Sophie Hunter has ‘limbs like a champion whippet,’ says her stylist

Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter(batch) attended a special screening of Doctor Strange last night. I feel a little bit sorry for Sophie, being dragged all over the world for Benedict’s promotional tour when she probably wants to just stay at home and rest and prepare for the second baby. So far, she’s traveled to LA for the big premiere, then back to London for that premiere, and now they’re back in New York, which is where they’ll be all week because Benedict has to rehearse for this weekend’s Saturday Night Live, which he’s hosting. While Benedict has theater-actor chops and he’s very “quick,” I’m actually expecting his SNL to be kind of bad? We’ll see though. Here’s the first promo:

I hope they do more promos? Because I would love to see Bendy try to keep a straight face while sitting next to Leslie Jones.

As for Sophie’s dress in these photos… she’s wearing Valentino. She likes Valentino a lot, even if I don’t think it’s the best label for her? I would much prefer to see her stick with British and Canadian labels, like McQueen and Erdem. She wore Valentino to her wedding though, and I guess she has some kind of contact with that house. Or maybe her stylist does, because yes, Sophie Hunter has a stylist? His name is Nicholas Drake and he thinks Sophie is the most fashion-forward person in the world, basically. You can read a recent interview with him here. “She has limbs like a champion whippet” is a sentence I wish I had never read.

Photos courtesy of Getty, Fame/Flynet.

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103 Responses to “Sophie Hunter has ‘limbs like a champion whippet,’ says her stylist”

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  1. Kaye says:

    I’m guessing that was supposed to be a compliment, but . . . um.

  2. AnotherDirtyMartini says:

    Now that’s an interesting & unique comment. Not sure it’s the most flattering description. It’s definitely nothing I’ve heard said before.

    Oh – unrelated – did I miss Sunday/Monday’s post or did you stop covering TWD entirely? Just curious.

    • Sue says:

      If you haven’t heard it before, I guess you didn’t read last year’s _Vogue_ article on her Valentino wedding dress (in which she strongly implied she helped design it, lol). Google the phrase “I see opera” and her name and you’ll find it. Sophie’s uncle took his “whippet” line straight out of there.

      That woman is cracking me up so much lately that I almost like her now, despite her charmlessness. Her pregnancy style is so funny: pregnancy announcement => immediately cover up, neck to wrists and down to the ground with a shapeless, flowing (extremely expensive) garment! I guess we’ll have to take her uncle’s word on the dog legs and arms, since they are not currently visible. It’d be cute if her uncle-cum-stylist weren’t getting press on how he dresses her, and if the name “Sophie Hunter” weren’t recognized and put in headlines now only because of her husband. It’s a bit frustrating to see someone who has barely uttered a word in public for 2 years made out to be someone worth paying attention to. But here we all are….

  3. AnotherDirtyMartini says:

    I love the color of the dress but not the style.

  4. LAK says:

    Whippet thin legs are supposed to be the holy grail of good legs. He is definitely complimenting her.

    • Sixer says:

      Even I’ve heard it, so you must be right!

      I’ve probably got whippet thin legs, what with being skinny an’ all. Sadly ruined by knobbly knees so I probably don’t count.

      • Meg D says:

        I have the knobbliest knees ever, it’s the one thing I was teased for in school. I feel your pain!

    • Cee says:

      I thought he was referring to her arms… like she was so pregnant the first time around he chose to pull the focus on her thin arms instead.

      Anyway, weird phrase for a compliment.

    • Lindsay says:

      Are you from the UK? Is it a British saying?

      This is kind of funny but only tangentially relate but I like learning about other cultures and ran across a Reddit thread asking Americans what British words or sayings do you love or wish we had here? One of the responses was ‘I can’t be bothered…’ which is amazing and usefull. Then a British person asked ‘I thought that was a standard thing. What is the American equivalent?’ I thought about it for a second before clicking the button to show more responses and what I thought in my head was the first answer given ‘We lie.’ Frame it as I can’t do it for some made up reason not answer candidly that we simply didn’t feel like exerting our selves to help.

      Anyway I thought it was funny. It made me wonder
      1. How often do y’all use it? Is it fairly common? Do you only say it to people you are close to? Do you ever just make up an excuse?
      2. Can anyone else think of an American equivalent?

      • elle says:

        oh, interesting. I was reading it as an equivalent to “I couldn’t care less…” rather than, “I don’t want to.”

      • scone says:

        We also say “I can’t be faffed” – which means the same.

        I would say its a fairly common phrase.

        Personally, I would use it to friends and family if they were suggesting something I don’t want to do – or for example, “I really ought to do the hoovering but I just can’t be bothered/faffed”

        We do make up excuses as well though. Sometimes it would just cause too much of a palaver not to.

      • Sixer says:

        We say it all the time. But not so much as in turning someone down. More like, um, “I really should check that bank statement/iron that shirt before I put it on. Sod it. I can’t be bothered.” As scone says.

        Or, if you are me, you say the cruder version, which is “I can’t be arsed”.

        (I think the whippet legs thing is because greyhound and whippet racing is very popular here.)

  5. Sullivan says:

    I’d take it as a compliment.

  6. Babs says:

    I love her face. She Is beautiful.
    I wish she grew a backbone and tell cumby to go f himself with the promo. Let the lady rest ffs. She’s truly treated like a dog.

    • J'ai tué ma mère says:

      Anywhere to be bathed in camera flashes, she follow him around.

      • Meg D says:

        She really does seem to hate being in the public eye, I don’t blame her for avoiding it as much as she has.

      • Alyssa Beshro says:

        Meg D, She has her own personal pap already, personal paps are just another accessory of the rich and wannabe more famous.

      • NotSoSocialButterfly says:

        Jesus, what gives with your screen name???????????

      • LinaLamont says:

        @NotSoSocialButterfly

        Maybe, the film?… as opposed to a wish or confession?

    • Yuna says:

      But BC cannot do promos alone. He is too boring and has foot and mouth disease. Flaunting a pregnant wife is better publicity. By the time Dr. Strange 2 rolls out, they’ll be expecting baby number 3!

      • Toupin says:

        Lol, no way. They already become a laughingstock of red carpet and people find her such a showy-offy.

  7. bread says:

    “The clean silhouette is one that Hunter has mastered with the help of her stylist, Nicholas Drake, who dubs each camera-ready ensemble a “rigorous co-production” between the pair.

    Hunter’s theatre background comes into play: “Each red carpet appearance is like a mini theatre production which we co-direct with meticulous attention to detail,”

    Wow. No comment.

    • freebunny says:

      Besides that, she’s totally simple and unpretentious.
      In fact, she’s the perfect CumberMatch.

      • Rochelle says:

        Nicholas Drake is her dowdy uncle. No one knows him in UK fashion industry.
        It’s slightly creepy that uncle takes care of niece’s dress….

      • Miss Melissa says:

        Completely down to earth and unpretentious, absolutely!

        And not even remotely interested in self-promotion.

        LOL.

        Ugh. Just when I start to warm to her, this nonsense starts up again.

      • Meg D says:

        I think they are both pretty pretentious.

      • ariel says:

        @MegD. Yeah both as in Hunter and her uncle lol

    • AG-UK says:

      @bread…
      roll of eyes… it’s just fashion and an outfit.. I know most of those people think it’s the second coming but get over it lol

    • angie says:

      “Each red carpet appearance is like a mini theatre production which we co-direct with meticulous attention to detail,” — So this means that they (she and her *stylist*) think she has this great entrance and stage act whenever she poses for cameras at a RC. But I thought she gave up her own acting career to be more an artist working in the back. Bit contradictory the lady. Unless she is just interested in being admired and famous for doing err nothing…

    • Cee says:

      This never gets less ridiculous.

      It’s an OUTFIT Mr. Drake. Get over yourself. Your niece could also do so much better in terms of fashion.

    • Yuna says:

      Seriously, how hard is it to pick a dress out of a rack. As far as we know she probably only gets one choice of outfit since she is a nobody and BC pays for her outfit ‘to keep his wife in good clothes’. Even when it comes to fashion they try so hard to over-hype her…. like her resume.

    • Lorelai says:

      That hideous dress was a “rigorous co-production?

      Okay then.

    • Sue says:

      oh my god. Dress + shoes + (rarely a) bag = theatrical production? AKA, to ordinary folk, laying out an outfit. Her theatrical hallmark, from what I’ve seen of the 3 or so productions she’s actually worked on behind the scenes, seems to be overwrought, overthought props. Maybe she just overthinks everything because she has so little else to do.

      Both she and her uncle seem to be very pretentious in talking about their work. Why make such a big deal out of a dress? It’s not even as though they accessorize her!

  8. Digital Unicorn (aka Betti) says:

    I actually like Sophie and prefer her over him, he’s developed this privileged smug attitude that irritates me.

    She has interesting style and is one of the few celebs who I think looks great in Erdem, it seems to match her avant guarde inclinations.

    • Lindsay says:

      Based on her uncle/stylists comments and some of her self indulgent vanity projects both pre and post-BC I think she shares the same pretentious streak and the privileged smug self satisfied attitude, she is just able to hide it better due to her relative anonymity and lack of long, rambling, grandiose interviews and profile pieces. I would love to hear a private conversation between these two, especially critiquing other actors, plays and films – not participate just be a fly on the wall.

  9. Guesto says:

    It’s complimentary – long, lean, toned. Whippets are very elegant, streamlined dogs.

    I like Sophie’s style, the simple, clean lines with the added bits of quirk. She looks lovely here.

  10. Lightpurple says:

    Legs like a whippet and she is smooth, faithful, and loyal. Would the men in her life please stop invoking dog characteristics to describe this woman?

  11. Felice. says:

    I don’t care if whippets are supposed to have good legs. When you compare a woman to a dog, it’s not good.

  12. ncboudicca says:

    Isn’t her stylist also her uncle or something?

    • freebunny says:

      Yes, it’s her uncle. He’s also the one who organised her wedding.
      The Telegraphe piece is hilarious. Sophie is the next best thing, even better than sliced bread.

  13. Kris says:

    I was trying to find pictures of her legs, but what do you know, there is actually ONE actress who doesn’t show off everything in miniskirts and dresses all the time, so I couldn’t really find anything. Good for her.

    I did find a number of whippet pictures, of course., and I hope for her sake that she doesn’t have legs this siknny and sinewy. you know who does? Amal Clooney.

  14. cailindana says:

    That dress is fug and the colour does nothing for her

    • Mel M says:

      I agree. She has a pretty face but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a photo of her with any other expression then that mouth closed half smile she always has. Also that 80’s haircut has got to go.

    • LinaLamont says:

      Yikes! The sleeves! Lop them off!

  15. Narak says:

    I’m surprised he used whippet instead of thoroughbred. I suppose I’d be a Kobe beef.

  16. wahine says:

    @NCBOUDICCA – Yep. He’s her uncle.

    • freebunny says:

      Hey, the family has to get money.
      So if the unemployed uncle can profit, after all it’s Benedict who pays.

    • Orsini says:

      When they got married, mama hunter and brother hunter were on the scrounge not only her. They began their business using BC’s name for her familiar vintage shop and selling jewels…..
      Her pianist uncle Julius announced he called BC as special narrator, but it’s not happened. Now her unemployed uncle Nicholas on sale as her stylist.
      The burden on BC is more than expected.

      • Lindsay says:

        Good thing he is getting those Marvel checks and just by the virtue of the way the draw up contracts with actors he has at least 3 or 4 coming down the pike.

  17. Niels Ducharme says:

    When will the hype of this nondescript middle-aged woman finish?

    • Granger says:

      Yikes. Middle-aged? Then I’m completely over the hill. But I do agree that Bendy’s team does quite the job hyping her. Nevertheless, I think she’s a very beautiful woman and they make a nice couple.

  18. kai says:

    So, now they’re trying to make her into a fashionista? I like her style, I can live with that. But please stop it with the “avant-garde director”.

  19. QueenB says:

    she seems to like to surround herself with people who say odd things about her in public.

    • Digital Unicorn (aka Betti) says:

      He’s her Uncle and this is exactly the kind of things family members say about each other, specially of the older generation.

      Plus i love this comment: “We always consider what Sophie’s husband will be wearing on the red carpet and how they will co-ordinate as a couple,” – Bendy has been relegated to arm candy LOL.

      • angie says:

        Delusional her and her lot. hahaha as if ANYONE would care about her were it not for her dear arm candy hubby, Well her social media sites have been cropping him out but tagging his name nevertheless for ages. The a–es…

      • Miss Melissa says:

        That’s hilarious.

      • Meg D says:

        Well, not her personal social media. That nutty fan Fairyspit who obsesses over all his girlfriends and starts fansites for them all.

      • Sasha says:

        @MegD luv. Please don’t believe this nonsense about a crazy fan who’s to blame for everything shady about her. the idea of a crazy fan is always used when people try to hide their tracks.

      • FrancineMill says:

        OMG @ angie: Could Sophie Hunter be anymore pathetic?? What a joke. lmao

      • Xenia Sall says:

        In response to Meg D about the “Nutty fan Fairyspit”: well would you believe it? The “fan” is sure “nutty” and yet sets up ONLY for Sophie a very PROFESSIONAL PR site up that is even linked to in this very article.

  20. Loula says:

    This ‘faceswap’ thing the young’uns are into – I’d love to see it done with the top photo of them. They’re so alike aside from Sophie’s bigger blues!

    • Margo S. says:

      I read in the comments on dlisted someone saying “here’s another photo of Ben and his sister.” And I didnt get it at first, then I realized, holy sh!t, they look the same. Like siblings! Now that I see it I can’t unsee it!!!

      • Lorelai says:

        Margo I never saw it before when people said it, but in these photos, I do. They absolutely look like siblings.

    • Priaharmony says:

      @Loula the face swap thing. It’s been done. Where most people wouldn’t look.
      Also look closely at that dress. It’s a Asian pattern on her dress. Not so good when the movie you are promoting is being accused of whitewashing.

    • Sue says:

      Her eyes are really close together, and his are far apart. That alone makes them look entirely different to me. Very different noses, too. I grant you the face shape and expressions are very similar, though.

  21. cindyp says:

    She needs a new stylist. She looks so plain; the dress is a sack, her hair is styled like she’s going for coffee, how about an updo? She pretty & tall; surely she can wear maternity clothes that are more stylish & look more glamorous

  22. Blah says:

    They consider what “her husband wears” when the premieres are actually about him, not her. Sounds more like she wants attention without earning it, lol.

    Also, that ‘whippet’ comment…are you seriously going to keep saying “it’s what family says”? LMAO.

    Whatshisface that wrote the wedding dress article in Vogue, that’s what he said about her, the same exact words. Hamish Bowles. He said she had the limbs of a champion whippet. So I think her uncle is just copying what a top writer for Vogue had said.

    Still kinda shitty to be compared to a dog…especially a posh dog. Thin and whippy, that used to be beautiful…

  23. Sasha says:

    Family, gotta love them. )) What else can you do.

  24. Wren33 says:

    I feel like Christopher Guest is writing a new movie about stylists as we speak….

  25. Dani says:

    That is the most hideous fing dress I’ve ever seen. Her hair color is too dark for her. That’s all I’ve got.

    • Cee says:

      I like the colour on her but not the silhouette. She should embrace her bump instead of trying to hide it.

  26. Cee says:

    I can’t believe the Telegraph actually ran this as an article.

    If what Drake says about working together to put an outfit as a theatre co-production is REAL and the TRUTH then she comes off really pretentious and I don’t care if she is pretty and Benedict’s one true love.

    She could do so much better in terms of style, especially with her hair. She usually looks pretty even if it is the same silhouette over and over again. The Oscars “production” was particularly bad IMO. Her best was the Erdem dress in blue and red she wore to the Globes (I think) with her hair up.

  27. Meg D says:

    Srsly people need to stop talking about Sophie Hunter. I’m sure she’s lovely but apart from some fringe theatre stuff which is not interested or relevant to anyone outside the fringe theatre scene, she is only famous for marrying an actor.

    Good for her for having her own style (I guess?) and not feeling the need to show skin, but dear jeebus that dress is hideous.

    • Cee says:

      Yeah, but his PR is certainly pushing her solo. Early access to designer clothes, her whole look dissected with brand and price dully informed, solo headshots, etc.

      I wonder what’s going on, if she has anything coming up besides her fringe theatre projects.

    • Xenia Sall says:

      Psssst Meg D don’t talk so loudly about how irrelevant Hunter is. Or else she will be pissed.

  28. Mac says:

    Valentino again. Spot the flaw that got her this dress. Trick question. It’s a resewn seam that got blown out in the underarm. They are wearing the same lipstick.

    • Mac says:

      Sorry bad intel on the rip. It was actually in the neck area where she added that unfortunate brooch rather than tying the existing neck straps into a bow. If you look closely the straps are loose down the front of the dress.

  29. Kilo Tango says:

    There’s me thinking she just tried a few frocks on and picked her favourite!

    • Lindsay says:

      That’s what the peasants do. She is a special snowflake and an avant-garde genius. Also, as the most important person on the red carpet she really has to put on a show and ensure everything is perfect, no detail is too small. On top of that she has to worry about the outfit of her escort down the red carpet. He can’t clash and steal focus.

  30. teacakes says:

    I see the crazies came back. Good, I needed a laugh.

  31. hey-ya says:

    …she wears beautiful clothes beautifully…

  32. Lee says:

    I don’t mind him, and I don’t know her, but Lord almighty do they look related. Somebody better keep checking the kids for extra fingers and toes…

  33. Silly me says:

    I am glad that she is pregnant again. Could you imagine poor little Christopher having to deal with these pretentious parents on his own?

  34. Grady says:

    I get serious Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes vibes from this marriage.

  35. Kate says:

    What the ever loving fuuuuuuuuuuuuu@# does this mean?
    Lord.

  36. Pocketfluff says:

    Dress is beyond bad! Clearly has no fashion sense or working eyeballs! Just because it’s designer doesn’t make it good! And if this is an example of her co-producing, no wonder her only job is to be his rc wife! Posh folk are strange!!! (No pun intended!)

  37. Karen says:

    Does it mean that by comparing her to a dog he called her bitch?