Who is Sophie Hunter, Benedict Cumberbatch’s fiancee?

Benedict Cumberbatch quietly broke the hearts of his legions of fans by announcing his engagement to director Sophie Hunter in a brief newspaper announcement in the Times newspaper in London. (You can call yourself “B.T. Cumberbatch all you want, but there aren’t enough Cumberbatches out there to throw people off). Since he’d been pretty discreet about the relationship, we’ve scoured the internet to find out a bit more about the woman who stole your celebrity boyfriend. And the results are that she seems pretty awesome. Well done, Cumberbatch. Here’s what we learned:

1. She’s British

Well, obviously. But she’s also lived in Paris and New York.

2. She’s 36

IMDb lists her birthday as March 16, 1978, making her about two years younger than Cumberbatch. And now you know when to send her a birthday card.

3. She’s super smart

Hunter studied French and Italian at Oxford, then continued her studies at L’École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq , which is a fancy theater school in Paris.

4. She’s an award winning playwright and director

​Though Hunter has a few imdb credits to her name (she was in the Reese Witherspoon-starring “Vanity Fair” in 2004), she’s best known for her directing work. In 2007, she won a Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award for writing and directing her own play, “The Terrific Electric.” What’s it about? According to the write up, “The Terrific Electric uses a theatre of moving images, absurd humour and vivid tableaux to evoke the shock and wonder of the dawning electrical era.​”

5. She’s a musician

In 2005, she sang all the music on an album written by Guy Chambers, who used to collaborate with Robbie Williams. It’s called the Isis Project. Oh, and all the lyrics are in French. Good thing she has that degree in languages.

6. She’s pretty athletic

​The Independent says her skill set includes ” horse-jumping horse-riding, running, sailing, swimming, tennis and yoga.​”

So there you have it. If you wanted to marry Benedict Cumberbatch, you just had to be a wildly impressive theater director who can speak French and ride a horse. And if you were worried about how his fans would take it, don’t be: Tumblr seems pretty happy for him.