Why Meghan Markle is so much more than just 'Prince Harry's girlfriend'
LONDON -- On Tuesday morning, Kensington Palace issued a statement confirming that Prince Harry is in a relationship with the American actress Meghan Markle.
Despite the swirl of rumours and media attention that has surrounded Markle over the past couple of weeks, the headlines of many stories simply refer to her as "Prince's Harry's new girlfriend."
But who, exactly, is Meghan Markle?
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As well as being an actress, Markle, is also an ambassador, an activist and a spokesperson. She's heavily involved in politics, humanitarian projects, and gender issues.
We've rounded up some of the things you might not know about her below...
Markle is currently acting in legal drama Suits.
Suits is probably what Markle is best known for at the moment -- she plays lawyer Rachel Zane, and has been in the show since its first Season back in 2011 (the show is now on its sixth Season).
And she's previously appeared in films like Horrible Bosses.
Alongside her TV work, Markle has also had smaller roles in films like Remember Me, Dysfunctional Friends and Horrible Bosses.
She's spoken out about gender inequality.
Markle has been outspoken on issues of gender inequality. In the clip above, taken from a 2014 panel on the gender gap, Markle discusses how she managed to influence her character's representation on Suits by speaking to the series' creator.
"In the show, for example, in this season every script seemed to begin with 'Rachel enters wearing a towel,'" Markles says. "And I said, 'Nope -- not doing it anymore.'"
And she's previously presented for the UN.
Markle has publicly supported Emma Watson's HeForShe campaign, and in 2015 took on the role of UN Women Advocate for Women's Political Participation & Leadership.
She's also active in politics.
A quick look through Markle's Instagram feed shows she's also active and engaged in political issues. She shared the photo above in the aftermath of the UK's EU referendum earlier in the year.
And humanitarian work across the world.
At the start of the year, Markle visited Rwanda as World Vision ambassador in order to raise awareness of the developing communities struggling to access clean water.
She's since written about her experience and the people she met.
Finally, she runs her own lifestyle website.
On top of everything else she does, Markle also edits her own lifestyle website, The Tig, writing and publishing articles about travel, fashion, and food, and writing first-person pieces about her various projects.
Topics Instagram
