Millie Bobby Brown was 12 when the world met her as Eleven in 'Stranger Things'—a shaved-head, nose-bleeding, Eggo-loving superhuman kid. While she was appreciated for her role and her acting skills, she wasn’t just a character; she was a collective pop-culture child.
And while the transition from childhood to adulthood is complicated for everyone, it is more complex for a young girl in the limelight. Her experiences reveal a broader cultural problem: society doesn’t allow young girls in the spotlight to age without judgment.
On The Guilty Feminist podcast, Millie Bobby Brown recalled a disturbing shift: the comments about her started becoming “gross” as soon as she turned 18. Suddenly, people felt entitled to sexualise her
She said, “Any 18-year-old is dealing with navigating being an adult and having relationships and friendships and being liked and trying to fit in. It’s all a lot, and you’re trying to find yourself while doing that. The only difference is that, obviously, I’m doing that in the public eye, so it can be really overwhelming. definitely been dealing with [being sexualized] 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."
This isn’t new. Hollywood has a long, uncomfortable history of turning young female stars into objects of obsession the moment they grow up. Be it Lindsay Lohan or Miley Cyrus, women have been at the receiving end of criticism.
Millie Bobby Brown’s experience reflects the same pattern: once a child star turns into a young woman, the tone of public commentary changes drastically. On Call Her Daddy, she spoke openly about being age-shamed.
She said, “The press loves to go in on me sometimes with certain things. A thing that I get a lot is like, 'Oh my God, she looks like 40.' And I’m like, you met me when I was 10, so I understand. Now I’m 21, it’s been 10 years. She grows. My face, like, grew. What do you want me to do about that?"
Millie Bobby Brown, who rose to fame at a young age, revealed that while such criticism once affected her deeply, she has now embraced her individuality. "I don’t want that from anybody growing up in the industry, but it really, actually doesn’t bother me. I wish I could be like, ‘You know what, it does get to me.’ It used to get to me, it did. It got to me, and I remember trying to change myself to please the masses," she admitted.
Millie’s story urges us to rethink this. Growing up isn’t a crime. It’s universal. And it shouldn’t come with shame, policing, or objectification
