Now that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry need to work to achieve financial independence from public funding bestowed to senior members of the royal family, many are wondering where the couple will start. For Meghan, it shouldn't be that hard since she has an acting career before she got engaged and eventually married Prince Harry. However, her career did not take off easily at first.
Meghan started at the bottom. She tried to land roles in auditions and got rejected. When she met her first husband, Trevor Engelson, in 2004, she was still a struggling actress while the latter was an aspiring film producer.
It was revealed that Engelson suffered an "unmitigated disaster" in the early years of their romance. He debuted in the film industry as executive director of the movie Zoom.
The superhero adventure comedy film, however, was heavily criticized by critics. The Tim Allen-starred movie flopped at the box office. It only earned $12 million on a $75 million budget.
Royal biographer Andrew Morton described in his 2018 book, Meghan: A Hollywood Princess, the effect of Engelson's first movie fail on the couple's relationship. Zoom was a huge setback for the filmmaker.
"While Meghan was slowly but steadily chugging along, Trevor went from boom to bust. Zoom...proved an unmitigated disaster. The family action film, described as a dull and laugh-free affair, received a 3 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes," he wrote.
Engelson returned with a new project and co-produced the ABC Family original movie, Santa Baby. It was hit. Over 4.7 million viewers watched the movie on its initial airing, making it the most-watched original film developed for ABC Family channel. He also worked on romance movies such as Remember Me, License to Wed, and All About Steve.
Meghan, on the other hand, was still struggling to make a name in Hollywood. According to Morgan, 2006 was not a good year for the actress in both TV and film.
Around this time, she also got a call from her agent inviting her to audition for the TV game show, Deal or No Deal. She, later, appeared on the show as one of the "briefcase girls" for 34 episodes.
Big starring roles are still elusive for Markle at the time. She made guest appearances in several TV series such as 90210 and CSI: Miami.
Her huge break came in 2011 when she received an offer from USA Network to star on its legal drama, Suits. Meghan starred in the series from its debut season as Rachel Zane up to Season 7.
Meghan and Trevor dated for six years before they tied the knot in 2011. However, they broke up about 18 months later. They were granted a no-fault divorce in August 2013 citing irreconcilable differences.
Both Meghan and Trevor now have different partners. Meghan started dating Prince Harry in June 2016. She walked down the aisle of St. George's Chapel at the Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018. As for Engelson, he married dietitian Tracey Kurland in May 2019 after dating for a year and a half.
