Meghan Markle 's life changed forever when she was cast as the impressive paralegal Rachel Zane in Suits.
As well as making friends for life in her co-stars, her new found celebrity status gave her a platform for the charity work and causes she was passionate about. It also led her into celeb circles which would one day see her introduced to her future husband, Prince Harry.
But it turns out Meghan's first audition for the show, which was originally called A Legal Mind, didn't really go to plan.
In an extremely honest on her blog The Tig, the Duchess of Sussex admits she forgot her lines and ended up making a heartbroken call to her agent afterwards to tell her she wouldn't be getting the part.
Recalling that August day, Meghan writes: "'I blew it.' That’s what I said to my agent after my audition for a pilot called A Legal Mind. 'I kept forgetting my lines, I was distracted, and I blew it. Which sucks because I really wanted this one. I really like Rachel.
"But I blew it. I wanted it, and I lost my shot at it. Or so I thought."
Meghan recalls going home and "eating her feelings", saying she spend the evening tucking into "s ome iteration of bread and cheese" as she went back over the bad audition over and over again.
However it turns out that wasn't the case and the producers were still impressed, even if she wasn't happy with her performance.
She was asked to test for the role, which is another level of audition which also involves the studio and network executives.
She continues: "Those suits were about to decide my fate for what would end up being known the world over as Suits. I had been given a last minute note about my appearance – they wanted more conservative, think hair pulled back and business attire.
"I bought an outfit on my way to the audition for $45 dollars. I still have that black dress in my closet. There was no Tom Ford pencil skirt, nor a pair of Louboutins on my feet, a Prada blouse was many moons away on Rodeo Drive, and I’d had my hair blown out at DryBar because it was close to my house and what I could afford.
"I parked my rattling car and went up the endless floors in the elevator - a time machine, moving me into a new chapter of my life. But I didn’t know it then. All I knew in that moment is that I was nervous, I was hungry, and that a regal looking actress just smiled at me in the waiting room.
"I had no idea that this late August morning of 2011 would change my life."
Landing the role saw Meghan move to M anhattan to film the pilot and then to Canada for the full series.
She ends the post: "First, I was a girl at an audition. Then, I was a girl who got the part. Now I’m a woman who’s starting the fifth season of that show.
"I remember that day like it was yesterday. My cheeks still hurt from how hard I smiled.”
Meghan spoke about her days as a struggling actress when she sat down with Ellen DeGeneres after she and Harry quit the royal family.
Recalling how things had changed since last visited the Warner Bros Lot where The Ellen Show is filmed, Meghan laughed: “I would park on gate three and I would scoot on over and the security guards here would always say ‘break a leg, I hope you get it.’ So driving today was very different.”
Meghan went on to recall driving around in a battered old car and being too poor to have her busted car door fixed.
She explained: “It had a life of its own so I had this very old Ford Explorer Sport and at a certain point the key stopped working on the driver’s side, so you couldn’t get yourself in through the door.
“So after auditions I would park at the back of the parking lot and I would open the trunk and climb in, pull the door shut behind me and crawl all over my seats to get out. That’s how I would come to and fro.”
She also had the perfect lie up her sleeve should anyone question her about her odd entry to her vehicle.
She laughed: “I would play it off, I’d go ‘Oh, I’m just looking for my resume, highlighters for my script. Maybe it’s back there’, and then crawl in and close it.”
