She Didn’t Consider Herself Pretty, But That Made Her Even More Beautiful

👧 From TV Dinners to a Crown

From microwave dinners and growing up biracial to marrying into royalty and surviving life-threatening motherhood challenges — Meghan Markle’s life story is one of strength, identity, and transformation.

She didn’t grow up in the spotlight. Raised in Los Angeles by hardworking parents of different races, Meghan often felt like she didn’t quite belong. Her childhood was filled with fast food, solo TV dinners, and racial microaggressions that made her question her place in the world.

“I’m half Black and half white,” she once said. “My mom is African American. My dad is Caucasian.”

When her parents separated, Meghan and her mother moved to a predominantly Black neighborhood. Though the transition was difficult, she found support in the strong women who surrounded her — her mother, grandmother, aunt, and close friends who all helped raise her.

Meghan Markle is seen in unearthed family photos illustrating idyllic, happy childhood – far from modest upbringing she claimed, Duchess’s cousin Shawn Johnson reveals https://t.co/41b5VXt2L6 pic.twitter.com/HLFeDKNAiQ

— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) February 19, 2024

Despite her challenges, Meghan was always described as empathetic, mature, and academically gifted. “I was the smart one,” she admitted. “I wasn’t the pretty one.”

From a young age, Meghan pushed boundaries. She once wrote a letter that successfully got a sexist ad removed from TV. She also began working young — scooping frozen yogurt, babysitting, and even selling donuts to make ends meet.

Her father’s lottery win of $750,000 helped her access better education and gave her an early leg up in achieving her dreams. From early on, Meghan had tunnel vision — she knew what she wanted, and she chased it relentlessly.

By age 11, she declared in a letter to her school principal that one day she’d be “rich and famous.” But even as she worked her way through various jobs and acting gigs, Meghan never lost sight of her values or the struggle behind her rise.

Her love for acting was shaped during long hours spent on the set of “Married… with Children,” where her dad worked as a lighting director. But her biracial identity continued to present internal conflict — never fully fitting into any group, always navigating the in-between.

“My 20s were brutal — a constant battle with myself — judging my weight, my style, my desire to be enough,” she once wrote in her now-deleted blog.

But in her 30s, Meghan found clarity:

“It takes time to be happy. To be kind to yourself. To feel it.”

That joy expanded when she met Prince Harry. The couple made global headlines when they married in 2018. They later welcomed two children — Archie and Lilibet — while also stepping back from royal duties in a move that shocked the world.

Yet behind the glamour, Meghan was quietly facing unimaginable pain. She suffered from postpartum preeclampsia — a rare and dangerous condition that nearly cost her her life. Speaking candidly on her podcast, she revealed:

“You’re still trying to juggle everything, showing up for your kids, while going through this terrifying health crisis.”

She also bravely opened up about suffering a miscarriage. One ordinary morning, while tending to her son, she felt a sharp cramp and collapsed.

“As I clutched my firstborn child, I knew I was losing my second,” she wrote.

Later that day, she lay in a hospital bed, holding hands with Prince Harry as they cried together. In that sterile hospital room, one simple question echoed in her heart:

“Are you OK?”

Despite the pain, Meghan emerged stronger — and more self-assured. She once shared a moment with a casting director who told her:

“You need to know that you’re enough. Less makeup, more Meghan.”

It was advice she took to heart — and eventually began to believe. Her story is not just about fame, royalty, or motherhood. It’s about resilience, identity, and the lifelong journey to self-worth.