Looking Back

Meghan Markle on ‘Suits,’ Rachel Zane and the role that changed her life


Prince Harry's wife's most famous acting role is Rachel Zane in the legal drama Suits, but what has she said about the show?


Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attends the 2024 Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) Gala © Tommaso Boddi
SEPTEMBER 7, 2026 11:03 AM EDT

Before marrying Prince Harry in 2018, Meghan Markle enjoyed a successful acting career, with her most famous role being Rachel Zane in the legal drama Suits.

More than 15 years after her debut on the show, here's a look back at everything the Duchess of Sussex has said about the series.

Meghan Markle attends the premiere of USA Network's "Suits" Season 5 at the Sheraton Los Angeles © Alberto E. Rodriguez
Meghan Markle at the premiere of USA Network's "Suits" Season 5

'One of the worst auditions'

Suits remains the most famous role of Meghan's acting career, but she has admitted that she didn't think she would get the part after what she believed was a disastrous audition.

She told Larry King in 2013, "I had gone and auditioned and thought it was one of the worst auditions I had ever done."

Fortunately for her, the show's bosses disagreed and offered her the role, but Meghan still spent the first season "convinced" that she was going to be recast.

A 'family' cast

During a celebration for the 100th episode of Suits in 2017, Meghan explained how she and her co-stars, including Rick Hoffman, Sarah Rafferty, and Patrick J. Adams, had formed a close bond from the beginning of filming.

(l-r) Gabriel Macht, Sarah Rafferty, Rick Hoffman, Meghan Markle from "Suits" © NBC
(l-r) Gabriel Macht, Sarah Rafferty, Rick Hoffman, Meghan Markle from "Suits"

She said, "We were in a group email the other day, and I was saying we'd all lived in the same corporate housing, so on top of working, we were living together, which makes a whole different dynamic, I think.

"We just became this whole family right out the gate."

Her first success

Meghan described how Suits was the first show she starred in that became truly successful after years of projects failing to get off the ground.

The 45-year-old royal told Glamour UK in 2017, "I've done so many pilots that have never seen the light of day, and we didn't know what Suits was going to become at the time. So it's been such a good transition!"

Meghan Markle as Rachel Zane in Suits © NBC
Meghan Markle as Rachel Zane in Suits

Rachel's growth

Meghan expressed how "happy" she was with the way Rachel developed as a character throughout the show.

During the program's 100th episode celebration, the Duchess of Sussex also said: "I am so happy. She's worked so hard, and I love that, as a role model, how she's been crafted to balance it all and now have this place at the firm where she really knows her standing, and her office isn't just because she's a good researcher, it's because she's an associate."

Prince Harry and Meghan Markel © Samir Hussein
Prince Harry and Meghan Markel

Leaving the show

Meghan departed Suits in 2017, with her final scenes airing shortly before she married Prince Harry the following year. She took a philosophical view on stepping away from acting to focus on royal duties with her husband.

In a joint interview to mark the couple's engagement in November 2017, she said: "I don't see it as giving anything up. I just see it as a change. It's a new chapter, right? And also, keep in mind, I've been working on (Suits) for seven years. We were very, very fortunate to have that sort of longevity on a series."

Meghan added, "I've ticked this box, and I feel very proud of the work I've done there, and now it's time to work with (Harry) as a team."