Stephen Hawking, Albert Einstein, Bill Gates - all chumps. A 16-year-old British girl who loves her blonde hair and fake tan as much as studying Proust and the golden ratio is smarter than all of them, according to a recent IQ test given by Mensa. U.K.-native Lauren Marbe beat the geniuses' scores by a full point, with an IQ of 161, one of the highest test scores in the world.
"It was such an achievement and I got a bit tearful to tell you the truth," Marbe said, according to International Business Times. "I was one of the last people to get my result, and everybody before me had got around the 130 mark, so that was the kind of result I was expecting."
"My teachers knew I was quite clever because of my grades but they had always thought I was blonde and a bit ditzy," she added. "Now they keep saying, 'I didn't realize you were that clever.'"
"I love my fake tan and fake nails as well, so I guess I am a bit of an Essex girl in that sense. But I'm glad that I might be able to show people that we aren't all ditzy and blonde," Marbe said, according to the Daily Mail.
Mensa admits members to its organization "within the upper two percent of the general population" - generally those who score roughly above 130 on its IQ tests. The elite group "provides mental stimulation and the exchange of ideas through lectures, discussions, journals, special-interest groups... and gatherings," according to Mensa's website. Marbe's IQ score easily qualifies her as a member of the club. She joins just 110,000 members in 100 countries around the globe.
Despite her newfound attention, Marbe and her family have kept humble about her high IQ score. She says that she just enjoys doing her schoolwork and being a "traditional teenager." She says she's content just continuing to study for now, and that she may pursue a future in the performing arts, according to the Daily Mail.
"Obviously I am really proud," Marbe's mother, Sue, said according to the Daily Mail. "I am quite shy and I don't like boasting, but I am really pleased that she has done so well. All her teachers have been coming up to her and saying they didn't realize how intelligent she actually was. I don't know who she got it from. Me and my husband should get tested as well."
According to the International Business Times, Einstein never took an IQ test himself, and the 160 score is just a modern estimate by researchers. Iconic British author Charles Dickens is said to have had one of the highest IQs ever with a Mensa IQ of 180, according to the Daily Mail.
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