After almost a year and a half, Netflix's hit "Sex Education" is finally back for its third season (open in new tab). Among the students at the sex-crazed Moondale Secondary is the brainy Maeve. She may be cynical, but her heart is made of gold, and she has been a fan favorite since the first episode. This season, French-British actress Emma McKee brings new depth to Maeve, as the character opens up to help from others and finally moves forward in her feelings for Otis.

McKee's star power has steadily grown as "Sex Education" has grown, with major roles in the pipeline, including an Agatha Christie adaptation with a star-studded cast and her first film role. She is famously private and a bit averse to social media, but here's what we know about this rising star.

The 25-year-old actress was born in Le Mans in northwestern France. She grew up in western France and after high school moved to England for college. She studied English, French, and law at the University of Leeds, graduating in 2016.

"Sex Education" was Mackie's first regular TV role and her big break, but she revealed in an interview with ELLE (open in new tab) that she almost didn't take the role.

"I didn't even know if I would do it. I'd never done [a TV series] before, so it took a lot of courage to take it on. Luckily, it's really beautifully handled, edited and cast really well. The bar is very high. With other jobs, I'm like, "Why isn't this like 'Sex Ed'?" '" she told the outlet.

Asked why she took on the role, she said that after reading the script, she came to care about the character of Maeve.

"It was a talented role and I couldn't turn it down. I think any doubts I had were more about my nerves and a certain prudishness of my own that I might have had at the time, not knowing what was right for me as a newcomer."

McKee has kept her personal life fairly private, but she opened up about her hobbies to the Sydney Morning Herald (opens in new tab). She recently adopted her mother's love of gardening and is also a vegetarian with a penchant for pan-Asian cuisine.

"I also love Middle Eastern food. I love Middle Eastern food and I use za'atar in everything I can. Let's go! But I'm not very good at presentation. I want to be better at it and I want to go to chef school," she told the outlet.

McKee is also busy outside of Sex Education. Her latest film, a French-language romance called Eiffel, in which she plays the fictional muse of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, was just released in France. She recently finished filming her first starring role, "Emily," in which she plays Emily Bronte, author of Wuthering Heights. She is also set to appear in Death on the Nile, the sequel to 2017's Murder on the Orient Express, with director Kenneth Branagh.

Although she loves acting, McKee has also said that she would like to be a screenwriter or even direct one day. She attributes this to her restless brain, she said, "I've never been good at just doing one thing."

She has also been a member of the "I've always wanted to direct, but I've never been able to do it.

She told ELLE, "I am very happy in this job and I love it. When I'm on set, I feel like I'm in my element and I really enjoy it. So I'm not going to stop acting right now. I just can't do just one thing. I just can't do it. I like to be a jack-of-all-trades. Why don't you direct?