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: