Thomas Markle is a retired lighting director and director of photography for television. He married his first wife in 1964 which ended in divorce in 1975. Then married Doria Ragland in December 1979 and got divorced after 8 or 9 years. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is his youngest child and also the only child with Doria.
Life and Career:
He worked on television sitcoms as lightning director for ‘General Hospital’ and ‘Married… with Children’. He has won 2 Emmy Awards for his work in General Hospital, one in 1982 for Outstanding Achievement in Design Excellence for a Daytime Drama Series and the other in 2011 for Outstanding Achievement in Lighting Direction for a Drama Series. Along with that he also has several nominations. He won a lottery of amount $750,000 in 1990 but almost 25 years later he declared bankruptcy. He is retired and now lives in Rosarito, Mexico.
Relation with Meghan:
Meghan is his youngest daughter, he and Doria got divorced when she was 6. They spent time in his working area, in an interview Meghan claims this as a reason that inspired her to act. As a kid, she spent time on the sets of shows for years surrounded by the sets, actors, and cameras. Meghan said in an interview that both her parents are supportive. He helped Meghan with his knowledge for her acting her roles. Before the Royal Wedding, he arranged some Paparazzi photos of him preparing for the wedding, which later turned out he was paid for the photos. His daughter Samantha, revealed that he agreed to the photos, not for money but to correct his image. There was some controversy and in an interview with TMZ, he revealed he regrets agreeing to the shoot with the agency and feels it was stupid. The relationship worsened after this.
He did not attend the wedding as he suffered a heart attack and he couldn’t attend the wedding because of his heart surgery. Meghan also made an official statement that her father would not be attending the wedding because he was recovering and focusing on his health. After that, he has done numerous interviews where he voices his disagreement about Meghan’s decisions. He has stated that he no longer has any contact with Meghan or her husband, Prince Harry.
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