Meghan Markle's big break on General Hospital is often overlooked
Her early acting career gig is often overlooked...Before she became the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle had an acting career, and it began with the famous soap General Hospital. She went on to have a recurring role in the legal drama Suits – although Harry later admitted he struggled watching her scenes after they began dating.
Her big break came from the help of her father. Although, the pair have an estranged relationship now, after it broke down during and after her wedding to Prince Harry.
We take a look back at her early start in Hollywood, and how her role in General Hospital launched her career.
What year was Meghan Markle on General Hospital?
Meghan Markle was on General hospital in 2002, when she landed a small role in the iconic daytime soap opera.
She was cast as a nurse in the Emmy-award-winning show, and reports say her dad, Thomas Markle, helped pull strings for her to get an audition as he worked as the lighting director on the show in the 1990s. This has not been confirmed by the royal herself.
He once said he knew she would make it to Tinsel Town. In a Channel 5 documentary in 2020, Thomas admitted he felt “tremendous pride” when he’d watch her act in the school plays while growing up.
The retired lighting professional said: “When I saw my daughter performing on stage, I felt tremendous pride. I knew from the day she was born that she would eventually be doing that.
“It wasn’t a surprise or a shock to me. It was just something I knew was going to happen.”
General Hospital was Meghan Markle’s first credited role.
Read more: Real reason Meghan Markle’s marriage to first husband Trevor Engelson ended in divorce
What Meghan did next
After that, doors begin opening up for her. She appeared in more TV series, such as Century City, Love, Inc, The War At Home and CSI: New York. Meghan also appeared in two Hallmark movies, and major blockbusters.
The Duchess was cast as a FedEx girl in Horrible Bosses, and played a small role in Remember Me in 2010 opposite Robert Pattinson.
But her big break was Suits, and she moved to Toronto to film the drama.
She was on the series for seven years, and left in 2018 before she tied the knot with Prince Harry.
At the time she explained she wasn’t ‘giving anything up’, when she left the scripts for her philanthropy work as a royal.
In 2020, she and Harry stepped down as senior royals within The Firm and moved to California to raise their family.
She admitted on a podcast that she couldn’t have a leaving party because her exit had to be kept secret now she was joining the royal family.
“We couldn’t say I was leaving necessarily. It was speculated,” she confessed. “So, after seven years on the series, we couldn’t have a going away party. I couldn’t say my goodbyes.”
Duchess misses acting
In June 2025, Meghan Markle reflected on her Hollywood career, but did not mention her start with General Hospital – instead she was likely referring to Suits.
When she appeared on the Aspire with Emma Grede podcast, the host asked the royal if she missed acting.
“Sometimes, sometimes,” she admitted.
But Meghan explained working on her Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, helped fill the void. The lifestyle and cooking series debuted on the streaming giant in March and has been approved for season two.
“Actually, having a large team, being back on set with ‘With Love, Meghan’ was great because I realized how much I had missed my crew,” the mum-of-two said.
“I love being around a crew.”
Meghan added: “We work with people for seven years.
“For seven years, that’s a really strong connection. And I loved the crew. So I think for me, having the [Netflix] series even though it wasn’t scripted, was really great to get that piece back, but then also building my own business. You have a team, and that’s really what I was craving as well.”
You can watch Meghan Markle on General Hospital below:
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