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Meghan Markle: From L.A. girl to Prince Harry’s fiancee

Prince Harry poses with his fiancee, actress Meghan Markle, after announcing their engagement in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace in London.
(Facundo Arrizabalaga / EPA / Shutterstock)
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She’s been an actress, a blogger and a humanitarian, and now Los Angeles native Meghan Markle is engaged to Britain’s Prince Harry.

As part of their official duties, the couple posed for an engagement photocall on Monday to give the world a glimpse at their new commitment.

Here are a few things to know about the future duchess.

She’s a self-described ‘California girl’

Markle, 36, grew up in Los Angeles. She attended an all-girls Roman Catholic school, Immaculate Heart High School, in Hollywood Hills. She studied theater and international relations at Northwestern University.

She has spent a lot of time in Hollywood

The actress’ most famous role is as paralegal Rachel Zane on USA Network's “Suits,” which is now in its seventh season. She has played smaller parts in shows such as "Fringe," ''CSI: Miami" and "Castle," as well as movies such as "Horrible Bosses."

Her father, Thomas W. Markle, worked as the lighting director and director of photography for "Married … With Children," Markle told Esquire magazine.

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FOR THE RECORD

6:30 p.m., Nov. 27: A previous version of this article said Markle’s quote was from Elle. It was from Esquire.

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"Every day after school for 10 years, I was on the set of ‘Married … With Children,’ which is a really funny and perverse place for a little girl in a Catholic school uniform to grow up," Markle said. "There were a lot of times my dad would say, 'Meg, why don't you go and help with the craft services room over there? This is just a little off-color for your 11-year-old eyes.’”

Early attention on Markle’s relationship with Prince Harry focused on her ethnicity

In a a television interview marking the announcement of their engagement, Markle said it was “disheartening” that early coverage of the couple’s relationship focused so heavily on her ethnicity.

“It’s a shame that that is the climate in this world,” Markle said. “But I think, you know, at the end of the day, I’m really just proud of who I am and where I come from, and we have never put any focus on that.”

She has spoken openly about her identity as a mixed-race woman

Markle penned an essay about being mixed-race for Elle magazine. In it, she wrote about how people would assume her mother was the nanny because of the color of her skin.

The actress also spoke of constantly being asked where her parents were from and the real question at the heart of people’s inquiries.

“While I could say Pennsylvania and Ohio, and continue this proverbial two-step, I instead give them what they're after: ‘My dad is Caucasian and my mom is African American. I'm half black and half white,’” she wrote.

She told Allure magazine that studying race in college was “the first time I could put a name to feeling too light in the black community and too mixed in the white community.”

    sarah.parvini@latimes.com

    Los Angeles Times staff writer Jaclyn Cosgrove and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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