Millie Bobby Brown has gone from obscurity to world-wide fame in an incredibly short amount of time – and is still just a teenager.
The TV star celebrated her 18th birthday this month and will soon be back on screens in season four of Netflix’s hit sci-fi drama Stranger Things.
The British actress has made an impressive name for herself in Hollywood, has amassed a huge fortune in just six years, and has even set her sights set on becoming a music star as well as an acting talent.
Here is everything you need to know about the actress – from her career beginnings to future plans, and even who she is dating.
Early life
Millie Bobby Brown was born in Marbella, Spain, to British parents Kelly and Robert Brown on 19 February 2004.
She is the third child of the family – with an older brother, an older sister and a younger sister too.
The family moved to Bournemouth in England when Millie was four-years-old – and later made the move across the pond to live in Orlando, Florida, when the future star was eight.
From an early age, Millie had her sights set on the acting world – and managed to eventually break into the industry despite never taking an acting class or any professional training.
Acting break
In 2013, Millie made her acting debut in the fantasy drama Once Upon A Time In Wonderland – a spin-off of the popular ABC series Once Upon A Time.
She played the role of ‘young Alice’ – while fellow British actress Sophie Lowe played the character for the majority of the 13-part miniseries.
Speaking about her passion for acting, Millie previously told Variety: “It was like a bug.
“I know this sounds crazy, but once I find something I want to do, nobody’s stopping me. If I don’t know how to sew, and I really had that passion to sew, that’s it, I’m going to sew. That’s also with acting. So here I am.”
Mainstream success
It was in 2016 that Millie became a household name for many as she played the role of superhero Eleven in Netflix ’s smash hit series Stranger Things.
The nostalgia-tinged show sees the actress play a tortured teen who has been experimented on and gained incredible telekinetic powers.
The star’s committed performance won her fans around the world – including novel writing icon Stephen King.
The mysterious writer branded the actress “terrific” on Twitter and added: “Is it my imagination, or are child actors a lot better than they used to be?”
On being partially deaf
Millie was born with partial hearing in one year – with the condition developing and she gradually lost all hearing in that ear over time.
Variety previously reported: “Brown is deaf in one ear — she was born with partial loss of hearing, and then her hearing faded away… So she can’t fully hear herself perform, but no matter.”
While Millie herself has discussed how she doesn’t let her disability hold her back – and highlighted that her role on Stranger Things initially meant she had to focus on expressing herself in different ways as her character initially didn’t speak.
She told the publication: “You can talk with your face. It’s very easy for someone to say, ‘I’m mad. I’m sad. I’m angry.’ I have to just do it with my face.”
Music ambitions
Despite not having full hearing, Millie has made no secret of the fact she wants to break into the music world after previously triumphing in the acting world.
Back in May 2020, sources claimed the star was on the cusp of signing a record deal, with an insider telling The Sun: "This time off has allowed her to get some serious tracks together, enough to pitch to labels. It's now her decision who she wants to commit with."
She previously told Variety: “I just started to sing, and if I sound bad I don’t care, because I’m just doing what I love.
“You don’t have to be good at singing. You don’t have to be good at dancing or acting. If you like to do it, if you genuinely enjoy doing it, then do it. No one should stop you.”
Fame and fortune
After shooting to fame in 2016, Millie is said to have amassed an impressive fortune thanks to her high profile role on Stranger Things and modelling contracts with brands including Moncler.
Initially Millie was said to earn $10,000 (£7,340) per episode of Stranger Things in season one – but this fee reportedly rose to an impressive $300,000 (£220,000) per episode as the show’s popularity rose and more seasons were commissioned.
The star was said to have been paid $6.1 million (£4.5 million) for her role in the Netflix movie Enola Holmes – with a sequel set to stream later this year.
While the star has also appeared in big budget films including Godzilla vs Kong and TV shows including Modern Family and Grey’s Anatomy.
Dating life
Millie has been dating 19-year-old Jake Bongiovi – the son of 59-year-old rock legend Jon Bon Jovi – since June 2021.
The pair frequently pop up on each others’ social media platforms – with Jake wishing Millie a happy 18th birthday when they dressed up as Barbie and Ken to celebrate.
The rock stars son also stated: “ILY” on Instagram – standing for ‘I love you’ – along with a red heart emoji.
Millie previously dated American musician and YouTube star Jacob Sartorius in 2018 – with the romance lasting seven months.
And she had also been linked to Romeo Beckham in early 2019.
