Meghan Markle surprised a podcast host by admitting she struggled to find acting roles due to her ethnicity in her younger years.
The Duchess of Sussex, 43, appeared on British businesswoman Emma Grede's podcast "Aspire" to speak about her role in her new brand, As Ever.
Grede asked Meghan about whether her confidence arose from her days as an actress on the TV show Suits.
The mother-of-two explained: "When I was an auditioning actress, and this was well before Suits, you have to think... at that time there were certainly not a lot of mixed-race parts."
Meghan Markle makes surprising race claim leaving host speechless.
YouTube / Emma Grede
Grede looked surprised at that admission, and exclaimed: "Really?!" Meghan replied: "No," before the host repeated: "Really?"
The Duchess continued: "No. There weren't a lot of... If I was going in for an audition, it was either, you have to remember this was a very different time than it is now.
"It was 'Girl Next Door'. That was typically blonde-haired, blue-eyed and a certain look. But because I'm half-white, I would also be submitted for those roles.
"And then if it was a character that had any sort of ethnicity, there was always a bit of an edge to those characters, but I'd be submitted for those roles.
Meghan Markle spoke about her struggles to find acting roles.
YouTube / Emma Grede
"And I also to a lot of people in casting, they thought I was Latina. "So I share that because, and I've shared this before, it was a numbers game.
"If I'm only up for 10 parts, that could be 10 no's. "But if I'm up for 30 parts, because I can fit into so many different rooms, that could be 30 nos, that is a lot to chip away at your self-esteem. That is really hard."
Meghan went on to explain why she keeps a positive mindset in the world of business.
The former working royal said: "I think words matter, and I think certain words and terms become very topical and trendy, and they just become part of the vernacular.
Meghan Markle was an actress on Suits for seven years.
Getty
"At a certain point, you go, why do I keep reinforcing this idea? Because it's topical, right?
"I ultimately believe the more that you can change your thoughts, you're going to change the things around you.
"I think, as any founder, but as a female founder, you have to train your mind to literally be so focused on what your goal is.
"As I said in the podcast, I was laser-focused on what my intention is. There isn't room for a tremendous amount of self-doubt with that."
Emma Grede is the host of her podcast 'Aspire'.
Getty
Meghan concluded: "It will be there, but when it appears, you have to train yourself out of it. I don't think that it's helpful to indulge some of the language that is going to be self-limiting.
"I don't think that helps anyone grow. And I don't think being fear-based, yes, being risk-averse, very valuable.
"Being clear and realistic about the landscape that you're walking into, very helpful. Talking yourself out of it or talking yourself into negative self-talk is not valuable as a founder."
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