Meghan Markle has discovered that she is “43% Nigerian”. In a new episode of her Spotify-exclusive podcast, Archetypes, the Duchess of Sussex told Nigerian-American talk show host Ziwe Fumudoh that she found out that her mixed-race heritage includes being Nigerian after genealogical testing “a couple of years ago”.
“I’m going to start to dig deeper into all this because anybody that I’ve told, especially Nigerian women, are like ‘What!'” Markle said when asked if she knew the tribe her ancestors were from.
Ziwe also indicated that the discovery was “huge for our community”. “No, honestly, you do look like a Nigerian, you look like my aunt Uzo. So this is great,” Ziwe told Markle.
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Markle’s mother is African American and her father is Caucasian. Until recently, she did not know much about her roots. Some six years ago, she spoke about her mixed-race status in an essay in ELLE Magazine.
“Being biracial paints a blurred line that is equal parts staggering and illuminating. While my mixed heritage may have created a grey area surrounding my self-identification, keeping me with a foot on both sides of the fence, I have come to embrace that. To say who I am, to share where I’m from, to voice my pride in being a strong, confident mixed-race woman.”
