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During a 2016 interview with theDaily Mail, Robert recalled: “My other children would watch cartoons, but Mill watched musicals —Chicago,Moulin Rouge,AnnieandBugsy Malone. She’d belt out a tune. She was performing from day one.”
Millie’s parents were determined to help her become an actress. When an agent recommended they move from Florida to California for her career, they packed their bags. However, times were tough in California — although theEnola Holmesstar began to book small roles here and there, the family ran out of money after a while and eventually moved in with a relative back in England.
Soon after they returned to the U.K., Millie bookedStranger Things, and their lives changed forever. Throughout the intense journey, the actress, her parents and her three siblings havee all remained incredibly close. Millie has even referred to Robert and Kelly as her “best friends.”
Robert worked in real estate and they had a teeth-whitening business
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Millie’s parents made ends meet in a variety of ways before the actress got her big break.Robert was a real estate agent in England and Spain, where Robert’s parents lived and where the family moved before Millie was born in 2004. The family moved back to the U.K. in 2008, and when Millie was 8, the Browns launched a teeth-whitening business in Orlando, Florida, according to theDaily Mail.
Millie’s acting journey started when she was bothering Robert
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“I was annoying my father one Saturday and he said, ‘We need to find you something fun to do,’ ” Millie told theDaily Mail.And he did; her parents enrolled her in acting classes. According to the actress: “It was acting, dancing, singing four hours every Saturday. There was a showcase and an agent said she wanted to represent me.”
From there, the agent suggested the Browns move to California, and they took her advice. Robert had a friend introduce Millie to Melanie Greene, who became her manager.
They almost went bankrupt trying to support Millie
Robert and Kelly sacrificed everything they had to move to Hollywood and make Millie’s dreams come true.“It was very hard,” Millie recalled to theDaily Mail. “There were lots of tears along the way.” Greene even lent the family money when things got especially rough.
The actress recalled: “My older sister left. She didn’t want to [live in the U.S.] anymore. It was tears, tears, tears. We went through tough times.” Eventually, the Browns moved in with Millie’s aunt back in England.
“I was devastated,” Millie shared. “I wasn’t getting work. I thought I was done.” But soon she bookedStranger Things,and her family moved back to the U.S.
They have four children
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Robert and Kelly havefour children. Millie has an older sister, Paige; an older brother, Charlie; and a younger sister, Ava. The tightknit family work with and support Millie.
Paige produces films with Millie under their production company, PCMA Productions, and the sisters worked onEnola HolmesandEnola Holmes 2together. Millie’s brother, Charlie, is a photographer and has collaborated with the actress on a variety of projects, including her cover stories forWho What WearandGlamour U.K.
Kelly didn’t want Millie to shave her head forStranger Things
Kelly was not in favor of Millie shaving her head forStranger Things.“My mom’s like, ‘No! That’s not happening,’ ” Millie recalled toEllein August 2016. “And I was like, ‘Mom. You need to chill out; it’s gonna grow back.’ My mom was against it. And me and my dad were like, ‘Come on. It’s fine!’ ”
Robert made headlines in 2016 for demanding money from agencies
In 2016, Robert raised eyebrows in the entertainment industry when he demanded an up-front cash payment of $100,000 for Millie to sign with an agency, perThe Hollywood Reporter. Traditionally, actors pay agents to get them work — not the other way around.
According to a rep for the Browns, Robert asked for the money based on “ill advice from someone outside the industry that was said in jest."
Robert wants to keep Millie grounded
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Despite her fame and success, Robert has prioritized keeping his daughter grounded. “It’s important for Millie not to feel under pressure,” he told theDaily Mail.“She’s a kid. She has to do her homework and chores. Everything else is a bonus.”
They encouraged her to go back to school
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The actor added: “I think that’s something, also, my parents put in me because I think they were like, ‘If you are passionate about this, you need to know about it.’ And that’s with everything I do."
In August 2022, Millie shared withAllurethat she was studying human services online through Purdue University.
They spend time with Millie and her fiancé
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Robert and Kelly often spend time with Millie and her fiancé,Jake Bongiovi. In June 2023, theywent to dinner togetherat Don Angie in New York City’s West Village. Millie’sStranger ThingscostarNoah SchnappandPretty SmartactorGregg Sulkinalso joined the group at the Italian restaurant.
Millie calls her parents her “best friends”
Millie gushed about her parents onLorraine. “My parents are the best thing ever,” she said. “I’m best friends with them.” The actress shared that she even still asks them to accompany her to work.
“When I turned 18, I said, ‘You’re still going to come with me, right?’ ” she recalled. “I always needed a chaperone and I said, ‘I still need you.’ So they travel everywhere with me, and they are a huge part of my life and a reason that I am where I am today.”
Millie opened up about her close relationship with her mother in a May 2020Instagram video, too. “My mum and I are really close,” she shared. “She’s like my other half. I talk to her about everything, including my career and personal life. She’s my best friend. I have the best mum in the world.”
source: people.com
