Yes, everyone is all agape with news of yet another “commoner” (even if the new Duchess of Sussex is herself descended from royalty and kind of related to Harry for good old fashioned English monarchy’s sake) from Hollywood marrying into the aristocracy (because, you know, all America has of royalty is famous people, and these days, mostly famous people lacking bona fide star quality). But Grace Kelly Meghan Markle is not, at least not in terms of a glance at her somewhat embarrassing resume (though, of course, not as embarrassing as my own scant foray into the realm of working).
Starting with her first “appearance” in General Hospital as Jill in 2002, it was fairly evident that this was not going to be an acting sojourn to remember, try as she might to bring her best presentation of what a FedEx delivery person should be like (yes, that was her “big break” in Horrible Bosses). And though, granted, it’s all very flattering at first to be cast as “hot girl” in films of the mid-00s you forgot existed such as A Lot Like Love, one imagines this takes a toll on the notion of being an actress in the proper, Audrey Hepburn sense of the word–which is why, one imagines, Markle eventually “fell into” television completely, settling lazily into the part of Rachel Zane on Suits from 2011 to 2017 before “giving it all up” (a.k.a. gaining it all) to marry Prince Harry. That the “whirlwind romance” stemmed from being set off by a “mutual friend” (argued by some to be either Violet von Westenholz, daughter of a baron and acquainted with Markle through PR for Ralph Lauren, or fashion designer Misha Nonoo) only seems to add to the notion that perhaps Markle’s “higher calling” was never to be a cinema or TV icon. But settling for simply “pop culture icon” in this far less taxing manner wasn’t a bad hand to be dealt either. If the hand she originally set out to procure couldn’t come in the form of a part that wasn’t utterly humiliating and/or frivolous. Indeed, one can’t help but wonder if the Queen has ever seen anything Markle has been in (not that old Lizzy is all that cognizant anyway)–because how would she have ever allowed her youngest grandson’s “happiness” to usurp the quality of filmic content permitted to be associated with the House of Windsor?
Grace Kelly (if that sexual assaulter-laden biopic Grace of Monaco taught us anything) may have had a sparse resume as well, but at least it was peppered with only the finest of auteurs, Alfred Hitchcock most notable among them. This is, invariably, what attracted Prince Ranier III after meeting with her in her stead as the head of the U.S. delegation at the Festival de Cannes in April of 1955 (always leave it to this festival for some iconic moments and meetings). Like Kelly, Markle would come to eventually relinquish the joys she once knew as an actress/civilian, including the “the loss” of her “lifestyle” website, The Tig. This was only a small part of some of the changes that began for her in 2017 (among them actually gaining more fame than she ever had from appearing in any “vehicle”), as the path to being an over glorified humanitarian was forged and the two maintained a long distance relationship–the very thing that Markle had claimed was tearing her first marriage to Trevor Engelson apart before the two divorced in 2013–throughout most of the late months of 2016 and early ones of 2017. Still very busy with her “burgeoning” acting career as Rachel Zane (at the very least, a role that offered her a chance to convey something other than “being hot”), Markle began to succumb to the good life after an early January trip to Norway to see the Northern Lights (not that going to Africa together just four months into the relationship wasn’t enough of an indication of Harry’s romantic capabilities–as though it’s something they teach you in Prince Charming School).
Truly, it would seem, “Duchess” for the England of the twenty-first century is her most significant casting of all when considering her “major” films see her in roles that are the epitome of being relegated forever to the sort of “hot girl” Marilyn Monroe was frequently typecast as before transcending into movies that actually showcased her ingenuity as a comedienne. Turns out, Markle only has “hot” in her repertoire and couldn’t make comedy work for her to at least break out a little more–or maybe even become known as a supporting actress à la Judy Greer.
Instead, Markle seemed to be perfectly content with the likes of Hallmark Channel “originals” and a direct to video release called A Random Encounter (released three years before her own “random” encounter with Harry)–with the foretelling tag line, “Finding true love can be a royal pain.” Though, of course, not when you’re the legendary Holder of Case #24 on Deal or No Deal. Everything comes easily to you then (princes fall from the sky as you ingratiate yourself into London society!)–save for an adequate filmography. But one can easily dispense with that in the epoch when both The Hangover and a slew of Garry Marshall films centered around middling holidays are considered franchises.
