While we're still waiting on word for when we can anticipate (read: binge) Season 4 of Victoria (lookin' at you, Daisy Goodwin!), we are excited to re-watch Season 3, with its slew of dramatic plotlines, gorgeous costumes, and cringe-worthy villains. And while Lord Palmerston stole our heart , it was Feodora who scared us the most. Her conniving, sly style and undermining tactics truly threaten Victoria throughout this season.

But a villain is only as good as its performer — and Feodora is brought to life by the talented Kate Fleetwood, a British actress with a long history in theatre. We were so enchanted (slash, terrified) by her turn in Victoria, we had to learn more:

  • Fleetwood grew up on a farm near Stratford-Upon-Avon in the Forest of Arden, the idyllic setting of Shakespeare's As You Like It. And her residence on the farm was not in name only; she undertook hay-baling, oat-sowing, milking and all!
  • Appropriately, the first play Fleetwood ever saw was an interactive version of As You Like It featuring Jonathan Pryce — and she was instantly hooked.
  • Fleetwood began acting as a pre-teen with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Mary: After the Queen.
  • As an adult, she commonly plays women in tough situations. Her impressive resumé includes Lady Macbeth opposite Patrick Stewart, Medea, Nancy Birch in Harlots, and Felicity Webster in The Widower.

  • But Fleetwood also has a musical side: she’s taken roles in High Society, London Road and the 2012 Les Misérables.
  • She also has a background in voicing video game characters, having done voices for characters in Anthem, Mass Effect: Andromeda, and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.
  • Fleetwood has been nominated for a Tony Award for her work in Macbeth, and an Olivier Award for London Road.
  • In her personal life, Fleetwood is married to Rupert Goold, director of King Charles III, The Hollow Crown: Richard II, and most recently, Judy with Renee Zellweger. Appropriately, they met when Goold directed Fleetwood as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet.
  • The two have one son and one daughter together. Their oldest, Raphael, was a newborn when Fleetwood took on her award-nominated role in Macbeth.
  • Finally, Fleetwood is an extraordinarily creative cook, as you can see from this cake she created for her daughter's most recent birthday: