan Markle says she struggled to get acting roles early in her career because of her mixed race as she appears to take subtle swipe at royals over 'truth' in podcast interview
Meghan Markle has claimed she struggled to get acting roles early in her career because she is mixed race.
The Duchess of Sussex told how she would get plenty of auditions but was regularly rejected by directors - which was a 'lot to chip away at your self-esteem'.
Meghan, who eventually rose to fame in US legal drama Suits from 2011, said she was often put forward for 'girl next door' roles because she was 'half white'.
But she said these characters were 'typically blond-haired, blue-eyed and a certain look' – and if they 'had any sort of ethnicity, there was always a bit of an edge'.
The Duchess made the comments on a wide-ranging interview with entrepreneur Emma Grede on her Aspire podcast, during which she also she would 'ask people to tell the truth' if she was able to rewrite her public narrative from scratch.
Meghan, whose mother Doria Ragland is black and whose father Thomas Markle is white, said: 'When I was an auditioning actress and this was well before Suits, you have to think at that time there were certainly not a lot of mixed race parts.'
Grede replied: 'Really?' Meghan then insisted: 'No' - and Grede again said: 'Really?'
Meghan continued: 'No, there weren't a lot. If I was going in for an audition - you have to remember this was a very different time than it is now - it was Girl Next Door.
'That was typically blond-haired, blue-eyed and a certain look. But because I'm half white, I would also be submitted for those roles and then if it was a character that had any sort of ethnicity, there was always a bit of a edge to those characters.
'But I'd be submitted for those roles and I also, to a lot of people in casting, they thought I was Latina. So I share that because, and I've shared this before, because it was a numbers game.
'If I'm only up for 10 parts, that could be 10 nos, but if I'm up for 30 parts because I can fit into so many different rooms, that could be 30 nos. That is a lot to chip away that is a lot to chip away at your self-esteem - that is really hard.'
The Duchess said that she 'went through my chapter of self-doubt as an auditioning actor and beyond that', adding that 'when you're so consumed with what everyone around you thinks of you, that can be a really hard way to live'.
She told how in her 40s and as a mother, she wanted to set an example for what her children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet are 'going to think about themselves'.
Meghan continued: 'You can't have an imposter syndrome around. You have to be so authentically the role model and the example of confidence, self-forgiveness, kindness, fun - all of those things, you can't fake that.
'You want to model that for them, so all of that really shifted in the past six years of becoming a mom for me.'
Meghan played paralegal-turned-lawyer Rachel Zane in Suits.
She also had parts in CSI: Miami, sci-fi show Fringe and movies such as Get Him To The Greek, Remember Me and Horrible Bosses.
In addition, the Duchess a 'briefcase girl' – one of the models who hold the suitcases full of cash – on the US version of Deal Or No Deal.
Later in the podcast discussion, which came out yesterday, Grede asked Meghan whether she had any skills from her acting career that were transferable into the 'new entrepreneurial world that you're in'.
And the Duchess replied: 'Of course. I mean, again, having a thick skin - partnerships and the value of you know having great relationships when what you when you're building certainly lots of different SKUs (stock keeping units) is key.
'And so a piece of advice I was given years ago as an auditioning actress was don't try to book the part, book the room. Meaning it doesn't matter if you don't get that role, you might not be right for it, you might remind the director of an ex-girlfriend that broke his heart.
'It could be any number of reasons - it's not about the part. You're going to see those producers and those casting directors at so many other opportunities - book the room, let them see that you're talented, let them see you have something to bring to the table.
'Treat them with kindness, all of those relationships end up coming to fruition - you don't know when. But just like with life, relationships matter. So I learned that in the very long road of auditioning, for sure.'
The Duchess was also asked whether she ever missed acting, and said: 'Sometimes, sometimes.
'But you know what, actually, having a large team being back on set with With Love, Meghan was great because I realised how much I had missed my crew. I love being around a crew.'
Meghan has previously spoken in her own podcast about how being mixed race impacted her acting auditions.
During episode five of Confessions of a Female Founder, released on May 5, she said: 'I heard 'no' all the time, especially because I wasn't cookie cutter for a specific type. At the start of my auditioning career you were either the black girl or the while girl or the Latina girl.
'Everything was typecast, so being mixed I could get into a lot of rooms, that meant as a numbers game I heard 'no' even more.'
During the latest podcast, Grede also asked Meghan: 'I want to say this to you in the best way, because I wonder if you could rewrite your public narrative from scratch, is there anything that you would do differently?'
The Duchess replied calmly: 'Yes, I would ask people to tell the truth.'
Meghan gave no specifics about to whom who she was referring, but later referred to a 'lie' told eight years ago - in another apparent dig about her life in the public eye as a member of the Royal Family since she began a relationship with Harry.
Grede, a founding partner of Kim Kardashian's shapewear brand Skims, said: 'You're very measured about it. I would just get so angry if I felt like everyone was lying about me all the time ...'
Meghan said: 'Peaks and valleys... Of course, I've gone through those chapters and you do a lot of work, you do a lot of self work and go, what's the why? It's happening for a reason.'
She added that her 'dear friend' tennis champion Serena Williams told her 'a lie can't live forever'.
The Duchess said: 'She told me years ago, a lie can't live forever. Eight years is a long time, but not forever.'
Eight years ago, in 2017, Meghan was dating and became engaged to Prince Harry, and began preparing for life as a member of the royal family.
The year also included Meghan's first meeting with Kate and the beginnings of Prince William's fall out with Harry after William urged his brother not to rush into the relationship.
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