Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Reportedly Have Their Sights Set on Hollywood, Are Eyeing TV Opportunities
“It’s about boosting their brand.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle call Montecito, California home—but are they about to go Hollywood? For Meghan, it would be a return to her roots, lest we forget that, before she was the Duchess of Sussex, she was a Hollywood actress. She appeared most notably as Rachel Zane on Suits, a career she gave up to move to the U.K. and marry Harry. And while the couple was an ocean away from Hollywood when they lived in London, they’re now just about 90 minutes away, and, according to The Mirror, have plans to make inroads there.
Apparently, the couple is “buzzing” at the thought of “boosting the Sussex brand” with their Hollywood friends—including Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, whose vow renewal they recently attended alongside several other A-listers. (The Mirror cites Harry and Meghan as being “super excited” to have scored that invite, and that just being in the room is thought to be a “big deal” for them.) Sources tell the outlet that the Harry & Meghan stars are excited about the “endless opportunities” that could come from working with influential celebrities.
“It was a really big deal being invited to Ellen and Portia’s special day,” an insider says. “Meghan and Harry were super excited and are now buzzing.”
The source says that Harry and Meghan are exploring their options and that Meghan “doesn’t want to miss out” on any worthwhile collaborations.
“The only question is how far Meghan and Harry will be willing to go,” the source says. “It’s about boosting their brand.”
The Sussexes have recently hired bigtime Hollywood dealmaker Adam Lilling, who was named one of the “Top Dealmakers in Hollywood” last year, and has said in the past that he is focused on creating “profit opportunities.”
Celebrity public relations expert Mayah Riaz tells The Mirror that Meghan will probably “move back into TV,” and Marie Claire reported last week that Harry was at one point in the final stages of hosting Saturday Night Live to help promote Spare, his memoir released last month.
Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!
“It would be naïve to not expect Harry and Meghan to make a commercial move post their Netflix series and Spare,” Riaz says. “The Netflix series was tailored for the American audience, and it shows that there is an appetite for the Duke and Duchess in the States. Meghan had a career before moving into the royal family. Now that they are not working royals, should this mean that she should not make a move back into TV? I don’t think so.”
So, would Meghan potentially return to a show like Suits, where she was a main character? Maybe not, Riaz says.
“She may not take a role in a long-running series,” she says. “However, I absolutely can see her making a cameo.”
Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.