'Stranger Things' star Millie Bobby Brown shares real name as she admits changing it for 's---s and giggles'

Fox News

09-03-2025

"Stranger Things" star Millie Bobby Brown revealed that the public has never actually known her by her real name.
During a conversation with Chris Pratt for Buzzfeed, the 21-year-old British actress surprised her "Electric State" co-star when she admitted that her middle name was not "Bobby."
"My middle name is Bonnie," Brown said.
"Millie Bobby Bonnie Brown?" Pratt asked.
"No Bobby, it's Millie Bonnie Brown," she replied.
"I've never told anyone that," Brown added. "You heard it here first!"
"The Guardians of the Galaxy" star appeared stunned as he clarified, "Your middle name is Bonnie? But you just changed it to Bobby for…"
"For s---s and giggles," Brown said.
"For your stage name?" Pratt asked.
"Yes," Brown responded with a laugh.
"Oh s---!" Pratt exclaimed.
Despite Brown's playful explanation for why she changed her middle name, it is rumored to be a tribute to her father Robert Brown. Robert, along with Brown's mother Kelly Brown, championed their daughter's career from her childhood. At the age of 12, Brown skyrocketed to fame when she landed her breakthrough role as Eleven in Netflix's hit science fiction series "Stranger Things."
"My middle name is Bonnie."
Brown and Pratt are currently on a press tour for their new Netflix movie, "Electric State," which was directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, who helmed four movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Based on Simon Stålenhag's 2018 illustrated novel of the same name and written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, "Electric State" also stars Ke Huy Quan, Jason Alexander, Woody Harrelson, Anthony Mackie, Brian Cox, Jenny Slate, Giancarlo Esposito and Stanley Tucci.
Recently, Brown hit back at critics who have made derogatory comments about her appearance. On Tuesday, the two-time Emmy Award nominee shared an Instagram video in which she was seen reading some headlines from articles that she found offensive.
"I started in this industry when I was 10 years old," Brown wrote in the caption of her post. "I grew up in front of the world, and for some reason, people can't seem to grow with me. Instead, they act like I'm supposed to stay frozen in time, like I should still look the way I did on Stranger Things Season 1. And because I don't, I'm now a target."
"This isn't journalism," she added. "This is bullying. The fact that adult writers are spending their time dissecting my face, my body, my choices, it's disturbing. The fact that some of these articles are written by women? Even worse."
"Disillusioned people can't handle seeing a girl become a woman on her terms, not theirs," Brown added. "I refuse to apologize for growing up."
Meanwhile, Brown added another name to her moniker last year when she married Jon Bon Jovi's son, Jake Bongiovi.
After announcing their engagement in April 2023, the couple tied the knot in May 2024 when Brown was 20 and Bongiovi was 22.
Bon Jovi weighed in on his son's marriage shortly after the pair tied the knot.
"They are great, they are absolutely fantastic," Bon Jovi told BBC's "The One Show." "It was a very small family wedding and the bride looked gorgeous, and Jake is happy as can be. It's true."
During an interview with Vanity Fair last month, Brown addressed why she and Bongiovi decided to get married so early in their lives.
"We were pretty united going into it. We talked about our political views, what kind of family we want to build, the kind of home we want to live in, the kind of relationship we're looking for, the kind of careers we want," she said.
"It's such an important decision, and we wanted to make sure we were making the right one. I knew I was. It always felt right with him."