Markle explained how she learned to cope with rejection during the early years of her career...
Meghan Markle has revealed that she struggled to find work before she achieved success with the series Suits, due to a lack of roles for people of mixed race.
In an interview with Emma Grede's Aspire podcast, Markle explained how she learned to cope with rejection during the early years of her acting career.
She described this period as a "chapter full of self-doubt." "I was an actress auditioning and this was way before Suits and you have to understand that there weren't a lot of roles for people of mixed race at that time," Markle said.
"If I auditioned, it was usually for one of two types of roles, you have to remember that this was a very different time than now. This role usually required a girl with blonde hair, blue eyes and a certain look, but because I'm half-white, they included me in the auditions for those roles as well. And then, if the role was for a character of some ethnic background, those roles always had a certain 'grit' or strong 'character', but they also presented me for those. Furthermore, a lot of the people who arrange the actors thought I was Latina."
Markle, who hasn't acted in years and is now focused on her Netflix series and lifestyle company, said it was a "numbers game" that often resulted in dozens of rejections from casting directors.
She added: "It's very self-confident. It's very difficult. I went through a chapter of doubting myself as an actress in auditions and then beyond. When you're so consumed with what other people think of you, it can be a very difficult way to live."
Markle has previously spoken about this period of her career.
In an opinion piece written for Elle magazine in 2015, she said: "I wasn't black enough to portray people of color nor white enough for 'white' characters, remaining somewhere in between as the 'ethnic chameleon' who couldn't get work."
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