Doria Ragland

Doria Loyce Ragland was born on September 2, 1956, in Cleveland, Ohio. Her parents were Jeanette Arnold, a nurse, and Alvin Azell Ragland, an antiques dealer. Her maternal grandparents were James and Nettie Arnold; James worked as a bellhop and Nettie as an elevator operator at the Hotel St. Regis in Cleveland. In her early childhood, Ragland's family relocated to Los Angeles. Her parents later divorced, and her father remarried in 1983 to Ava Burrow, a kindergarten teacher. Ragland has two maternal half-siblings, Joseph (also known as "JJ", who lived from 1949 to 2021) and Saundra Johnson, as well as a paternal half-brother named Alvin Joffrey Ragland.

Genealogical records suggest that Ragland's family lineage traces back to Richard "Dick" Ragland, born around 1792 in Chatham County, North Carolina, who was enslaved before emancipation in 1865. His son, Stephen Ragland, lived in Jonesboro, Georgia. The family surname, Ragland, originated from slave-owner William Ragland, a Methodist planter and land speculator who moved from Cornwall, England, in the eighteenth century. Meghan Markle, Ragland’s daughter, has reported that genetic testing indicated a heritage that is approximately 43% Nigerian.

Educationally, Ragland attended Fairfax High School. She initially worked as a temporary assistant makeup artist on the set of the television series "General Hospital," where she met Thomas Markle Sr., her future ex-husband. She also worked as a travel agent and owned a small business. Following her divorce from Markle, Ragland completed her undergraduate studies, earning a Bachelor of Arts in psychology. She further obtained a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from the University of Southern California in 2011. After passing California’s licensing exam in 2015, she worked as a social worker at the Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services Clinic in Culver City for three years. Additionally, Ragland has worked as a yoga instructor, and in 2020, it was reported that she would be teaching a jewelry making course at Santa Monica College. In that same year, she became the CEO, CFO, and secretary of Loving Kindness Senior Care Management, a care home firm located in Beverly Hills.

In her personal life, Ragland married Thomas Markle on December 23, 1979, at the Paramahansa Yogananda Self-Realization Fellowship Temple in Hollywood. The marriage was performed by Brother Bhaktananda. Their daughter, Meghan Markle, was born in 1981. The couple separated when Meghan was two years old, and their divorce was finalized in 1987. Ragland resides in View Park–Windsor Hills, California, in a house inherited from her father in 2011. She has attended numerous public events with Meghan, including the royal wedding of Meghan and Prince Harry in 2018 at Windsor. Ragland became a grandmother on May 6, 2019, welcoming her first grandchild, Prince Archie of Sussex. She traveled to the United Kingdom to visit the infant and his parents, and participated in Prince Archie’s christening at Windsor Castle. Her granddaughter, Princess Lilibet of Sussex, was born on June 4, 2021, in Santa Barbara, California.