Meghan Markle's College Major Might Surprise You
From acting to activism, it seems that Meghan Markle can truly do it all. The Los Angeles native first entered the global spotlight when she married Prince Harry in 2018, but long before she became the Duchess of Sussex and made headlines for her tumultuous relationship with the British royal family, Markle was a formally-educated woman earning a name for herself as a Hollywood actress and a lifestyle blogger.
Though it's far from surprising that the former Suits actress has a college degree in addition to her plethora of other life achievements, it's actually a fairly newer tradition within the history of the British royal family, with Prince Charles being the first heir to earn a university degree (via Britannica.com). In fact, as reported by PopSugar, Markle is only the second British royal bride who received a college education, after Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton.
So what exactly did Meghan Markle study in college? According to Biography.com, Markle attended Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, where she graduated in 2003 with a Bachelor's degree in theater and international relations. Interestingly, this unique double major certainly seems to have prepared Markle for her life as an actress-turned-British-royal.
Meghan was a "theater nerd" who considered pursuing politics in college
As reported by the Chicago Tribune, Meghan Markle initially wanted to study English at Northwestern University, but ended up double majoring in theater and international relations at the prestigious Chicago school, where she was also a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. In an interview with Marie Claire in 2013, Markle revealed that she was always "the theater nerd" in college, but also had some bigger aspirations within the political space.
"I knew I wanted to do acting, but I hated the idea of being this cliché — a girl from L.A. who decides to be an actress," she explained to the outlet. "I wanted more than that, and I had always loved politics, so I ended up changing my major completely, and double-majoring in theater and international relations."
In fact, Markle even had an internship at the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires during her junior year, as she further revealed to Marie Claire. "I'm 20 years old, in Buenos Aires, in a motorcade, doing that whole thing. I thought for sure I would still have a career in politics," she said.
Though Markle eventually focused on her acting career after graduating — later also founding and running her own lifestyle blog, The Tig — it seems that her dual studies in college prophetically prepared the future Duchess for a royal life, as well.