Long before she married Prince Harry and earned the ire of many royal followers, Meghan Markle was working as a model and actress, struggling to get cast. She had a few small gigs before landing it relatively big on Suits, and dating Harry led to greater notoriety, if not fame specifically. In the years since she stopped acting on Suits, Meghan has probably made more money than she ever did while acting; thanks to Netflix and Spotify, among other deals, Markle is worth more than fans may expect.
It all started with some minor modeling and acting spots, though, including a stint as a suitcase-holding model on Deal or No Deal. It's not a job Meghan looks back on fondly, however. Therefore, the question is, was the money worth it, or does Deal or No Deal take advantage of — and objectify — its models?
Meghan Has Famously Badmouthed Her Deal Or No Deal Gig
Meghan's podcast Archetypes has featured plenty of interesting chitchat with stars like Mariah Carey and Serena Williams, and it's also included some hints at Markle's own experiences in Hollywood.
TMZ recapped Meghan's comments about the series, noting that she said she felt like a "bimbo" after appearing in short dresses and heels. TMZ quipped, "what did she think she signed up for," and elaborated that Meghan continued that producers didn't care about the models' intelligence and were only concerned with looks.
Still, Meghan did say she was grateful for the opportunity because it helped her pay her bills. She also talked about how the work was different from her time as an intern at the US Embassy, which seems to further define the fact that Deal or No Deal had nothing to do with using her intelligence at all.
The job was to stand there and look pretty, so at the end of the day, Meghan did that and collected her paycheck.
How Much Did Meghan Markle Earn On Deal Or No Deal?
All jobs have their perks and pitfalls, and critics were quick to suggest Meghan shouldn't have complained about her early modeling gig. Acting and modeling, after all, are not the most difficult jobs out there.
Though it's hard to calculate how much Meghan made per hour on Deal or No Deal, she did have to stand by her briefcase in high heels and was reportedly told to 'suck it in' for the pose.
For her trouble, Express noted, she was apparently paid $800 per episode. This was according to an author who penned a biography about Markle.
Further details of the gig suggest that multiple episodes were sometimes filmed in one day; as many as seven episodes in one day meant a take-home pay of $5,600.
That modeling job was before Markle's big break on Suits, Express pointed out, and at the time, the actress was reportedly struggling to find work in Hollywood.
All told, she appeared in 34 episodes of the show, which should mean she earned a total of $27,000 as "Briefcase Model #24."
Details also suggest that Markle worked somewhat sporadically on the show, taking home piles of cash in a matter of weeks, then having time off to pursue other gigs.
Other Celebrities Worked On The Same Set As Markle
Meghan Markle may not have enjoyed her time on Deal or No Deal, but some other notable names also appeared on the show. Chrissy Teigen worked alongside Meghan for a time, as did a handful of other models.
When asked about what it was like to work with Meghan, Chrissy once said "no dirt" and called her co-star "gorgeous." Teigen doesn't seem to have spoken at length about working on Deal or No Deal, though.
For his part, host (at the time) Howie Mandel's comments that Markle was "duchessy" at the time don't reflect positively on the former model. Yet no matter what Meghan revealed (or didn't) about working on the show, some critics would be waiting to slam her regardless.
As it is, Meghan is far past her days of piecemeal modeling work, and she no longer needs to wear Spanx and cheap high heels while shivering in a subzero studio environment for hours.
These days, her projects are very different, with Netflix deals and a regular podcast that gives her plenty of opportunities to share about her life and stir up controversy, whether unintentional or otherwise.
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