When most people think of pre-royal Meghan Markle, their minds go straight to her starring role on the legal drama Suits. She was a fan favourite on the hit show thanks to her fantastic portrayal of the talented paralegal Rachel Zane.
But when she wasn't learning scripts or showing off her acting skills in front of the bright lights of the Canadian set, Meghan was hard at work producing content for her popular lifestyle blog The Tig.
Named after her favourite red wine, the Duchess of Sussex filled her blog with travel trips, inspirational advice and delicious recipes. She also shared deeper posts, including a particularly moving piece about her experiences of being biracial.
But after an incredibly successful first eight months, Meghan revealed she had been "petrified" to launch the website, admitted she had to come to terms with the fact some people wouldn't like her.
In an extremely moving blog post, she explained that her work as an actress meant she was also able to hide behind characters, but the blog was the first time she had put herself front and centre.
She writes: "Where did 2014 go? It was just May and I was sitting with butterflies in my stomach, coercing my finger to press the send button on Twitter. It was time for me to say that this website, this passion project, this thing called The Tig, was going live.
"And I was petrified. That may come as a surprise to you, but let’s be real for a moment. I’m an actor. I have made a career of saying other people’s words for a living and making them sound believable.
"Yes, we color them with nuance and add subtext to the writing, but at the end of the day I can hide behind the character. It’s their words, their choices. The writer puts them on paper and I give them a voice.
"Simply speaking, I am the vehicle. But this Tig thing…that was all me. My thoughts, my words, my likes, my ethos. If you didn’t like it, then you probably didn’t like me. And I (including the people-pleasing little girl in me) had to be okay with that."
Within the first eight months, The Tig earned itself praise in Elle and InStyle magazines and had built up a huge army of loyal readers.
She continues: "This brainchild of mine – of inspired living and dreams coming true, of food and fashion, fancy friends, of role models that make the earth shake, and travel that leaves you absolutely breathless – it caught on. My “little engine that could” – did. And it’s because of you."
She encouraged her readers to take chances themselves and to do things that scared them, going on to say the risky project had made her the happiest she'd ever been.
She finishes: "May this year bring you endless joy. I hope you take a risk, that you do something that gives you butterflies in the pit of your belly, that you live a life less stifled, and that you exceed your own expectations. You absolutely can and you absolutely must.
"Without question this is the happiest I have ever been – personally, professionally, wholly. You are a very large part of that, and I thank you from the bottom of my beating heart. Thank you, my friend, and cheers to a most beautiful 2015!"
Meghan closed The Tig down when her relationship with Prince Harry became serious, along with her social media accounts.
There have been reports and rumours that she might start it up again now she and Harry have quit their senior royal roles, however nothing has ever been confirmed.
