When it seemed like things couldn’t get any worse professionally for “Duchess Difficult” Meghan Markle, the former royal has turned things around by deciding to revive her acting career in a last-ditch attempt at Hollywood success, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Markle, 44, will reportedly appear as herself in the new movie Close Personal Friends, which stars an Oscar winner.
‘A Massive Moment’
Despite leaving acting, Markle still loved attending Hollywood red carpet events.
The movie features Academy Award winner Brie Larson, Emily in Paris’Lily Collins, The Hunger Games‘ Jack Quaid, and Crazy Rich Asians star Henry Golding. The plot line focuses on two couples, one famous and one not.
Markle was reportedly seen on the set in Pasadena, California, on Wednesday, November 5. It’s unclear how much screen time the Duchess of Sussex will have in the Amazon MGM Studios production, which was first announced in August.
One connection Markle does have to the production is where she lives, as the two couples in the movie “meet in Santa Barbara and become fast friends,” and the ex-royal lives in nearby Montecito.
“This is a massive moment for Meghan and signifies a return to doing what she truly loves,” a studio source dished.
‘Swamped With Offers’
Markle still loves to flash her megawatt Hollywood smile.
“She has been swamped with offers, but this one felt right,” the insider blabbed. “It is Meghan’s way of gently putting her toe back in the water and seeing how she enjoys being back on set.”
“Everyone involved is super-excited, and has been sworn to secrecy about her involvement,” the source revealed.
The return to acting came just as Markle’s husband, Prince Harry, was arriving in Toronto, Canada, to meet with military veterans on a pseudo-royal tour.
“Prince Harry is, of course, really supportive and quite simply wants Meghan to do whatever brings her joy,” the insider gushed.
Markle huffed in 2022 that, when it came to acting, “I’m done. I guess never say never, but my intention is to absolutely not” return to her former career.
Markle Could Have Kept Acting While a Royal
Markle appeared on USA’s ‘Suits’ for seven seasons, from 2011 through 2018.
Markle hasn’t acted since she was on USA’s Suits, where she starred in an ensemble cast as paralegal Rachel Zane.
The California naive appeared in the show’s first seven seasons, until her character was written off by marrying lead Patrick J. Adams‘ Michael Ross and moving to Seattle to start their own law firm.
It happened at just the right time, as Markle’s romance with Harry was starting to heat up during her final season on the show.
Her final episode of Suits aired in April 2018, one month before Markle’s royal wedding to Harry, 40.
Queen Elizabeth II wanted Markle to feel free to continue her acting career despite marrying into the royal family, both Princess Diana‘s biographer, Andrew Morton, and Prince Philip‘s close friend, Gyles Brandreth, claimed.
Brandeth wrote in her 2022 biography Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, that Markle met with the monarch for about 20 minutes in 2017, when Her Majesty told her future granddaughter-in-law that she didn’t have to give up her acting career. Markle responded that she was “ready for royal duty” as a working member of the family.
Instead, she and Harry sensationally quit the royal family in early 2020 and moved to California.
Failed Hollywood Ventures
Markle’s return to acting comes amid the big news that an As Ever product is on Oprah’s Favorite Things 2025 holiday guide.
Markle’s acting gig comes at the perfect time, as the duchess’s business opportunities have all but dried up in Hollywood.
“There is not only no appetite left for them in LA, but they’ve also worn through any goodwill they had,” an insider claimed about Markle and Harry, especially in the wake of their exclusive Netflix deal collapsing into a first-look agreement.
The only project the duo has left is Markle’s upcoming holiday episode of With Love, Meghan, that will seemingly mark the end of her run as a TV cooking and lifestyle guru.
A second insider scoffed, “People are sick of them; the act has gotten stale,” and that the duo had upset Tinseltown executives with their lack of professionalism.
The duchess is still working on her flailing As Ever brand, which recently launched a series of holiday gift products. However, fans winced at the high prices, including two new candles at $64 a pop and a $62 honey duo gift box.
Markle got a significant endorsement for her Signature Fruit Spread Gift Box, though, as her close pal, Oprah Winfrey, included it in her Favorite Things 2025 holiday gift guide. However, the media titan proved how out of touch she is in the announcement video, gushing over how she always “loves a good pair” of cashmere lounging pants and other lavish holiday items.
