Missouri Mom Akeisha Is Regarded As Meghan Markle’s Twin

May 05, 2021 by apost team

Meghan Markle has barely had a moment out of the press in the last few years, ever since her whirlwind romance with Prince Harry became official. There's simply no denying the incredible influence that Markle has had on the public, as she's set trends and helped bring a fresh perspective to the royal family. But in contrast, she's also endured an overwhelming amount of pressure from the media.

After she and Prince Harry married in 2018, the couple were given the official titles Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Following their wedding, they began to work as royals, but not long after their son Archie's birth in 2019, the couple renounced their official roles and left the royal family in order to escape the media frenzy that had surrounded them in the United Kingdom. Now living a quiet life in Santa Barbara, California, and expecting their second child together this summer, Prince Harry and Markle have forged their own path in the royal family.

Markle is still often in the press, but as one incident from 2020 shows, sometimes she appears to be in the press even when it's not actually her! This occurred when a Missouri-based influencer named Akeisha Varnado Land, who is 40-years-old, posted a selfie to her family Instagram account, leading people on the internet to become convinced that she is the long-lost twin of Markle, due to their look-alike features. The photo of her ended up going viral and Akeisha has taken the incident in her stride. Despite not seeing the similarities between her and the duchess, she's flattered at the comparisons. What's more, Akeisha's family has even taken to calling her "the duchess!" Let's take a look at their stories.

Entering into the royal family after marrying Prince Harry might be what Meghan Markle is mostly known for these days, but she was already successful in her career prior to becoming the Duchess of Sussex. While fans might know her from scripted television, particularly the show "Suits," one of her early roles in show business was on the game show "Deal or No Deal," hosted by Howie Mandel. Appearing as a briefcase model on one season in 2006, Markle has since spoken of that time as one she'd rather forget. 

She then moved towards dramatic acting, so it's no surprise to learn that Markle got her start by appearing in minor roles on scripted television series. This is a common way for actors to get their foot in Hollywood's door, with extra work sometimes leading to smaller roles with lines and eventually main roles in film and television. 

Besides an uncredited early role in 1995, Markle's first appearance was as Jill in a 2002 episode of "General Hospital." Most of her early filmography includes minor roles in television series before she eventually made it on to some bigger shows including "CSI: NY," "90210," "Fringe," "CSI: Miami," and "Castle." It's likely you saw her in an episode of your favorite show years before she became a familiar face on "Suits." As well as working on television shows, Markle has also acted in movies. 

But the role that really put her on the map is that of paralegal Rachel Zane — which incidentally, is Markle's real first name — who she played for seven seasons of the show's nine-season run. It was while she was on the show that she met and began dating Prince Harry and even got engaged.

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However, acting isn't the only thing Markle is known for. Another side of her that in some circles was quite widely known was her propensity for lifestyle blogging on her own website named The Tig. She started the site in 2014 as a side project from her acting and it focused on fashion and beauty, as well as food and travel. 

She proved to be quite the influencer, showing off her impeccable personal taste and photography and writing skills. She shut the site down in 2017, around the time she became engaged, and by then the blog had amassed 3 million loyal followers on Instagram, while its Facebook counted 800,000 and 350,000 on Twitter. Her success with the site even extended to lucrative sponsored content and brand partnerships. 

Another relatively unknown skill of hers is her work as a freelance calligrapher. Markle's gorgeous penmanship has been pointed out before, and in fact, she used to get paid for it, having written Robin Thicke and Paula Patton's wedding invitations, and Dolce & Gabbana's holiday correspondence to celebrities among other things. 

Markle has proven she's just as talented as she is beautiful. What's more, she's a kind person with a passion for humanitarian causes. It's no wonder then that she ended up with her own literal prince charming! After being set up on a blind date in 2016, Prince Harry later described Markle as "beautiful" and that she "just tripped and fell into my life." After only a few dates, the couple holidayed together in Botswana, where they fell in love "so incredibly quickly," with Harry declaring in the same interview that the "stars were aligned."

Although Prince Harry confirmed their relationship in late 2016, the pair weren't photographed together until Sep. 2017 at the Invictus Games in Toronto. The media began a frenzy to capture the loved-up couple in photographs, and from that moment on, Markle's life would never be the same again. Soon enough the sound of wedding bells could be heard and after becoming engaged in November of that year, the couple wed in a ceremony seen by the world in May 2018. 

Markle left acting upon getting engaged in order to focus on her new life as a working royal, with a focus on causes that are close to her heart. Soon after their wedding, she became pregnant with the couple's first child, a son named Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, who was born one year after their ceremony in May 2019. Markle's new focus became family, and in order to best protect their brood from the increasingly hostile British press, the couple renounced their royal titles and moved to the United States, settling down in Santa Barbara, California. After a quiet period focusing on their new family of three, the couple announced they were expecting their second child, following a miscarriage that Markle suffered in 2020. 

Then in March of 2021, the couple held a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, where they opened up about their side of the story and why they left the royal family and the United Kingdom. The interview is believed to have caused a major rift in the royal family, although after Prince Philip died in April, Harry has been back to the U.K. and appears to have made some peace with his family members.

While it's impossible for the public to know what the family, and especially Markle, has been through in her journey of becoming a royal, one woman who's had a taste of what it's like to become a media sensation overnight is a Missouri mother-of-two. In fact, she shares a few other things in common with the Duchess of Sussex — she's a mom, an influencer, and most obviously, she looks exactly like Markle too!

Akeisha Varnado Land is a Kansas City-based mom-of-two who runs an Instagram account, @greyson_land, that's devoted to her two children, Greyson and Tristan Land. And although she's an influencer who's had a taste of the spotlight, her social media account's focus is on her children and family. 

But everything changed for Akeisha when on Jan. 27, 2020, she posted a selfie that ended up going viral. That's because Akeisha looks so incredibly much like the Duchess of Sussex that the image became an instant sensation. In an interview with Apost.com, she explained, "the viralness [sic] that has happened around the net has been pretty crazy."

The photo that caused many to label her Markle's "doppelgänger" sparked confusion in the public, with people unsure whether it was Akeisha or Markle. Akeisha embodies many similar traits to Markle — they both have gorgeous brown eyes, beaming smiles, glowing skin, and gorgeous black hair — so it's no wonder people were confused if she was actually Markle's long-lost twin! But despite their incredible physical similarities, Akeisha is not related to Markle in any way.

In the same interview with Apost.com, Akeisha was asked how her daily life had changed since the viral recognition. She responded:

"A ton! To say the least! Well for starters I’ve had to put on makeup way more often. I generally don’t wear any makeup during the week and with all the various on air and Skype interviews I’ve done I found myself having to be 'camera ready' at all times. Which has definitely been a big change. I’ve also been on my phone way more than before. I’m generally pretty hard to get a hold of during the day because I’m focused on the kids and housework and editing collaborations, but as of late my days have been filled with emails, DMs and phone calls. It’s certainly been overwhelming! But still fun and very flattering."

Despite the sudden change in her lifestyle, Akeisha said that she and her family "have fun with it though." She elaborated on their reaction to her social media fame:

"My family thinks it’s as crazy as I do that all of this is happening just because I look like her; the kids call me 'Meghan Markle' and 'the duchess' all the time now."

On top of looking alike, Akeisha's profession as an influencer is also something that she shares with Markle. Now boasting over 186,000 followers, the focus of Akeisha's Instagram account was once on her daughter, but she's since transitioned to sharing more family-focused content. Currently, the account is a mix of family, fitness, beauty, and fashion content.

In a 2020 interview with Apost.com, Akeisha explained the direction the account would take:

"I think I’ll likely make our page more of a 'family influencing' page where we’re all involved and not just Greyson or myself. I likely won’t start my own page ... I’ll probably start to move our page toward a more family focused page so we have a little something for every stage of life and various interests. Like family, fashion, fitness, and FUN."

That's just as well because many fans had voiced their opinions and told Akeisha she should consider becoming a mom influencer. When asked if this was something she would consider pursuing, she said that she definitely was "going to start being more in front of the camera [herself] and not just always behind it." We're sure the many fans who can't quite get over how much she looks like Markle are pleased with that! Akeisha continued explaining the plans for her social media presence:

"I foresee myself sharing some of my fave fashion finds and family friendly products/services; and also just continuing to talk about real, like, parenthood stuff. I always want to make sure our page is an authentic representation of us."

Ever since she exploded into viral fame, Akeisha has taken her newfound online presence in her stride and has really focused on representing her family through her social media account. Married to her husband Preston, the couple has a son named Tristan and a daughter named Greyson, all of whom regularly appear on the @greyson_land Instagram account. They sure are one photogenic family!

After asking Akeisha whether or not she is going to keep up with the royal family now that she's been called Markle's twin, she said, "I still don’t really follow them or what’s going on in their lives." However, she did seem to be a supporter of Megxit:

"I have heard of some of their decisions lately to leave their royal duties and I applaud them for doing that and doing what’s best for their family."

As one mother to another, it's clear that Akeisha understands why Markle chose to pursue a life based on what's best for her family. At the end of the day, that's all that matters.

And to everyone who thinks Markle and Akeisha are twins, it'll be interesting to note that Akeisha doesn't think they look alike! Speaking with Today, she stated:

“What’s so funny to me is that I honestly don’t even see the resemblance! But I certainly take it as a compliment because she’s so beautiful."

She spoke further with the news outlet about how crazy she finds it that her face is everywhere just because she and Markle look-alike, telling Today she's usually "very much 'behind-the-scenes' and [likes] it that way." She exclaimed, "I’m just a normal mama from Missouri!" We think Markle and Akeisha's resemblance is uncanny and it's certainly a big compliment — both women are absolutely gorgeous. 

As for whether Markle is aware of her long-lost twin in Missouri? It's uncertain whether she has come across Akeisha and her story, but she'd no doubt feel as if she's looking into a mirror.

Do you think Meghan Markle and Akeisha Varnado Land look alike? Do you know of any other Markle doppelgängers? If you found this article fascinating then be sure to pass it on to others!