Millie Bobby Brown has revealed that she realised that she was a feminist after visiting a psychic.
In an interview with Glamour published on 16 October, the Stranger Things star reportedly credited her feminist awakening with a visit to a psychic who told Brown that she was a feminist. When she got home, Brown recalled that she immediately searched on Google: “How do I know if I’m a feminist?”
After an internet deep dive, the actor said she “really grasped the idea of feminism and what it means to me” and realised that “ultimately it’s about opportunity.”
Through her production company PCMA, Brown has made feminism a focal point of her work, specifically aiming to spotlight the stories of girls and women, whose stories are still reportedly underrepresented in cinema to this day.
PCMA is named after the initials of Brown and her siblings (Paige, Charlie, Millie, Ava). The company is a family-run operation, while Millie and her sister Paige search for books specifically about girls and women. Through their endeavours, PCMA has since obtained the rights to the Enola Holmes books and created a successful franchise in partnership with Netflix.
Brown’s upcoming Netflix fantasy-action film, Damsel, also showcases her dedication to female-focused narratives. The film, in which she stars alongside Angela Basset and Robin Wright, follows the story of a fierce, dragon-fighting princess. “The theme is feminism,” Brown admitted to the outlet.
The 19-year-old actor doesn’t just fight for women in the producer’s chair. She is also committed to advocating for women through her role as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. At just 14 years old, Brown addressed the United Nations and became the youngest person to ever be appointed by the organisation. Through her role, Brown has championed efforts and raised awareness towards menstrual care and education for girls around the world.
Brown is reportedly taking online classes at Purdue University and studying human services, to supplement her role as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. “I don’t need to do a whole big thing and change the world,” she explained to Glamour. “I don’t need that. But if I can do the small things that help people - their heart, their mind, their spirit - then that’s what I’ll do.”
Beyond UNICEF, Brown has been very vocal in calling out the misogyny in the way the public and tabloids speak about young women. In a 2022 episode of the Guilty Feminist podcast, Brown highlighted the “gross” way the public has treated her since turning 18 years old.
“I have definitely been dealing with that more within the last two weeks of turning 18 - definitely seeing a difference between the way people act and the way that the press and social media have reacted to me coming of age,” Brown told podcast co-hosts Deborah Frances-White and Susan Wokoma.
“I believe that that shouldn’t change anything, but it’s gross and it’s true, and… it’s a very good representation of what’s going on in the world and how young girls are sexualised.”
