Millie Bobby Brown is opening up about the biggest life skill she feels she missed out on after growing up in the spotlight.
During the June 29 episode of the “Happy, Sad, Confused” podcast, Brown said she never fully learned how to socialize with people her own age because she spent much of her childhood working instead of attending public school.
“Well, I didn’t go to public school, so maybe a bit of socialization,” the 22-year-old actress said when asked if she felt she missed any major milestones growing up.
Brown admitted she still feels awkward at times when fans around her age approach her.
“Sometimes, when fans come up to me, they’ll be like, ‘Millie!’ And I’ll be like, ‘Ahh!'” she said. “I just don’t know how to react sometimes to people my own age. I have a harder time.”
Brown Says Growing Up on Set Changed Her Perspective
Brown said much of that comes from growing up on film sets instead of with classmates.
According to the episode, the actress said she grew up working alongside crews made up primarily of men over 40, meaning she was exposed to adult conversations instead of the everyday experiences most kids have growing up.
“I grew up with primarily men on crews… men over 40 years old,” Brown said. “So I heard a lot of adult talk growing up, and didn’t really talk about the things you’re meant to talk about as a kid.”
She joked that conversations on set usually centered around production.
“You hear, ‘Where’s the grip? Let’s grab a ladder,’ you know, that’s your whole conversation,” she said.
As a result, Brown said she can spend hours talking about camera lenses and shots but struggles with more typical conversations people her age have, like discussing favorite bars or local hangouts.
Brown made her professional acting debut in “Once Upon a Time in Wonderland” before finding global fame as Eleven, also known as Jane Hopper, in “Stranger Things,” which ran from 2016 to 2025, per People.
Jake Bongiovi Helped Bring Her Out of Her Shell
GettyBrown said her husband, Jake Bongiovi, has helped her become more social over the years.
Calling him “the most social butterfly” and “the complete opposite” of herself, Brown said his upbringing was much different from hers.
“He went to boarding school and college, so he is like a social butterfly,” she said. “When I met him, I really tried to lean in more to that. So I’m in my social era.”
Brown also revealed she stepped away from social media in 2021 for her mental health. She now has a manager handle posting but still writes her own captions.
“I couldn’t do it anymore,” Brown said. “So I needed to hire someone, for my mental health, to take care of it for me.”
She added that while she still enjoys sharing updates, she avoids reading comments.
“I still want to feel connected to my fans… I don’t want to see what people have to say about it because I don’t care,” she said.
Elsewhere in the interview, Brown admitted she experienced “a slight depression” after “Stranger Things” wrapped, saying she was surprised by how difficult it was to move on after spending nearly a decade playing Eleven.
“It was very hard for me,” Brown said. “I would not have expected that coming off of the show. I’m a very happy-go-lucky person.”
