A childhood spent traversing multiple continents.
Deciding to become a producer while still a preteen.
A Christmas shopping memory that's unforgettable for all the wrong reasons.
There's a lot more to Millie Bobby Brown than just Stranger Things, as evidenced by her
lifelong transformation.
She may be a world-famous actress now, but Millie Bobby Brown's story begins just like
that of anyone else who's not on a super popular TV show.
Born in Spain in 2004 to parents Kelly and Robert Brown, Millie is the third of four
children.
The family moved a lot throughout Millie's childhood.
When she was just four years old, she made her very first international move, from Spain
to the United Kingdom, where her parents were originally from.
Four years later, the Browns then headed across the Atlantic to the United States so that
Kelly and Robert could start a business in Orlando, Florida.
After that, they moved once more, this time from Orlando to Los Angeles, so that Millie
could pursue her dreams of becoming an actress.
Millie Bobby Brown was only eight years old when she decided that she wanted to be an
actress.
She hadn't had any training or any real experience, but nevertheless, she knew that it was what
she wanted to do.
As she explained to Variety in 2017,
"It was like a bug.
I know this sounds crazy, but once I find something I want to do, nobody's stopping
me."
Luckily for Brown, her family believed in her enough to let her pursue her passion.
Her first onscreen credit was Young Alice in a couple of episodes of the Once Upon a
Time spinoff Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.
That led to guest spots in the likes of NCIS, Modern Family, and Grey's Anatomy.
But it wasn't all smooth sailing right away, as Brown began to get discouraged as she struggled
to get more prominent roles, which she talked about during a 2020 appearance on The Tonight
Show.
"This industry is such- it's just full of rejection 24/7."
"It really is."
Brown also revealed during that interview,
"You get far more nos — a lot of nos — before you get a yes.
I was auditioning for commercials, for anything, really."
Her biggest moment of doubt came after auditioning for Game of Thrones.
That particular rejection made her question everything, and she even considered giving
up acting entirely.
"That's kind of when I was like, 'Oh, this is really difficult,' and, um, I guess I really
wanted that role."
But fortunately for Brown, she stuck it out and booked a certain star-making role soon
thereafter.
Ever since its 2016 debut on Netflix, Stranger Things has been nothing short of a phenomenon.
And Brown's character of Eleven was the clear breakout, with her telepathic abilities and
shaved head rendering her instantly recognizable.
Even at such a young age, Brown wasn't scared to shave her head for the sake of the show.
As the series' co-creator Matt Duffer recalled to Variety, her parents were more worried
about that than she was.
But then he reassured them by pointing to how iconic a bald Charlize Theron was in Mad
Max: Fury Road.
Having such a visible part on such a popular show allowed everyone to see just how talented
Brown truly was.
She may have been only 11 years old when Stranger Things premiered, but she was still quite
the sensation to everyone around her.
As Matt Duffer noted to Variety in 2017,
"We have yet to give her something that she's unable to do.
I can throw this girl an incredible fastball, she’s going to hit it.
It's like a singer who can hit any note.
Her range is just absolutely incredible.
I have yet to see any limits to it."
Following her outstanding performance on Season 1 of Stranger Things, Millie Bobby Brown was
recognized with an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2017.
And as she was only 13 at the time, she was one of the youngest actors ever nominated
for an Emmy.
While she was on the ceremony's red carpet, she was still struggling to process her groundbreaking
achievement.
"Obviously, I'm very, very grateful, but like, I don't- I haven't processed it yet.
It's not like, sunk in.
So, I think it should've by now."
Brown was nominated once again a year later for the same award.
She didn't win either time, but nevertheless, as the sentiment goes, just being nominated
was a huge honor.
After her second nod, she took to Instagram to share a heartfelt post about her nomination
and the 11 other recognitions that the show received from the TV Academy, including one
for Outstanding Drama Series.
As she declared in her caption,
"12 nominations for our show!!
I love this cast and crew so much and I'm beyond thrilled to see how much Stranger Things
has been embraced by our peers and The Academy."
One of the things that has really made Millie Bobby Brown stand out on Stranger Things is
how she's embraced the more sinister parts of her character.
Eleven may be a young girl, but she still has deadly powers that make her quite dangerous.
One of her signatures is her intense stare, which Brown first did while auditioning for
the show, and it was one of the things that convinced the creators that she was right
for the part.
As executive producer Shawn Levy revealed to Variety in 2017,
"I've never forgotten it because it was so intuitive.
That this little person had such fierce power — that's what took me aback."
Brown appreciates that darker side and enjoys embracing it.
As she admitted to Vogue in 2018,
"I think if you saw my filming in general, you would see a different Millie.
I get very into character, and I become goth.
I don't wear make-up for the eight months, I don't do my hair, I don't wear colors.
I went through a stage, like at least three episodes, where I would just wear black sweaters
with beanies, black nail polish [...] I become this whole different Millie, and it is just
more deep and intense, and I love it."
"And eventually, it will kill you."
Millie Bobby Brown has opinions about important issues, and she isn't afraid to share them.
That was particularly clear in 2017 when she won the Best Actor in a Show trophy at the
MTV Movie and TV Awards for her performance on Stranger Things.
While accepting the award, she was wearing two blue pins on the front of her dress.
The darker blue ribbon was in support of the American Civil Liberties Union, and a lighter
blue ampersand pin was for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Together movement.
Brown let her fashion do the speaking again at the 2018 Kids' Choice Awards, as she wore
an all-denim outfit featuring the names of the victims of the Parkland, Florida shooting
on the back.
She also used her acceptance speech to promote the March for Our Lives demonstrations, as
she announced,
"As we saw a moment ago, the March for Our Lives demonstrations that took place all over
the world today have inspired me and impacted us all in one way or another [...] I get to
be up here, and I'm privileged to have a voice that can be heard, one that I can use to hopefully
make a positive difference and help influence change."
After starring on Stranger Things and a couple of Godzilla films, Brown found her next franchise
in the form of Enola Holmes.
The 2020 film tells the story of Sherlock Holmes' little sister Enola, as she solves
her own mysteries.
Brown knew that she wanted to play the character when she and her sister Paige read the Nancy
Springer book series.
As she explained to Deadline,
"I was 11, 12 years old, and the character was 16, so I always knew it would be more
of a future ambition."
"Enola was raised to wear what she wants, whatever hairstyle she wants, whatever she
wants to say or do."
Brown eventually approached her father about the idea, and they then partnered with Legendary
Entertainment.
As she recounted to Deadline,
"They always appreciated my voice, they valued it, which I always loved.
I knew this was something I could really talk about with them and feel comfortable with
working with them because of my past relationship."
Enola Holmes would ultimately be the first project that the Brown sisters produced together.
But Paige had already been helping Millie with behind-the-scenes work before then, so
the producing partnership felt like a natural progression.
They managed to work together efficiently and found that they didn't have many creative
differences in bringing the story to life.
As Millie told the Los Angeles Times,
"I was starring in the film, so I was focused very much on that.
But I've always been into production [...] so this was a great opportunity for me."
Fame has given Millie Bobby Brown plenty of opportunities, but it's been a lot to adjust
to.
Growing up in the spotlight has come with a lot of pressure, and she sometimes feels
overwhelmed by the invasiveness of celebrity.
After one upsetting fan encounter in 2020, she took to Instagram to talk about what happened.
She'd been doing her Christmas shopping when a fan asked if they could film her.
But when Brown declined, the fan ignored her wishes and continued recording her.
As the actress put it on her Instagram Story,
"I'm a human being, like, what more can I ask from you?
[...] It just makes me upset when people try to push the boundary, and I just wish people
were more respectful."
Brown discussed her perspective about fame some more during a 2021 interview with MTV
News.
When she first started to be recognized, she was young enough that she didn't even think
that much about fame.
But, as she also acknowledged,
"Now, as much as I'm very grateful for it, I've struggled with anxiety for a while.
I've definitely struggled with the fame aspect more nowadays."
"I am a normal girl, and I'm figuring everything out myself."
As she is a young woman in the public eye, everything that Millie Bobby Brown does is
put under a microscope.
As she explained during an interview with The Guilty Feminist podcast in 2022,
"I deal with the same things any 18-year-old is dealing with, navigating being an adult
and having relationships and friendships, and it's all of those things [...] The only
difference is that, obviously, I'm doing that in the public eye.
So it can be really overwhelming."
Since the start of her career, Brown's appearance has basically been under constant scrutiny.
One time, she wore a lower-cut dress to a red carpet event, and, as she recalled, she
was "crucified" online for that.
As she put it,
"I thought, 'Is this really what we're talking about?'"
She's been dealing with those sorts of comments for years, but she's begun to notice a difference
since turning 18.
As she explained,
"I believe that shouldn't change anything, but it's gross and it's true [...] It's a
very good representation of what's going on in the world and how young girls are sexualized."
Millie Brown shocked the public in 2022 with a dramatic change of appearance.
While promoting Stranger Things Season 4, she traded her naturally dark hair for long,
honey-blonde waves, thereby setting herself apart from the characters she's played and
proving that she's truly coming into her own.
During the promotional tour, she appeared on the Australian Today show with her Stranger
Things costar Noah Schnapp, and it was clear that both actors are basically unrecognizable
compared to the kids they were during Season 1.
Brown spoke about how much she and her castmates have changed over the years.
As she put it,
"We get it a lot, I don't think it necessarily bothers us, but we have had a dramatic look
change."
Even though Brown has changed plenty over the years, she's still not quite ready to
say goodbye to Stranger Things.
As she admitted,
"I don't think we can come to terms with it, it's like leaving high school, it's all we've
known our whole lives."
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