When we think of Meghan Markle, we think of the elegant fiancée of Prince Harry and the actress who played the headstrong lawyer Rachel Zane.
But there was a time, back in the day, when Meghan was made to stuff her bra and wear super-short skirts on Deal or No Deal.
It’s testament to her hustle that she’s managed to get to where she has from such small beginnings, but her time working on the show was a means to an end for the actress.
Meghan was even inspected on a daily basis by producers to ensure she wasn’t putting on any weight in her position as a ‘Briefcase Babe’.
Apparently though, this didn’t stop Meghan from regularly eating pizza and crisps behind the scenes, a true feminist act.
Meghan was made to audition for the role in a swimsuit, and was given $600 a day for her work on the show.
Former co-star Tameka Jacobs, told The Sun:
Meghan’s aspirations were to win an Oscar or be on Broadway, so if you’re in a mini dress, high heels, with your boobs taped together and pushed up when what you want to do is serious acting, then it’s tough.
There was a lot of pressure not to gain weight and we were inspected every morning. The producer would stand on a chair and have us all line up.
He’d look at us and say: ‘More hair on her’ or ‘fix her boobs’ and there was a lot of stuffing our bras. We’d crack up about how much stuff was inside them.
Sometimes we’d mess around and squeeze our breasts together and bend over so you could see the seven layers of foam.
Meghan had a great figure and filled out her dress very nicely.
The UN advocate for gender equality and the empowerment of women clearly knew where she wanted to be in her career, and for her the Deal or No Deal gig was a step on the ladder, but the conditions on the show were less than ideal.
Tameka said she remembered, even back then, the workhorse Meghan claiming she was at Deal or No Deal merely because it was good money.
Meghan herself prefers to gloss over her time on the show, and it’s not hard to see why, but it gives a great insight into how hard the actress worked to get to where she is today.
Tameka explained:
She was a workhorse. She wanted to make it in the business and I don’t think partying was in her realm of interest at the time.
Meghan always had another audition in the morning. She wanted to be prepared for the next day and was very driven.
She’d show up and say ‘Hi’ and hang out for five minutes at our events and then disappear.
I never saw Meghan hold an alcoholic beverage but no-one teased her for missing out as you had to respect her hustle.
It just goes to show that it’s not where you are that’s important, but where you’re heading. Major props to Meghan.
