Millie Bobby Brown was 11 years old when she first filmed her breakout role as Eleven on “Stranger Things.” But stealing scenes on a smash-hit Netflix series as an adolescent has its downsides, some of which still affect the 20-year-old today.
“I don’t have many friends, because of who I am,” Brown told Vanity Fair in a cover story released on Wednesday. “I didn’t go to school, so I don’t have the best social skills when it comes to people my own age and friendships. I struggle with that quite a bit. I missed out on a few things. But I’m working through them.”
“Stranger Things,” which debuted in 2016 and will release its fifth and final season this year, has become one of Netflix’s most popular shows of all time. Brown has previously spoken about the challenges of becoming famous in adolescence and being sexualized in the media, revealing that she started having severe panic attacks around age 15.
“I don’t allow many people into my life, and when I do, I think it should be super moderated,” she told Vanity Fair. “I started this really young, and I felt that the press specifically was very, very harsh on me. And so I just like to make sure that I’m advocating for myself.”
Brown’s Vanity Fair profile notes that instead of going to school like kids her age, Brown had private schooling on the show’s set and passed the time between filming with her fellow cast mates. The coronavirus pandemic compounded her lack of social interactions outside the show.
Brown now lives on a farm with her husband, Jake Bongiovi, and calls it her happy place.
“My animals are loud, and it’s messy and my dogs are crazy. And there is, you know, laughter and a lot of passion and excitement, and it is a very vibrant place,” she said. “There is so much chaos, and that is where I thrive.”
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