Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex has now become a client of WME — the longest-running talent agency in the world. The news was first reported by Variety.
According to the report, WME pipped several agencies eager to sign Meghan ever since she moved to the US state of California with her husband Prince Harry in 2020.
WME will also represent Meghan and Harry’s own production label, Archewell, which they founded in 2020 following their move to the US.
The news comes just days ahead of King Charles III’s coronation. It has been reported that Harry will travel to London for the historic event, but Meghan will stay back in California for their son, Prince Archie’s, fourth birthday.
What to know about the signing
How WME will work with Meghan
Meghan was an actor before her marriage to the British royal that made her the Duchess of Sussex. She is best known for playing Rachel Zane in Suits (2011-2018). But the report says that reviving her acting career is not part of the deal.
“The agency will be focusing on building out her business ventures across multiple facets of the agency & its broader ecosystem, including film & television production, brand partnerships & more,” the agency said in a tweet on 27 April.
The agency will be focusing on building out her business ventures across multiple facets of the agency & its broader ecosystem, including film & television production, brand partnerships & more.
— WME (@WME) April 27, 2023
The Variety report says that Meghan’s team at WME will include Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel, Brad Slater, and Jill Smoller.
Slater is the representative and brand architect for wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson at the agency while Smoller has been Serena Williams’ agent for a long time.
The signing comes around seven months after Meghan parted ways from her former agency, Sunshine Sachs, which was involved with her during her Suits run.
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Harry & Meghan docuseries and other works
Meghan and Harry had in September 2020 signed a deal with American streaming giant Netflix. It included plans for scripted series, docuseries, documentaries, features and children’s programming.
So far, produced two docuseries for Netflix, as part of a deal.
One of them, the six-episode Harry & Meghan, is the record holder for most-streamed documentary premiere on the streaming platform with 81.5 million minutes watched in the first four days.
The other is Live to Lead featuring interviews with Greta Thunberg, Bryan Stevenson, Jacinda Ardern, Siya Kolisi, Gloria Steinem, Albie Sachs, and the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Both documentaries were released in December 2022.
A third, Heart of Invictus, is in the pipeline. It will be about athletes who participate in Invictus Games — an international sporting event founded by Prince Harry for wounded, injured and sick service personnel.
Meghan has also hosted a 12-episode podcast, Archetypes, as part of a deal with Spotify.
(Main image: Netflix; Featured image: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex/@sussexroyal/Instagram)
This story first appeared on Prestige Online Malaysia
