Deal or No Deal? Meghan Markle's Iconic 'Item' Went On Sale for $6500 in Los Angeles
Meghan Markle's early years in public is coming into focus next month for a Hollywood auction.
The Duchess of Sussex's briefcase from the U.S. show "Deal or No Deal" is being sold for an estimated $6,500 according to Express.
Meghan, in 2006, was a struggling actress and so she took the gig at the game show to "make ends meet."
Markle's role was to open the case when called upon, revealing whatever amount is inside to which the contestant could win. However, only the last remaining suitcase in the game could be won.
The prop from the game show is listed as lot number 783 of Hollywood: A Collector's Ransom Auction.
ppl forget that Meghan Markle was a deal or no deal briefcase lady pic.twitter.com/lNTARGRson — bob loblaw (@LobsLawBombs) June 6, 2019
The briefcase is made of lightweight aluminum, a chrome handle and a latch lock with black acrylic and metal number on the front.
Meghan's life as a briefcase girl was enduring freezing studios and standing for hours in painful high heels. She also wore dresses to flaunt her legs and cleavage, complete with a pair of Spanx.
According to a book written by Andrew Norton titled, "Meghan, A Hollywood Princess," the Duchess started acting at the age of 25 as a briefcase girl on "Deal or No Deal."
The show first aired in 2005 but Meghan joined for the second season after successfully passing an audition.
Howie Mendel, the game show host, recalled a young Meghan on the set saying that she was "slightly duchessy."
"She was not involved in many episodes, but I did remember her. She was a very nice person. I can't say that I saw anything - I think all the women on our show are special," Mendel said.
Meghan was with 25 other girls who held numbered briefcases, which the contestants would select one by one.
At that time, she was being paid $800 per episode. Although it was good, the behind-the-scenes was far from it.
Another briefcase girl, Tameka Jacobs, said she took the young Duchess under her wing and showed her the ropes.
"She briefed her on the daily routine and what to bring to set - a pair of cozy Uggs boots after a day in high-heels in near-freezing temperatures was a must," Jacobs revealed.
Filming was reportedly starting at 5:30 AM, as Meghan and the other girl had to go through hours of hair, makeup and final fittings for their provocative looks.
There were reportedly many episodes filmed per day, so there were outfit changes after outfit changes for each episode. They had to endure three separate fittings.
Usually, there would be racks of beautiful ball gowns that would be hacked to pieces, so the girl's legs and cleavage were on full display.
And after rough fitting for length and shape, there would be one final session where the dresses would be pinned down.
It was reported that there were dresses too tight that the other girls could not bend down and would need an assistant to help.
At the end of it all, with four episodes a day, the girls would sometimes take home more than $23,000 per week. The intense schedule would usually follow a lot of days off, which gave Meghan time to audition for other, more prominent roles in the entertainment industry.
