Before Meghan Markle was poised to become royalty, and ready to replace acting with more philanthropic endeavors, she was just another up and coming actress with a side hustle (her lifestyle blog, obviously). When the Northwestern grad first began attending events, she wasn’t exactly high on the totem pole of Hollywood royalty.
Now, her style has evolved, befitting someone regal, and her fitted A-line dresses wouldn’t look out of place on Kate Middleton. Still, there’s something to be said for her earlier looks and the events she wore them to—instead of attending royal weddings and jetting to Norway like a Bachelor contestant, she was most at home in off-brand gifting suites.
Over the years, Markle moved on from going to those NYFW gifting suites to sitting front row at shows. She has been particularly fond of Marchesa (they also design wedding gowns) and Herve Leger’s bandage dresses, and was most often spotted in some variation of hot pink, with a particular affinity for the aforementioned going out dresses.
In honor of her 36th birthday today, scroll through her photos over the years to see how her many appearances began to change once she was linked to Prince Harry.