The Sherlock Holmes actor, he had an "ideal type", and he found it in his wife and he couldn't be happier.
Editor's note: This article was originally published on December 2, 2019.
As an actor, Benedict Cumberbatch's versatility in his roles is nothing short of amazing. From playing the dashing William Carrey in The Other Boleyn Girl to wowing fans with his Sherlock Holmes character to taking on the role of the infamous Dr. Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the 47-year-old actor has no dearth of accolades for his talent. But perhaps his biggest achievement is finding the love of his life, his friend of 10 years and wife of 4 years, actress and theater director, Sophie Hunter.
According to the Daily Mail, the two first met in 2009 on the sets of Burlesque Fairytales. Though the two became friends on set, they didn't actually start dating each other until much later. At the time of the shooting of the film, Cumberbatch had actually been dating actress Olivia Poulet, his college sweetheart, before breaking up with her in 2011. Even after that breakup, he went on to date artist Anna James before splitting up with her. But what he might not have realized at the time was that Hunter was his ideal type.
According to Hello Magazine, in 2013, the actor described his ideal partner as "a woman who can make you feel smart with her conversation skills". He added, "A woman who knows that she doesn't have to get all decked out to look good is sexy. I believe sense of humour is important. I also think someone who is good at working with others is sexy." And Hunter fit the bill, being an Oxford graduate, bilingual and a truly talented person.
Both of these celebrities are extremely private about their personal lives, which is why the exact date they started dating is mostly just speculation. Publicly, Cumberbatch and Hunter were first rumored to be dating in June 2014, reported Bustle. However, according to Mirror UK, the two started publicly dating in spring 2014 and they looked quite serious about it despite doing their best to avoid being photographed together. But before we knew it, a few months later the same year, they announced they were engaged, to the shock of many fans, not because of the news itself but because of the way it had been done.
The intriguing thing about the engagement was that The Imitation Game actor actually flew to Edinburgh to ask the permission of Hunter's mother Katharine before he proposed. Once that was done, the actual announcement wasn't made in the typical way on social media platforms as many celebrities tended to do. Instead, the news was published in an old-fashioned way — through a post in the newspaper, according to People.
It simply read, “The engagement is announced between Benedict, son of Wanda and Timothy Cumberbatch of London, and Sophie, daughter of Katherine Hunter of Edinburgh and Charles Hunter of London.” Shortly after their engagement finally made waves, the actor spoke to Hello Magazine.
He said, "It's an amazing thing to find somebody you love. It's amazing to find somebody you love at all, let alone somebody who loves you back in the same way and to the same degree. And if that is amazing, well, considering how busy both Sophie and I are, it's a minor miracle that we met each other at all in the way we did."
He added, "To have Sophie in my life is something I am extremely grateful for and very excited about. It's a bit of a golden moment for me right now and I am loving it."
The day they got married was a fairytale come true. On February 14, 2015, Valentine's Day, the two exchanged vows and began their life together. Soon enough, the two were ready to expand their family when they had their first child in the same year, Christopher Carlton "Kit" and in 2017, Hal Auden. The Avengers: Infinity War star previously raved about being a father to two boys, and told People in October 2016, “It’s a joyous thing. I’m very happy to have them in my life, very lucky as well.”
Well, here's to many more years of marital bliss and happiness with the family!
References:
https://www.hellomagazine.com/brides/2014110521741/benedict-cumberbatch-engaged/
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/benedict-cumberbatch-wife-sophie-hunter-13270987
https://people.com/celebrity/benedict-cumberbatch-is-engaged-to-marry/
https://people.com/parents/benedict-cumberbatch-talks-fatherhood-sophie-hunter-pregnant/
