Meghan Markle Was Once Confused for a Famous Namesake — and It Changed Her Family Forever
The Duchess of Sussex was once mistaken for another popular star, but the call eventually led to a monumental moment in her life.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are proud parents to two rescued dogs - Pula and Mia. While the former is a stunning black Labrador retriever, Mamma Mia is an adorable beagle. The dogs recently made headlines when the former Suits star posted a video of the two wearing party hats on her birthday. However, there is an interesting story about how the cute beagle ended up as part of the Sussex clan, and it involved Markle being mistaken for a famous namesake.
Mia was adopted from the Beagle Freedom Project run by animal rights attorney Shannon Keith. Markle called her regarding an adoption inquiry, leading to an amusingly confused phone conversation. “The duchess called me personally,” Keith told The Los Angeles Times in 2022. The legal practitioner further admitted that she didn’t realize who the “VIP Donor” interested in beagle adoption was.
Keith then narrated, “She calls on my cell with no Caller ID and says, ‘Hey Shannon, this is Meghan’.” At first, she believed it was a famous namesake who was also an actor and had called her. “We talked for 30 minutes, and I thought, ‘Is this Megan Fox?’” Although it was not the Transformers star who had enquired, it was none other than the Duchess of Sussex.
Keith further mentioned a heartwarming moment when Markle decided to adopt Mia. “The duchess is holding Mia and was like, ‘We’re adopting her,’” she said “She was like, ‘No, we don’t want a Christmas puppy. … We want ones we can help who are older'.” And cut to 2026: Mia is a beloved part of the family, celebrating the Sussexes’ special days alongside her found sibling, Pula.
Markle was previously a devoted dog mom to Bogart and Guy, two dogs who stayed with her in Canada during her acting days. The Duke of Sussex claimed in his memoir that Bogart was “traumatized” due to the constant media presence at Markle’s Toronto home. So much so that he had to be adopted by her neighbors when she moved to the UK. “He’d been so traumatized by the siege of her house, by the constant ringing of the doorbell, that his demeanor changed when Meg was around. He’d become an aggressive guard dog. Meg’s neighbors had graciously agreed to adopt him,” he wrote.
One of the welcome changes in Harry’s life when he began courting Markle was the inclusion of Guy. “I’d wanted a dog for so long, and I’d never been able to have one because I’d been such a nomad,” the prince further wrote. Last year, the Duchess announced that Guy had passed away.
