Following his Best Actor nomination for The Power of the Dog at the& 94th Academy Awards, Benedict Cumberbatch is back on the silver screen. Six years after bringing Marvel Cinematic Universe's Doctor Strange to life, the actor returned to play Stephen Strange in the sequel Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. While the character's next chapter puts the English star front and center, in real life Benedict leads a more private life alongside his wife, theater director Sophie Hunter.
Though the two notoriously fly under the radar, they were recently spotted hand-in-hand after Benedict's Saturday Night Live hosting gig. There's no doubt, she's cheering him on in his latest role like she's done in the past. As fans may know, Benedict and Sophie have been married for seven years and the couple shares three children — Christopher, Hal and Finn.
Sophie is a thespian in her own right and worked as an actress before becoming a director. The pair first met while filming and starring in the 2009 film Burlesque Fairytales. Though the two enjoyed working together, no sparks flew between them. (At the time, they were with different people.) It wouldn't be until several years later that he and Sophie would start dating in 2013.
Nearly a decade later, there still isn't much known about how the beginning of their romance. Benedict and Sophie were spotted together in June 2014 at the U.S. Open. Fast forward, in November of that same year news broke that Benedict had proposed to Sophie.
According to the Daily Mail, the English actor traveled to Edinburgh to ask for her hand in marriage. After Sophie's mom gave Benedict her blessing and he got down on one knee, the couple excitedly shared their personal news in an ad in The Sunday Times.
"Mr BT. Cumberbatch and Miss S.I. Hunter: The engagement is announced between Benedict, son of Wanda and Timothy Cumberbatch of London, and Sophie, daughter of Katharine Hunter of Edinburgh and Charles Hunter of London," it read.
Speaking with People, Benedict opened up about why they opted to go this route versus social media. "It's what I would have done if I wasn't sort of famous. It's what we do. It's a kind of traditional thing to do," he told the magazine. "I don't tweet or do social media. It's too impersonal. I would rather do what we did, and have people find it, and not see us from some ... grainy footage staring lovingly into each others' eyes with a ring on someone's finger. I wanted it to be ours."
On Valentine's Day 2015, Benedict and Sophia walked down the aisle on the Isle of Wight in England. Sophie, who was pregnant with their first child on her wedding day, wore a custom Valentino maternity gown. Shortly after their nuptials, 10 days to be precise, Sophie was Benedict's plus one to the 2015 Oscars. Although he didn't win Best Actor for The Imitation Game, he was still excited to have his new bride by his side.
The two became parents to their son, Christopher, in June 2015. Their family grew again with the addition of their second son, Hal, in March 2017. Benedict and Sophie completed their crew with a third son named Finn in January 2019.
“Having a baby it’s massive and on a very unexpected level, suddenly I understood my parents much more profoundly than I ever had before,” Benedict told Vogue UK in 2016. “I was expecting with Hamlet that it might be a hindrance to be a father because it’s all about being a son. But it’s the opposite. You understand much more about being a son, becoming a father.”
During his rise as an actor, taking on projects like Doctor Strange and his latest Oscar-nominated role in The Power of the Dog, the support of his family has been consistent. While filming his latest film in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Sophie and their three children stayed with him in New Zealand. Benedict told OK! Magazine: "I loved [lockdown]. I was with my wife and children and my mum and dad had come over to have a three-week experience with us and see their boy riding a horse and steering some cattle."
