Christine Haveford
It seems like Meghan Markle was always destined to change the world.
The soon to be Duchess was fighting sexism as a young child.
A video has emerged showing the star of the hit TV show Suits as a young girl in grade school.
The then 12-year-old was lobbying a dishwasher soap manufacturer to change its sexist commercial.
In 1993, Markle appeared on Nick News that aired on the popular cable network Nickelodeon.
In video unearthed by Inside Edition, Markle is seen with her classmates watching a television commercial for Ivory dishwasher soap.
The narrator in the commercial declares that the soap is handy because ‘women all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans.’
A young Meghan was unhappy with the wording of the commercial. She was even teased by two boys in her class that it confirmed the stereotype of women ‘belonging in the kitchen.’
In 2015, Markle recalled the incident during a speech at the United Nations to mark International Women’s Day.
‘I remember feeling shocked and angry and also just feeling so hurt,’ Markle said in the speech.
‘It just wasn’t right and something needed to be done.’
Meghan says her father inspired her to bring about change.
‘He encouraged me to write letters, so I did — to the most powerful people I could think of,’ she said.
Young Meghan sent a letter to the soap maker, Proctor & Gamble as well as to famed civil rights lawyer Gloria Allred.
She also sent a letter to the then-first lady Hillary Clinton and Nick News anchor Linda Ellerbee.
After Ellerbee received the letter, she and a camera crew from her show to meet Markle.
Proctor & Gamble also responded by changing the wording of the commercial from ‘women’ to ‘people.’
‘People all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans,’ the revised ad said.
‘I don’t think it is right for kids to grow up thinking that mom does everything,’ Markle told Nick News in 1993.
‘If you see something that you don’t like or offended by on television or any other place, write letters and send them to the right people and you can really make a difference, not just for yourself but for lots of other people.’
‘It was absolutely clear that this young woman was strong in her beliefs,’ former Nick News anchor Linda Ellerbee told Inside Edition.
‘It didn’t matter that she was 11 years old. She believed in women and she believed in her own power and wasn’t afraid to reach out and say, “I want my power. I want my rights”.’
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