Meghan Markle's latest move is her most desperate yet - and it's about to backfire badly

Meghan Meghan's return to acting could be a huge mistake. Not because it diminishes her royal stature - that ship sailed long ago. But her first paid acting role in the nine years since she met Prince Harry may be the final nail in the coffin of her never-stellar thespian career.

Meghan is playing herself in a cameo in the coming movie Close Personal Friends, which is not exactly acting any more than her earlier role opening Suitcase No.24 on television game show Let's Make A Deal. It's a mark of Meghan's desperation to remain relevant in a Hollywood that has grown weary of her and Harry.

Historians may look back on this as the moment Meghan 'jumped the shark' - going from an actress known for her somewhat limited thespian skills to becoming known simply for being famous: a modern version of Zsa Zsa Gabor, who like Meghan was also married to a minor prince of Germanic extraction.

She follows in the dubious footsteps of many stars who have played themselves on screen and botched the job, including Paul McCartney in Give My Regards to Broad Street, Mariah Carey in Glitter and Gordon Ramsey in Love's Kitchen.

Cary Grant famously said: "Everyone wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant."

But not everyone wants to be Meghan Markle, and Hollywood has tired of her and Harry's fading efforts to cash in on the royal titles they exploit and simultaneously eschew.

After the success of their Harry & Meghan series on Netflix and Harry's bestselling memoir Spare, the couple have seen their efforts falter. Netflix ended their $100 million contract in September, offering only a "first look deal" with no payment guarantees, and Spotify dumped Meghan's podcast deal.

Meghan has been acting the domestic goddess with her Netflix series With Love, Meghan, and her As Ever comestibles, even though her seemingly hand-crafted home-cooked jams actually come off a factory production line in Illinois.

While reality shows like Real Housewives and Celebrity Big Brother may clamour to hire her, there are few studios offering Meghan a real acting role. After seven years playing the role of a Duchess - with questionable success - is there any future for Meghan in Hollywood, except as a parody of herself?