The rest of our incredible class of 2023 will be announced on November 1, 2023.
Its June, and Millie Bobby Brown is pushing a baby carriage through the lobby of a Manhattan hotel.
The 19-year-old is accompanied by her fiance, Jake Bongiovi, and a burly but kind security guard.
Fendi top and bra, spring 2000, from El Cycèr Vintage. Blumarine skirt from Depop.com. Anita Ko earrings. Swarovski necklace. Millie Bobby Brown wears vintage fashion from the early 2000s throughout.
Peeking over the edge of the baby carriage is a caramel-colored poodle named Winnie.
Brown is powerful in a way that is both captivating and occasionally intimidating.
Shes not just a singular acting talent but a shrewd businesswoman.
Millie Bobby Brown on the cover ofGlamour,wearing vintage fashion throughout from the early 2000s. Roberto Cavalli dress from Depop.com. Jennifer Fisher earrings and bangles. Yvonne Leone ring. Jacquie Aiche ring.
And this year she published her first novel.
Brown can be very funny but also achingly earnest.
Her parents raised her, she says, to love hard.
She is devoted to animal rescue work.
She got Winnie to help comfort her during panic attacks.
Shes hit with bouts of crippling insecurity.
Top from Gabriel Held Vintage. Emma Pills earrings.
I have a huge pimple on my face, she says.
And Im going to go on Instagram, and Im going to see five different girls that look beautiful!
And, okay, slay.
Palm Angels vest and jeans. Vintage boots from Depop.com. Rainbow K earrings. Emma Pills ring. Laura Lombardi necklace.
Inevitably, she adds, shell find herself sobbing, because I know, IknowI dont look like that.
Brown is endearing and a little unnerving in her willingness to share her struggles, not just her successes.
We understand each other, she says.
Were just on the same journey.
As a streaming-era child star, Brown was one of Americas favorite young girls.
The role was the kind that is rarely written for women or girls: an ultrapowerful protagonist.
Blumarine dress and boots. Swarovski earrings. Mondo Mondo ring. Jennifer Fisher Bracelet. Anita Ko rings.
She was raised in a household where her opinions and ideas were treated as valuable.
Her grandmother was her staunchest supporter.
Other adults would tell Brown to quiet down, to stop putting on shows and making up stories.
Christian Dior top and Helmut Lang skirt from Artifact New York. Christian Dior boots from Gabriel Held Vintage. Jennifer Fisher earrings. Yvonne Leon ring. Jacquie Aiche ring. Stylists own sunglasses.
My grandma [would] never tolerate that, Brown says.
She encouraged Browns dreams and promised her: I will never let anyone dull your sparkle.
Were kidswe talk over each other, Brown says now.
Christian Dior top, spring 2000, and Helmut Lang skirt, early 2000s, from Artifact New York. Christian Dior boots from Gabriel Held Vintage. Jennifer Fisher earrings. Yvonne Leon ring. Jacquie Aiche ring. Stylists own sunglasses.
I was just penalized for overtalking and oversharing and being too loud.
She was accused of, as she recalls it, trying to steal the thunder of her castmates.
Grown adults called her an idiot, stupid, and a brat.
A powerful young girl is uncanny but exciting.
A powerful teenage girl, albeit one with two Emmy nominations, is a threat.
Florence by Mills, Browns skin care and makeup company, is named for her great-grandmother.
Roberto Cavalli dress from Depop.com. Jennifer Fisher earrings and bangles. Yvonne Leone ring. Jacquie Aiche ring. René Caovilla heels.
Her sister-in-law, Rachel Brown, practically runs the company, says Millie.
She understands my vision.
Then theres her final encore onStranger Things.
Blumarine dress. Swarovski earrings. Mondo Mondo ring. Anita Ko rings.
Its in my blood.
I cant sit still, she says.
Its just a part of who I am.
You cannot speak on children that are underage, she says.
I mean, our brains physically have not grown yet.
Why are you wearing that?
Roberto Cavalli top from Gabriel Held Vintage. Shorts from Gabriel Held Vintage. Falke tights. Naked Wolfe shoes. Emma Pills rings. Yvonne Leon ring.
How dare you think you’ve got the option to wear that?
How dare you say that?
Brown survived by building a fence around her self-esteem to keep public opinion out.
Nobodys allowed in, she says.
Nobody can say shit.
Other than that, everybodys out.
And yes, its sad.
There are trust issues.
And yes, I have issues with having friends.
I dont have a lot of friends.
Yes, I block out a lot of people.
Im a reserved person, socially.
I will never let that gate open again, she says.
Because everyones crossed it.
One of the few people who has been allowed to cross that threshold is her fiance.
Being attractive to men, she thought, meant not taking up too much space.
When I met Jake, she says, I just felt I could be loud.
He embraced that and encouraged that.
And I fell in love with myself while being with him.
Still, she sometimes wavered.
Bongiovi glimpsed it in her tooa doubt about herself.
You dont know why I love you!
I was like, Why do you love me?
And then he listed all these things that I hated about myself.
I was like, You see good in those things?
And he was like, Of course I do.
Those are things that I love about myself now, she says.
He was a really big, huge part of me loving myself and becoming a woman.
It was like, Wow, I really love this person because he allows me to love myself.
It was so marvelous; it was the cure for all problems.
The experience of falling in love with Bongiovi and the intensity of their connection was bizarre, says Brown.
And his heart is just loving and wonderful and smart.
It doesnt hurt that hes tall and blonde, with dashing eyes.
Brown sounds infatuated, somewhere between a 19-year-old in 2023 and a 1940s starlet.
But she is certain about forever.
She never fantasized about a wedding.
That wasnt my dream, she says.
My dream was to have a baby.
She has always known she wants children.
So that was never my, like, intention, to be a wife.
He doesnt want me to be that either.
I was like, Oh, Idowant this.
She wants to make things: stories that celebrate female strength, products that serve peoples needs.
I dont need to do a whole big thing and change the world, she says.
I dont need that.
And the things she does: not so small.
In that role Brown works to expand access to menstrual care and education for girls around the world.
She points to the need for access to products as simple as Advil and tampons.
These things should be a right, not a privilege, she explains.
Brown went home and googled How do I know if Im a feminist?
Ultimately its about opportunity.
Her production company aims to tell stories about what girls and women can be.
Shes looking forward to opportunities to cast other womento give chances to performers who might otherwise be overlooked.
Soon Brown will say goodbye toStranger Things, the TV show that launched her stardom.
She likens this upcoming change to graduating from high school.
When youre ready, youre like, All right, lets do this.
Lets tackle this last senior year.
Lets get out of here, she says.
So Im ready to say, Thank you, and goodbye.
But she is unwilling to be goaded into mourning the show.
No one is dying, she points out, bluntly.
When it ends, Im going to be able to still see these people.
Shell also star opposite Chris Pratt inTheElectric State, a postapocalyptic adventure movie from the Russo Brothers.
To be able to go toe-to-toe with Chris Pratt!
Pratt, for his part, was taken by Brown.
In a way its hard to believe shes so young, he tellsGlamour.
Theres a rawness to her performances.
Shes present, capable, talented, and her process is like shooting from the hipit takes real confidence.
The people who can do it are especially electric.
Have her past male costars treated her with that same level of respect?
Brown pauses for the length of a heartbeat.
Someof them absolutely have, yes.
At 19, Brown has survived the gauntlet of being a child actress.
She still deals with self-doubt.
Having every one of her choicesher hair, her clothing, her makeup, her fiancequestioned is not helpful.
As for getting engaged at 19, she knows what people are thinking.
But she knows herself too.
If theres one thing she has faith in, its her own sense of timing.
Its likeI know I should make this movie now.
I know I should write this book now.
I know I should dothisnow, she says.
But why, when I know that its going to work now?
Just like Florence will be there in 10 years.
Youll be able to see my movie in 10 years on TV.
And I know that Jake and I will be okay.
Its like, why wait?
Lets go for it.
(Yes, his dad is Jon Bon Jovi.)
We were modeled wonderful, loving relationships, says Brown.
So its something that we both had that mutual drive for.
Repeatedly during our interview I ask Brown to clarify: Where does she get the energy?
Of course, anyone gets tired, but I take a nap!
And then I wake up, and then I keep going.
