Putting aside the drama that has followed her in recent weeks, Meghan Markle was spotted celebrating Kerry Washington’s birthday… with a little help from Jessica Alba, too.
The Duchess of Sussex was briefly seen in a video shared to Alba’s Instagram earlier this month, sporting a chic cream blouse as Washington marked her 48th birthday. In what looked to be a girls-only event (sorry, Harry!), Alba presented Washington with a pile of donuts covered in candles, and elsewhere enjoyed a candlelit dinner and shared an embrace with the birthday girl. “There’s nothing like that fill your cup type of girls night,” Alba, who co-starred opposite Washington in Fantastic Four, wrote of the event on Instagram.
“We connected, manifested, released what no longer serves us, and tapped into our power and highest vibration,” the actress added. According to Elle, Washington’s birthday party was spiritually themed, and saw the gals set intentions with the new moon, cleanse their crystals, and do astrological readings. Markle specifically can be seen in a TikTok sitting in a meditation circle and later around the dinner table, where the group sang Happy Birthday for Washington.
Markle has known Washington for a number of years, and were first photographed together back in 2013. More recently, the Duchess was seen alongside the Scandal star in December of 2024, sharing the red carpet at the Paley Honors Fall Gala in honor of Tyler Perry. In her own celebratory post, Washington shouted out a cause close to Markle’s heart, asking followers to consider donating to Altadena Teen Girls’ Fire Rescue, which the Duchess volunteered for during the Los Angeles wildfires last month.
As you might recall, Markle’s efforts around the wildfires attracted criticism, with some caught the ire of the Royal Family. With all that hullabaloo, it’s little surprise Markle was in need of some spiritual cleansing, and I bet at times she wishes she had the invisibility powers of Alba’s Sue Storm.
Although, even invisibility mightn’t be able to stop the barrage of headlines that have followed Markle in recent weeks. From reports of aspeculation around her marriage to the Duke, Markle would need the super-speed of The Flash (not Marvel, but I digress) to outrun all the press, but having some superhero actress pals might help just a little.
On that front, Alba will no-doubt be watching on as Vanessa Kirby takes on her former role of Sue Storm in the iteration of Fantastic Four. Subtitled First Steps, the first teaser for the film arrived last week, with Kirby — who, as a little Markle crossover, also starred in The Crown — featuring in the cast alongside Pedro Pascal as Mister Fantastic, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Thing. The Fantastic Four: First Steps will premiere in July of this year.
Washington, meanwhile, got her deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in December, and is set to appear in the , Ben Affleck-directed movie Animals alongside Steven Yeun. If all of that success, and the title of Duchess, is what comes from a spiritual-themed party, then I need to buy a few more crystals.
Published: Feb 10, 2025 06:31 pm