It's not every day the meeting of a make-up artist and a lighting director sets the scene for a royal love story, but that's exactly what happened in Meghan Markle's case.

The now-retired American actress, who is expecting her first child any time now, didn't come from a similar upbringing to her royal-ready Middleton sister-in-law. The Duchess of Sussex (born Rachel Meghan Markle) was born in Los Angeles on August 4, 1981 and quite literally grew up in Hollywood.

Though her parents - Doria Ragland and Thomas Markle Snr - divorced when she was six, her extended family's story does not end there. In fact, it takes unlikely and estranged turns towards a diplomat uncle, cannabis-growing nephew, and beyond.

As Meghan prepares to welcome her baby with Prince Harry, here we take a look at her family, many of whom are never far from the headlines.

Doria Ragland, Meghan Markle's mother

Doria Ragland, 62, was born in Los Angeles to an antique dealer father and a mother who was a nurse.

She attended the Fairfax High School, where she was remembered as bright and friendly - the teenager with the "Afro" hairstyle who loved listening to Marvin Gaye and dining out at a local Mexican taco joint with friends.