After Andy Burnham replaced Sir Keir Starmer as UK prime minister, his Dutch-born wife Marie-France van Heel has come in the spotlight. Early reports suggested that she will eschew Downing Street to stay in their Manchester home.
Raised in Belgium and known as Frankie, Marie-France van Heel was said to be "the coolest girl in college" when she met fellow undergraduate Andy Burnham at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, reports news agency AFP. She has previously worked in marketing and strategy with Sky Digital and MTV Europe.