Actress reveals growing up on set left her struggling to relate to people her own age as she reflects on life after the hit Netflix series.
Millie Bobby Brown has revealed that spending much of her childhood filming Netflix’s hit series Stranger Things left her struggling with social interactions and typical teenage experiences.
Speaking on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast, the 22-year-old actress said she missed out on many social milestones because she did not attend traditional public school and instead grew up surrounded largely by adult crew members on set.
Brown, who portrayed Eleven, also known as Jane Hopper, throughout the show’s five-season run, said the experience shaped the way she communicates with others.
The actress explained that she often finds it easier to engage in conversations about filmmaking than to discuss topics commonly shared among people her own age.
“I grew up with primarily men on crews,” Brown said, noting that most of the people she worked alongside were significantly older than her. As a result, she became familiar with technical filmmaking discussions rather than the social experiences typical of childhood and adolescence.
Brown admitted that the gap sometimes becomes apparent when she meets fans.
She said she occasionally struggles with how to respond when people her own age approach her, not because she is unwilling to interact, but because she never developed the same social habits as many of her peers.
The actress contrasted her experience with that of her husband, Jake Bongiovi, who attended boarding school and later college. Brown described him as a “social butterfly” and said his outgoing personality encouraged her to become more socially active.
“When I met him, I really tried to lean in more to that,” she said, adding that she is currently embracing what she described as her “social era.”
Brown also spoke about the pressures of social media, revealing that she no longer manages her own online accounts. Instead, members of her team handle her social platforms to help protect her mental well-being.
“I couldn’t do it anymore,” she said, explaining that stepping back from direct social media management was necessary for her mental health.
Despite distancing herself from online commentary, Brown stressed that she still values her relationship with fans and wants to remain connected to those who support her work.
The actress is currently promoting Enola Holmes 3, which is scheduled to premiere globally on Netflix on July 1.
