According to Fortune, Millie Bobby Brown has built a $20 million net worth by age 21. Her Stranger Things salary skyrocketed from around $10,000-$30,000 per episode in 2016 to a reported $300,000 per episode for the final season. In 2019, Netflix paid her a record $10 million upfront for the Enola Holmes sequel, the highest salary ever for an actor under 20. Beyond acting, she founded the Florence by Mills cosmetics and fashion line in 2019 and quickly became its majority owner. She also has lucrative brand deals with Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein, and Pandora. Despite the massive income, she famously still uses her parents’ Netflix subscription and shops at Target.
The Stranger Things Pipeline to Wealth
Look, the numbers here are just wild. Going from a kid earning maybe $30k an episode to pulling in a quarter-million per episode a few years later is a trajectory you basically only see with global, generation-defining hits. Netflix created a monster, and they had to pay to keep it. That $10 million Enola Holmes deal is the real kicker, though. It shows Netflix wasn’t just paying her to be Eleven; they were investing in her as a standalone franchise star. It’s a brilliant, if expensive, strategy. Lock in the talent that brings in subscribers across multiple projects. But here’s the thing: those huge acting paychecks have an expiration date. The show is ending. So what do you do?
Building an Empire Beyond Acting
You build a business. And that’s exactly what she did with Florence by Mills. Launching a beauty brand at 15 seems crazy, but it’s actually kind of genius. Her core audience was growing up with her. She had this massive, direct line to Gen Z through Stranger Things, and she leveraged it into a consumer brand. Taking majority ownership so fast tells you she’s not just a celebrity face; she’s making strategic business moves. The luxury brand partnerships? That’s the credibility play. It’s saying, “I’m not just a teen star, I’m a fashion icon.” This is a classic modern celebrity playbook: use the platform from entertainment to launch a direct-to-consumer brand. But the execution here, especially at her age, is pretty remarkable.
The Psychology of Frugal Spending
This is the most fascinating part to me. She has all this money, married into a wealthy family, and her big argument with her husband is about going to Target instead of Prada for socks. She’s still using her parents’ Netflix! I mean, come on. It’s a powerful reminder that your childhood financial imprinting sticks with you. When she says her parents had “no money,” that creates a mindset that’s really hard to shake, even when the bank account looks completely different. Calling her parents before a big purchase? That’s a psychological safety net. The Chanel sunglasses story is perfect—she needed permission to splurge. In a world where young stars famously blow through fortunes, this extreme frugality might be the smartest long-term financial move of all. It prevents lifestyle inflation from eating the golden goose.
The Netflix Account Share Holdout
Let’s be real, her refusing to pay for her own Netflix subscription is the most relatable thing a millionaire has ever done. “I’m still a child in my eyes” is a hilarious and brilliant excuse. But it’s also a tiny, funny rebellion against the very machine that made her rich. Netflix is probably tearing their hair out—their $300k-per-episode star is a password sharer! It underscores a bigger point about her brand, though. It keeps her grounded and authentic. Shopping at Target and loving Amazon Basics isn’t just about saving money; it’s a calculated part of her public persona. It makes her seem normal, like someone you could be friends with. And in the influencer economy, that relatability is worth more than any Prada sock. So, is she frugal, or is she just really, really good at marketing herself? Probably a bit of both.
