Meghan Markle Jokes About Her Acting Career at Lion King Premiere

• Meghan Markle and Billy Eichner bonded over their acting classes at Northwestern University during The Lion King premiere in London.
• Eichner revealed that when they congratulated each other on their careers, the duchess joked, "Well, things took a little turn," while referring to her own professional trajectory.

Meghan Markle may be better known as the Duchess of Sussex these days, but her acting career isn't too far behind her. In fact, while attending the London premiere of The Lion King earlier this month, she fondly reminisced her thespian roots with fellow Northwestern University alum (and 2019 Timon voice actor) Billy Eichner.

"Meghan and I both went to college together—we were both theatre majors at Northwestern," the Lion King star said on Today with Hoda & Jenna this morning, per People. "We didn't know each other when we were there, but we were there at the same time."

As the two met on the red carpet, they had a "very casual conversation" about the acting teachers they shared and exchanged compliments on each other's successes. "She said to me, 'Congrats on your career,'" Eichner continued. He returned the praise, which Duchess Meghan received with a sense of humor.

"And she said, 'Well, things took a little turn,'" the actor recalled, breaking out into laughter.

Before becoming royalty, Meghan was best known for starring as Rachel Zane on the USA legal drama Suits for seven seasons. Her final episode on the show aired in April 2018. Despite enticing rumors speculating a brief cameo, insiders working on the show confirmed there are "no plans for [Meghan] to return to the show."

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However, Meghan is still integrating the performing arts with her royal duties. In January, she became royal patron of the National Theatre, taking over one of the queen's big roles.

Erica Gonzales is the Senior Culture Editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage on TV, movies, music, books, and more. She was previously an editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com. There is a 75 percent chance she's listening to Lorde right now. 

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