Meghan Markle says she was the ‘ugly ducking’ and ‘a bit of a loner’ growing up
‘I had massive frizzy curly hair and a huge gap in my teeth,’ Duchess of Sussex says
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Duchess of Sussex has revealed that she felt like the “ugly duckling” growing up and that she was a “little bit of a loner” in school.
Meghan Markle opened up about her school life while speaking to Mindy Kaling for the latest episode of her podcast, Archetypes.
As the Never Have I Ever creator discussed feeling “ugly, overweight and othered” as a child, and that she wants her four-year-old daughter to feel “beautiful” every day, Meghan confessed that she had a similar experience.
To Kaling’s surprise, Meghan said she was the “ugly duckling” in school.
“Were you not the pretty one? Kaling said. “That is news to me.”
“No, God no, no. Ugly duckling,” Meghan said. “Maybe not conventional beauty, now maybe it might be seen as beautiful, but I had massive frizzy curly hair and a huge gap in my teeth.”
Meghan added: “No, I was the smart one, forever and ever and ever. And then I sort of just grew up.”
Expressing her shock, Kaling said she had always assumed “Meghan Markle was the one hot girl who had her head screwed on”.
Recalling the “really hard time”, Meghan said she turned her attention to academic success as a distraction.
“I never had anyone to sit with at lunch, I was always a little bit of a loner and really shy and didn’t know where I fit in,” Meghan said.
She explained: “So I was like, OK I’ll become president of multicultural club and the president of sophomore class and president of French club, and by doing that I had meetings at lunch time so I didn’t have to worry about what who I would sit with or what I would do, because I was always so busy.”
Elsewhere in the episode, the Duchess revealed she planned her “dream wedding” at the age of 14.
“I remember every little thing about it. I wanted it to be at the Bel-Air Hotel,” Meghan said.
“There was a swan lake, and I wanted the cake to be from Hansen’s Bakery and the dress… oh my goodness. The dress was strapless, pouffy and I’d seen it in a bridal magazine.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments