Meghan Markle and Mariah Carey Get Candid About Having Natural Hair in Hollywood

Meghan Markle’s podcast, "Archetypes," has officially arrived—and the royal made a point to be candid in the inaugural episodes. She touched on the racism she faced since she started dating now-husband Prince Harry, talked about reclaiming her social media presence, and shared her experience as a bi-racial woman in Hollywood. The latter is something she bonded over with Mariah Carey, her second guest on the podcast.

“Here’s the thing: They [hairstylists] didn’t know how to do my hair,'' the “All I Want for Christmas Is You” singer said while talking about her early career. “If it was a white hairdresser that had never dealt with textured hair, they would tend to do a different thing and my hair would be like, ‘You’re not doing that!’” And if she was working with a hairstylist trained in natural hair?  Carey found they weren’t accustomed to her mixed hair texture and would use “too much product.” 

Markle, who described her hair as “so curly and so, so thick,” had a similar experience. She recalled her hair being “shellacked” by “so much heavy grease” during her acting days. Similar experiences in the glam chair isn’t the only common ground the two share. Markle went on to explain that as a teen she wanted to “dress, look, be, sing, and do everything” like Carey because of their similar backgrounds. 

“She was so glamorous and fabulous and talented. She was successful. And she was mixed, like me,” the Suits alum said about Carey. “She was an aspirational figure I could see…and you have to see it to believe it, they say. Well, I could see her. It made me feel like I was also seen.” 

Following the release of the conversation, “Archetypes'' topped Spotify’s global charts. According to The Cut, future episodes will feature Constance Wu, Issa Rae, Lisa Ling, Margaret Cho and Ziwe, among others.