Millie Bobby Brown

Millie Bobby Brown born 19 February 2004 is an English actress and producer. At the age of twelve, she gained notability for her role as Eleven in the first season of Netflix science fiction series Stranger Things (2016–present), which was renewed for three seasons. She received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2016. She starred in and produced the mystery film Enola Holmes (2020), and starred in the monster film Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019).

In 2018, Brown was featured in the Time 100 list of the world’s most influential people. That year she was appointed as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, the youngest person selected for this position.

Early life

Brown was born in Marbella, Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, the third of four children of English parents, Kelly and Robert Brown. She has British citizenship through her parents. The family moved to Bournemouth, Dorset, when she was around four years old.

Four years later, her family moved to the United States, settling in Windermere, Florida. She was born with partial hearing in one ear, and gradually lost all hearing in that ear over several years.

Brown now divides her time between London and Atlanta.

Career

In 2013, Brown made her acting debut as a guest star in the ABC fantasy drama series Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, a spin-off of Once Upon a Time, portraying the role of Young Alice. In 2014, she had a starring role in the BBC America paranormal drama-thriller series Intruders as Madison O’Donnell. She made guest appearances in the CBS police procedural drama NCIS, the ABC sitcom Modern Family, and the ABC medical drama series Grey’s Anatomy.

Brown at the 2016 Phoenix Comic Fest

In 2016, Brown was cast to play Eleven (‘El’) in the Netflix science fiction horror series Stranger Things. She received critical praise and she was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series with her co-stars and won the 43rd Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Television Series. For her role as Eleven in the second season of Stranger Things, she received her second Emmy nomination in 2018.

In November 2016, Brown starred in the music video for Sigma and Birdy’s single “Find Me”. Since November 2016, she has appeared in commercial advertisements for Citigroup.

In January 2017, she made her modelling debut in Calvin Klein’s “By Appointment” campaign. The following month, she was signed to the agency IMG Models. She appeared in the campaign of the Italian brand Moncler in the summer of 2018.

In January 2018, Brown was cast to star in and produce the film adaptation of The Enola Holmes Mysteries. She was also chosen to voice in Darren Aronofsky’s virtual reality experience Spheres: Songs of Spacetime. On 20 April 2018, she was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine, becoming the youngest person to be included in the list. On 20 November 2018, it was announced that she had become the youngest person ever to be appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

In November 2018, EA Games announced that Brown collaborated with The Sims 4 programmers to feature in the Sims 4 Positivity Challenge. She was named by Time magazine as one of the most influential teens of 2017 and of 2018. In 2018, The Hollywood Reporter ranked Brown as among Hollywood’s top thirty stars under age eighteen.

Brown made her feature film debut in 2019, in the sequel to Godzilla, titled Godzilla: King of the Monsters. She will reprise her role in Godzilla vs. Kong. In March the same year, it was announced Brown will be starring in the film adaptation of The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin as Suzy. Also in March 2019, she became the ambassador of UEFA’s Together #WePlayStrong campaign. More recently, she offered them a first look deal with Netflix.

On July 28, 2020, it was announced that she will star and also produce through her PCMA Productions a suspense film titled The Girls I’ve Been.

Filmography

Brown speaking at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2018 Spheres Narrator Voice role; segment: “Chorus of the Cosmos”
2019 Godzilla: King of the Monsters Madison Russell
2020 Enola Holmes Enola Holmes Also producer
2021 Godzilla vs. Kong Madison Russell Post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2013 Once Upon a Time in Wonderland Young Alice 2 episodes
2014 Intruders Madison O’Donnell Main role
NCIS Rachel Barnes Episode: “Parental Guidance Suggested”
2015 Modern Family Lizzie Episode: “Closet? You’ll Love It!”
Grey’s Anatomy Ruby Episode: “I Feel the Earth Move”
2016–present Stranger Things Eleven / Jane Ives Main role

Music videos

Year Title Artist(s) Role Ref.
2016 “Find Me” Sigma featuring Birdy
2017 “I Dare You” The xx
2018 “Girls Like You” (Original, Volume 2 and Vertical Video versions) Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B Herself (cameo)
“In My Feelings” Drake
2019 “Happy Anniversary, All I Want for Christmas Is You!” Mariah Carey

Video games

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2018 The Sims 4 Herself Free downloadable character as part of an event

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2017 NME Awards Hero of the Year N/A Nominated
Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a Digital TV Series or Film – Young Actress Stranger Things
People’s Choice Awards Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actress
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Won
Fangoria Chainsaw Awards Best TV Actress
Saturn Awards Best Younger Actor in a Television Series
MTV Movie & TV Awards Best Actor in a Show
Best Hero Nominated
Teen Choice Awards Choice Breakout TV Star
Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Gold Derby TV Awards Drama Supporting Actress
Breakthrough Performer of the Year Won
IGN People’s Choice Award Best Dramatic TV Performance
2018 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Stranger Things Nominated
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Empire Awards Best Actress in a TV Series
Kids’ Choice Awards Favorite TV Actress Won
Saturn Awards Best Younger Actor in a Television Series Nominated
MTV Movie & TV Awards Best Performance in a Show Won
Best Kiss (with Finn Wolfhard) Nominated
Teen Choice Awards Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actress Won
Choice TV Ship (with Finn Wolfhard) Nominated
Gold Derby Awards Best Drama Supporting Actress
Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
2019 Kids’ Choice Awards Favorite TV Actress Stranger Things
Teen Choice Awards Choice Summer TV Actress Won
Saturn Awards Best Performance by a Younger Actor Godzilla: King of the Monsters Nominated
2021 Kids’ Choice Awards Favorite Female TV Star Stranger Things Pending