Just recently, Millie Bobby Brown took to Instagram to call out the articles and the writers who criticized her for looking older than her age during the press tour of her new Netflix film The Electric State. The headlines themselves were incredibly harsh. “Why are Gen Z-ers like Millie Bobby Brown aging so badly?” and “Millie Bobby Brown mistaken for someone’s mum as she guides younger sister Eva through LA” are only some of the headlines the actress mentioned. What makes this even more disappointing is that many of these articles were written by fellow women.
But what’s so wrong with looking more mature when this is something most young girls and women go through? Is it because she’s a married 21-year-old woman embracing a more mature look, or because society isn’t ready to see Eleven from Stranger Things grow up?
@mtvuk Millie Bobby Brown has responded to recent articles about her appearance in the most courageous way. We love you Millie 💛💛 #milliebobbybrown #strangerthings #mtvceleb ♬ original sound – mtvuk
“Disillusioned people can’t handle seeing a girl become a woman on her terms, not their own,” Brown said plainly, and she’s right. The image of Brown as a 12-year-old in Stranger Things lingers in people’s minds, making it hard for them to accept her as a woman. And it also seems like the world isn’t ready to see her as a woman.
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All Grown Up
Millie Bobby Brown’s career got its start at the young age of 10, and she was eventually pushed into the limelight just shy of 12 via the Netflix series Stranger Things. For several seasons, she has been portraying a young child in the 1980s, where everything was an array of colorful retro. Due to her role in her hit series, it’s jarring to see Brown today, nearly a decade after the first season. And it seems that the people aren’t ready to see her mature into a young woman.
At 21, Brown could easily be mistaken for a 17-year-old with her youthful glow, especially with little to no makeup and in bright clothing. However, the actress’s styling makes her appear more mature.: pouty lips, a matte base, snatched contours, low cut tops and dress, and pencil skirts. It’s a direct contradiction to the fun, colorful Stranger Things aesthetic, which is most likely why many people are so surprised.
People age, and yet, for some reason, society struggles to accept that child actors grow up just like everyone else. This is especially true for Brown, whose transformation has sparked unwarranted criticism instead of support. It seems that most netizens aren’t prepared, and will never be for their beloved actors to grow up. Growing up in front of the cameras kept their entire childhood under the public eye, but… the public isn’t ready to watch them blossom into women. And that’s a problem.
No One Stays a Kid for Long
With Brown already married at 21 years old, we should be celebrating the woman she has grown into. Instead, many have been bullying the actress for no longer looking like her barely 12-year-old self during the first season of Stranger Things. We have watched her grow up beyond her hit series, from Damsel to her upcoming film Electric State. It’s time that we accept that the actress is growing up, leaving the image of El behind her as she gets to know the woman she is becoming.
As an adult—and a married one—Brown should be free to express herself however she chooses. The way Brown does her makeup and dresses up should be her business alone, and yet here we are, bullying her for looking like a mother, which shouldn’t even be an insult. I would argue that her styling can transform her to her late 20s, but is it such a bad thing to look more mature? The actress is simply embracing womanhood, accentuating all her best features with the best products and pieces at her disposal. Part of entering adulthood is discovering one’s personal style, and that is exactly what Brown is doing in her early 20s.
The Universal Experience
Stealing our older sister’s clothes, borrowing our mom’s makeup, begging our parents to buy the short skirt you’ve been eyeing—it sounds familiar, doesn’t it? At some point in our lives, some of us may have experienced wanting to look more mature. As we enter adulthood, we start to discover ways to “look our age:” trying more mature makeup styles, opting for heels instead of sneakers, even acting older than our age. This was our initiation in being welcomed to womanhood, whether it was to send a message that we are no longer children, an act of rebellion, or simply a way to make a statement.
Much like Brown, Filipino child star Xyriel Manabat is also at the age of experimenting with styles, especially as she had just turned 21. She was six years old when she was cast as the young lead in Agua Bendita, and since then, the actress has been collecting awards left and right. However, her acting prowess was no shield to the online hate. Time and time again, Manabat has tirelessly defended herself from body shaming and sexist comments, which she has been receiving since her showbiz comeback in 2023 with Dirty Linen.
This rite of passage—experimenting with style and identity—is something many young women go through. Yet, for child actors, the world seems to resist acknowledging this natural progression, treating them as if they are frozen in time. It’s as if the public doesn’t want to see child actors grow up into women.
Embracing Womanhood
Millie Bobby Brown does look more mature than the average 21-year-old, but so what? Part of the young adult experience is experimenting with different styles, and included in that journey of discovery is welcoming womanhood through fashion and beauty. She’s still discovering her personal style and identity—an essential part of growing up.
She is no longer the 12-year-old actress you saw in Stranger Things or even in Enola Holmes. She has grown up, accepted more mature roles, gotten married, and is now a grown woman. It’s time we recognize the woman she has become. And a woman, she is.
“I refuse to make myself smaller to fit the unrealistic expectations of people who can’t handle seeing a girl become a woman. I will not be shamed for how I look, how I dress, or how I present myself.”
– Millie Bobby Brown
Featured Image and Photos: MILLIE BOBBY BROWN, XYRIEL MANABAT (via Instagram), NETFLIX (via Website)
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