Robin L Marshall / Stringer
Back to Her Roots! Meghan Markle ‘Misses the Spotlight’ and Is ‘Waging a Hollywood Comeback’
The moment had come, as she put it, for “a new chapter.” Following her 2017 engagement to Prince Harry, Meghan Markle announced that she’d left Suits, the legal drama on which she starred for seven seasons, because she was ready to begin a life of service as the Duchess of Sussex. “Now it’s time to work with [Harry] as a team,” she said.
She meant it — and five years later, after she and Harry shocked the world by leaving Britain and their royal roles to start another new chapter in California running their philanthropic foundation, Meghan told Variety her intention was “to absolutely not” act again. But she also gave herself some wiggle room, adding, “I guess never say never.”
Now, she is, indeed, returning to her roots. Last spring, it was announced that Meghan signed with top talent agency WME and is being repped by its CEO himself, Ari Emanuel. Though the focus for Meghan and Archewell, the entertainment companyshe founded with Harry, was understood to be film and TV series development and production as well as business and brand partnerships, that’s likely not all that’s on the agenda.
“It’s no secret that Meghan is waging a Hollywood comeback,” an insider exclusively tells Life & Style. “Her royal princess days are over, so she misses the spotlight and attention — and needs the money.”
Curiosity Explodes
As a matter of fact, the Sussexes’ lucrative agreement with Spotify, worth a reported $20 million, was unexpectedly terminated last summer after they made just one 12-episode podcast series.
But audiences are seemingly still interested in what Meghan has to offer: Suits became the most-streamed show of 2023 following its addition to Netflix’s lineup last June.
The unexpected popularity surge occurred four years after the USA Network series went off the air. “Meghan loves that that happened, and she’s had conversations about appearing on the new Suits spinoff,” reveals the insider. “It’s all so exciting!”
In January, Meghan’s onscreen husband, actor Patrick J. Adams, admitted he was open to a return and thought Meghan could be, too. A possible storyline for the fresh, City of Angels-set series? Their Seattle-based characters “gotta come down to L.A.,” he quipped. “They gotta fix some stuff.”
The Suits universe isn’t all that’s on the table, though. “It’s still very hush-hush, but Meghan’s also already landed, or is close to landing, multiple TV and film roles,” claims the insider. “Meghan has celebrated her comeback by throwing a private dinner party with her A-list friends.”
According to the insider, the guest list has included names like Serena Williams as well as Ellen DeGeneres and Kevin Costner, who live near the Montecito, California, estate Meghan, 42, and Harry, 39, share with their kids, Archie, 4, and Lilibet, 2.
However, she soon hopes to be in a room with even more star power. “Meghan’s trying to get an invite to the Oscars. She doesn’t just plan to attend — she wants to present an award, too,” dishes the insider. “Being on that stage would send a huge message that she’s officially back.”
Big Plans
Meghan’s admitted that she missed Hollywood and enjoyed being back in the fold as she and Harry made their self-titled 2022 docuseries and Archewell’s 2023 Invictus Games show for Netflix. “My husband has never worked in this industry before. For me, having worked on Suits, it’s so amazing to be around so much creative energy,” she told Variety. “That’s been really fun.”
Netflix’s chief content officer recently confirmed that the Sussexes were working on “a couple of unscripted things” again, in addition to a film — which could be related to their 2023 purchase of the book rights to the novel Meet Me at the Lake — and a series that is in “very early development.”
In 2022, Meghan confessed she’d like to get behind “a good rom-com. Don’t we miss them? I miss them so much. I’ve probably watched When Harry Met Sally a million times. And all the Julia Roberts rom-coms. We need to see those again.”
This time, claims the insider, Meghan hopes to be in the lead role. “Meghan’s return to Hollywood is fraught with high expectations and a boatload of concerns,” says the insider, “but she’s not looking back. This has always been her ultimate dream.”
