Remember when one South Park episode completely ended the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s hopes and dreams within California? Remember how the self-styled British experts of all things Hollywood insisted that no one wants to work with Meghan and Harry, that their massively successful Netflix docuseries and Harry’s bestselling memoir would make them unpopular in royalist Hollywood? Yeah. So, the Duchess of Sussex has just signed with WME, one of the largest and most powerful agencies for creatives. According to Variety, Meghan has been courted by “numerous” agencies for years, and she’s finally decided to sign with WME.
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has signed for representation with WME, Variety can report exclusively. The signing represents a crown jewel for WME, one might say, as numerous agency rivals have tried to land the public figure formerly known as Meghan Markle since she and husband Prince Harry moved to California in 2020.
Her team at WME will be led by power agent turned Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel. She’ll also work with Brad Slater, the rep and brand architect for Dwayne Johnson, and longtime Serena Williams agent Jill Smoller. Additionally, WME will assume representation of Archewell, her and Prince Harry’s content creation label. Film and television production, brand partnerships, and overall business-building will be explored. Acting will not be an area of focus.
The relationship signifies that Meghan is looking to zero in on her enterprise efforts. Her lifelong advocacy for women, mothers and girls will remain a thread in her professional work. In her Variety cover story last year, she discussed her ambitions around Archewell original content (she and Harry are currently engaged in a deal with Netflix).
Thus far, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have produced two docuseries with Netflix, including “Harry & Meghan.” That series represents the most-streamed documentary premiere in Netflix history, with 81.5 million minutes watched in its first week.
Meghan is a global icon, topping lists such as TIME Magazine’s Most Influential People, The Financial Times’ 25 Most Influential Women, Variety Power of Women, and British Vogue’s Vogue 25.
[From Variety]
Global icon? Most-streamed? Most influential? I can feel the seething and tantrums from Salt Island from here. And to work personally with Ari Emmanuel, one of the most powerful men in Hollywood and politics? In addition to being one of the most powerful agents in Hollywood, Ari Emmanuel is a huge fundraiser for Democrats and very well-connected in the Democratic Party. It’s amazing that Jill Smoller is coming on board too – J-Smoll is well known to Serena Williams’ fans, and J-Smoll and Serena have been together since the very start of Serena’s career. Serena considers Jill to be part of the Williams family. Once again, Meghan’s friends and allies are looking out for her.
Also: “brand partnerships” – I swear to God, I’ve been dying for Meghan and Harry to get some brand partnerships. Dior ambassadorships WHEN??
Photos courtesy of Archewell, Variety YouTube video and ‘Ted Talk’.
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