Since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle officially announced their engagement on November 27, 2017, everyone has started asking for new information (and photos!) about the beautiful actress. After all, it has not always been so much in the spotlight. There was a time when she was just a normal child, eating popcorn and watching The Simpsons like all kids her age. If you doubt it, here are some rare pictures of Meghan Markle to discover!
1. Meghan with her father when she was a baby
It seems that Meghan and her father, Tom Markle, have always been close: this picture of them is proof of that! Tom now lives a rather private life in Baja, California, but he was part of the entertainment industry, just like his daughter.
You may be surprised to learn that he won Emmy Awards for his work as a director, so maybe that’s when his daughter realized that she had a place on the screen? Although he is no longer in the television business, he has worked on programs such as The Facts of Life and General Hospital. Impressive, isn’t it?
2. She has always been close to her family
How adorable this group photo is! Do you recognize Meghan? She’s wearing overalls! As a child, it seems that she was always very close to her family.
3. Her picture back home is beautiful
Most of us have to deal with our embarrassing dance pictures of the school, but apparently not Meghan. This picture of her high school prom dance shows how pretty she was when she was a teenager. She was obviously elected prom queen!
4. A glimpse of his childhood
Yes, it is Meghan – right there with her father, Tom, again… who, by the way, seems to have lived a very extraordinary life. As Meghan’s stepbrother (also known as Tom) told The Daily Mail, their father won the lottery when they were children. “If Meg marries Harry, she will have won the life lottery, but the fact that Daddy won the lottery has helped us all,” Meghan’s brother already has. It seems that this is the case!
5. Meghan hanging out at home
This picture of Meghan is far too cute – and from what we know, she would have had a very beautiful childhood. Although her parents divorced when she was six years old, she went to a very good primary school.
The Daily Mail reports that she followed in the footsteps of celebrities like Judy Garland and Elizabeth Taylor by attending Hollywood Little Red Schoolhouse, a school that feeds students with vegetables grown at the school itself.
6. Baby Meghan on her sister’s lap
This 1982 photo shows Meghan held by her step-sister. Samantha Grant, who lives in Ocala, Florida, is also Tom Markle’s daughter. The two have an age difference of 17 years, so they were never very close, but it seems on this picture that there was a real love shared between them.
7. This page from Meghan’s directory
It makes sense that Meghan spent a ton of time in plays like Damn Yankees because her ultimate ambition was to become an actress – a dream she finally realized with great success. According to People, she actually took on this role at the local boys’ school, Loyola.
8. Young and happy Meghan
It seems that Meghan, as a child, was as kind as the adult she has become today. Meghan has revealed in the past that her parents took her to visit patients at the hospice to deliver meals, in addition to giving food for Thanksgiving.
9. This super cute picture from the yearbook
A friend of Meghan’s high school who spoke to People described her as “very charismatic, very hardworking and very focused”, and from this single picture, it seems that this outgoing and sparkling personality has easily shone as she does nowadays.
10. This pretty picture of her and her father
There are many pictures of Meghan and her father when she was little, but she shows them together when she was a little older – and it seems that her father now supports her as much as he has always supported her. When his engagement with Harry was officially announced in November, he and Meghan’s mother issued the following joint statement: “We are incredibly happy for Meghan and Harry. Our daughter has always been a kind and loving person. Seeing her union with Harry, who shares the same qualities, is a source of joy and passion for us. We wish them a happy life and are very excited about their future together.”
11. This picture of Meghan and her nephew
Meghan seems to be close to her extended family, not just her parents, and this pretty picture of Meghan with her nephew is proof of that. Meghan has two half-brothers and half-sisters, Thomas Markle Jr. and Samantha Grant, but as close as she is to each other.
12. Meghan enjoys popcorn
Even actresses who have become members of the royal family enjoy a good snack from time to time, especially when it comes to popcorn.
13. She was beautiful in college
Knowing how beautiful Meghan is today, it’s not surprising to see how beautiful she was when she was in college. She attended Northwestern University, where she studied hard enough to graduate in 2003 with a double major in theatre and international studies. She was also part of a sorority – Kappa Kappa Kappa Kappa Gamma – and seemed very involved in her school in other ways, too, such as with their theatre program.
14. This picture of the high school
This is Meghan, wearing her school uniform with some friends. One of her former classmates told People that no one could think badly of her: “Anyone who knows Meghan can’t speak badly of her. She’s the sweetest, most incredibly intelligent person I know. She doesn’t believe in Hollywood falsity. She’s a really good person who cares about others.”
15. Meghan smiling with a mysterious man
Although it is not yet known when this picture was taken, it was probably during college.
16. Posing with a friend
Isn’t that cute?! There were a lot of people who loved Meghan in high school.
17. Baby Meghan and her mother on a picnic
Even though the rest of the world didn’t know that Harry and Meghan were engaged until they decided to make the good news public a few weeks later, Meghan’s mother was in on it all that time. In fact, after having had the chance to know her, Harry would have asked her permission to make her request to her daughter.
18. This picture of a sorority
Meghan was as much loved in high school as she was in college. One of his former teachers, Harvey Young, talked to ABC about what it was like to have Meghan in his class, and like everyone else, he had only positive things to share – and he loved her so much that he now uses her as an example of what you can accomplish with a lot of work.
19. And another college photo
Meghan must have loved her sorority sisters… and we have no doubt that they loved her too because it seems that everyone who knew her at the time loved her – and these are the days when she realized her passion for activism.
20. Deal or No Deal
Early in her Hollywood career, Meghan worked as a beauty model and document case Deal or No Deal. Deal or No Deal was a show where participants tried to choose the best “deal” from a series of briefcases offered by models like Meghan. Meghan would be the one who would reveal the amount of money in the briefcase that was chosen. She appeared in 34 episodes in several years of the show.