Meghan, Duchess of Sussex missed out on acting work because of her freckles

In conversation with IT Cosmetics founder Jamie Kern Lima on her 'Confessions of a Female Founder' podcast, Meghan said: "I was an auditioning actor, auditioning for commercials and I remember my commercial agent could not submit me for beauty or skincare ads because I had freckles.

"They were like: 'No, no, it's just never going to work because freckles aren't a sign of beauty.' It was just, you couldn't see yourself reflected there."

The former 'Suits' star - who was known as Meghan Markle until she married Prince Harry in 2018 - also revealed that her race worked against her during her attempts to establish herself in the industry.

The duchess explained: "I heard 'no' all the time, especially because I wasn't cookie-cutter for a specific type.

"And at the start of my auditioning career, you were either the Black girl or the white girl or the Latina girl. Everything was typecast so being mixed I could get into a lot of rooms that meant as a numbers game I heard 'no' even more."

Meghan and Harry - who are parents to Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three - stepped down as working members of the British royal family in 2020 before relocating to California and she recently explained that she is the "happiest (she's) ever been" in her life.

She said at the TIME100 Summit in New York: "I'm the happiest I've ever been.

"To have a partner and a husband who is so supportive and have healthy kids who are so joyful ... I never would have imagined at this point I would feel so happy and grateful, and I really do."

Meghan also gave an insight into her approach to parenting as she is determined to raise both of her children in the right way, despite the immense public scrutiny the family faces.

She said: "I'm conscious of not just raising very strong and confident young woman, but also having a son. I think it's just as paramount of importance for young men to be raised with a confidence and sense of self that is going to empower the women around them too.

"It starts with whatever is going on internally. When I am able to not even just tune out whatever that noise is, [but] to really not give it any credence, that has become so much a part of my day-to-day life."