"I actually think is incredible training" - Meghan Markle says college acting helped her prepare for leading a team

The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, in the latest episode of her podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, which was released on May 13, 2025, opened up about how learning acting helped her prepare to lead a team. Not only that, but studying acting at the reputable Northwestern University also helped the duchess become a better founder.

Markle's newly launched podcast, which first aired on April 8, 2025, mainly features female founders and her entrepreneur friends. On her latest episode of Confessions of a Female Founder, Meghan discussed her days at Northwestern University and what she learned there with Heather Hasson, the co-founder and CEO of FIGS.

Meghan Markle, who shares two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, with Prince Harry, launched her own lifestyle and cooking brand, As Ever, in April 2025. The 43-year-old actress turned entrepreneur, Meghan, while talking to FIGS medical scrubs founder, Hasson, said:

"I was a theater major, and part of the program was that you couldn't just do the acting. You had to do soup-to-nuts, every part of what a production would entail, which I actually think is incredible training for when you’re running a team because you appreciate what the sound person does and what the lighting person does."

Markle went ahead and added:

"Wardrobe department and sewing were part of it too, so I am comfortable with a sewing machine."

Meghan garnered mainstream recognition after her role as Rachel Zane in USA Network's 2011 legal drama series SUITS. However, it was her marriage to Prince Harry that made her a global icon. The Dater's Handbook actress, Markle, in one of the earlier episodes of her podcast, also talked about her University days. As mentioned before, Meghan, who attended Northwestern University, pursued theater and international relations there. Not many people are aware of this, but she double-majored in theater.

During a previous episode of Confessions of a Female Founder, which was released on April 22, 2025, Meghan, while talking with Kadi Lee, a professional hair colorist who is also her friend, shared how she used to style her hair when she was living at the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority house. Markle said:

"I don't even think they made plug-in flat irons at the time. They couldn't! If they did, I didn't know where they were, because I had the little stove, with the flat iron that would go in, have a paper towel on the side. I mean, probably half the people listening to this are going, 'What is she talking about?'"

The Duchess of Sussex further continued and added:

 

"Or you'd pull it out, it would have the little scorch marks. And I remember most of the girls in the sorority who were not Black say, 'What's that smell?' Is hair burning?' And it was just what you would do to figure out how to grapple with this texture of hair."