Millie Bobby Brown Says Fans Have a Hard Time “Accepting” That She Isn’t a Kid Anymore

Fame is a hard concept to grasp at any age, but especially when you’re a child. Pop culture fanatics have witnessed first hand how childhood fame can corrupt or exploit younger Hollywood sensations, just look at Demi Lovato, for example. The pressure to be successful and perfect is crippling. In a March 31st interview with MTV, Millie Bobby Brown opened up about the struggles of being a child actor and how she feels like fans aren’t “accepting” the fact that she isn’t a little girl anymore.

The world met Brown in 2016 when she was cast as Eleven in Netflix’s soon-to-be mega-popular series Stranger Things. At the time she was only 12 years old. However, what fans might not know is that she had auditioned for the role at the age of 10 and was making guest appearances in other well-known TV shows like Grey’s Anatomy and NCIS since 2013.

The 17-year-old actress may seem young, but she’s been booking gigs for actually quite a long time—eight years to be exact.

To anyone on the outside, it might seem that being on TV since you were a pre-teen is an advantage. Directors and casting producers know your work and you’ve built a following, but Brown says her age has actually served more so against her than aided her.

Being a young girl, people watch you grow up, right? And they’ve almost become invested in your growth and your journey, but they aren’t ready to accept the fact that you’re growing up, she told MTV. 

Brown explained she’s received backlash from fans because of outfits she’s worn at award shows or out in public (i.e. crop tops or high heels) because it’s “not age appropriate.”

“They’re not accepting it,” she continued. Laughing, she added, “I’ve completely accepted it. You know, I’m ready.” She went on to say, “And it’s kind of like, I have 50 million people like my parents and they’re like, ‘NOOO!’ And my parents are like, ‘Yay! Thank God, you’re 17!'”

For anyone who can’t get over the idea that Brown isn’t a little girl anymore, she has a message for you: I’m not going to be playing those young girls anymore. 

Brown’s latest project Gozilla vs. Kong is out now in theaters and HBO Max, where her character (much like Brown) has grown up tenfold since the last time we saw her. The actress has also had a hand in producing—yes, the “child” is also a producer!—with her movie Enola Holmes on Netflix, which she also starred as the lead role.

In case you need another reminder that Brown is a near-young adult, her new capsule collection with Vogue Eyewear debuts today, April 1st (no, this is not an April fool’s joke). So clearly she’s been very busy doing a lot of business things—and growing up.

The most important thing to Brown is not letting anything hold her back, whether it’s fans, Hollywood, certain characters and storylines, or her age. 

“I want to evolve and I don’t want this industry to hold me back from evolving and telling stories that I feel like I have to go with my age, you know?”