Meghan Markle isn't the only Hollywood actress to marry into the royal family. Meet Sophie Winkleman, who left palace life for LA years before the duchess.
- "Two and a Half Men" star Sophie Winkleman joined the British royal family upon her royal wedding to Lord Frederick Windsor in 2009. The next day, they left the UK, trading royal life for opportunities in Hollywood.
- The couple ultimately returned to London in 2013, and have remained close with the royal family: "The Queen's been wonderful, Prince Charles has been wonderful, Prince William's been heaven," Winkleman said in a recent interview with The Times.
- However, despite her similarities to fellow actress Meghan Markle, Winkleman says they don't actually know each other very well.
- "I've met her a few times over here, but not well enough to get to know her. She certainly has very admirable energy and focus," Winkleman said.
"Two and a Half Men" actress Sophie Winkleman joined - and left - palace life long before fellow actress the Duchess of Sussex.
Winkleman, officially known as Lady Frederick Windsor, married Lord Frederick - son of Queen Elizabeth's first cousin Prince Michael - back in 2009. The day after their royal wedding, the couple moved to Los Angeles for work.
English-born Winkleman found success writing screenplays for Salma Hayek and Penélope Cruz , before securing a recurring role as Ashton Kutcher's love interest in "Two and a Half Men" in 2011, among other Hollywood roles.
While there are rumors of a rift between Buckingham Palace and former working royals Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, Lady Frederick appeared to have a different experience. In fact, Winkleman and her husband ultimately returned to the UK to be closer to the family after their first child, Maud Windsor, was born in 2013.
Winkleman spoke in a recent interview about her close relationship with the royals: 'Prince William's been heaven'
"The Queen's been wonderful, Prince Charles has been wonderful, Prince William's been heaven," Winkleman said during an interview with The Times published on Thursday.
She added: "Everyone's looked after me. Oh God, please don't make me sound too gushing."
The family provided support for Winkleman after a serious car accident in 2017, where she ended up trapped in the back of an upside-down car and left with multiple injuries, including a broken foot and two broken bones in her back.
The actress said that while she recovered Prince Charles arranged for one of his personal chefs to deliver meals to the family twice a day "for weeks on end."
"It was life saving having this massive thing twice daily I didn't have to worry about," Winkleman told The Times.
She added that Prince William asked an air ambulance colleague to "take good care of her," while Sophie, Countess of Wessex visited her in the hospital.
However, despite being a member of one of the most famous families in the world, Winkleman's life in London is actually quite regular. When she's not busy looking after her daughters, Maud and Isabella, and completing work for her royal patronage The Children's Surgery Foundation, Winkleman enjoys taking the bus.
"I love buses," she told Tatler back in June. "I find them very relaxing. I just go up to the top floor of a bus and sit at the front and zone out. I love them."
Despite their similarities, the Duchess of Sussex and Lady Frederick aren't close
Winkleman landed her role as Zoey in "Two and a Half Men" at around the same time that Meghan Markle joined the cast of "Suits" in 2011.
The royal appeared as the girlfriend of Walden (played by Kutcher) throughout seasons nine and 10. She also made an appearance on "CSI: Miami," and voiced a character on "Phineas and Ferb" during this time.
But despite the similarities between Winkleman and fellow actress Markle, Winkleman said they never had the chance to get to know each other while the duchess lived in the UK.
"I've met her a few times over here, but not well enough to get to know her. She certainly has very admirable energy and focus," Winkleman told The Times.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex got married in 2018 and carried out royal duties on behalf of the Queen until this year, when they moved to the US in a bid for financial independence.
The couple informed the world of their "step back" in January, and have since announced plans to start their own production company, which they will use to create documentaries and TV shows for Netflix.
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