The Millie Bobby Brown Roles That Defined Her Career

Last Updated: July 20, 2026

Millie Bobby Brown has grown from a breakout child actor into one of the most recognizable stars of the streaming era.

After gaining worldwide attention as Eleven in Netflix’s Stranger Things, she expanded her career with the Enola Holmes franchise, blockbuster films and producing credits before turning 25.

Rather than ranking these projects by box office revenue alone, this list considers three factors: Brown’s performance, the cultural impact of each title and its overall reception from critics and audiences.

Review scores from Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb, together with awards recognition and long-term popularity, help provide additional context, though the order below reflects an editorial assessment rather than a mathematical formula.

7. Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

Brown returned as Madison Russell in Godzilla vs. Kong, continuing the role she introduced two years earlier. While the film primarily focuses on the clash between its legendary monsters, Madison helps connect the audience to the human side of the story through her investigation into Apex Cybernetics.

The role gives Brown less dramatic material than some of her other projects, but she brings confidence and familiarity to the MonsterVerse. Even within a spectacle driven by visual effects, she remains one of the franchise’s most recognizable human characters.

6. Damsel (2024)

Netflix’s fantasy adventure Damsel places Brown at the center of nearly every scene as Princess Elodie, whose arranged marriage turns into a fight for survival after she is sacrificed to a dragon.

Unlike many fantasy films, the story depends almost entirely on Brown’s physical performance and emotional resilience.

She convincingly transforms Elodie from an uncertain royal into a determined survivor, carrying the film through long stretches with minimal supporting interaction.

5. The Electric State (2025)

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, The Electric State adapts Simon Stålenhag’s illustrated novel into a retro-futuristic road adventure.

Brown stars as Michelle, a teenager searching for her missing brother across an alternate America populated by abandoned robots.

Opposite Chris Pratt, she delivers a restrained performance that emphasizes loneliness, hope and determination rather than spectacle, helping ground an ambitious science-fiction world.

4. Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

Brown made her big-budget theatrical debut as Madison Russell in Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

The film balances monster battles with a family story, allowing Brown to portray a teenager caught between two parents with very different beliefs about humanity’s relationship with the Titans.

Her performance provides emotional continuity in a film dominated by large-scale visual effects and helped establish her as a leading young actor beyond television.

3. Enola Holmes 2 (2022)

By the second Enola Holmes film, Brown had also become a producer on the franchise, giving her greater creative involvement behind the camera.

As Enola opens her own detective agency, Brown blends humor, intelligence and confidence while maintaining the character’s signature fourth-wall narration.

The sequel expands the series without losing its charm and demonstrates Brown’s growing ability to lead a major franchise both as an actor and producer.

2. Enola Holmes 3 (2026)

The third film shows a noticeably more mature version of Enola Holmes. With greater emotional weight and higher personal stakes, Brown gives the character more depth while preserving the wit and curiosity that defined the earlier installments.

The performance reflects how much both Brown and the franchise have evolved since 2020. As both star and producer, she demonstrates greater confidence, balancing mystery, humor and emotional storytelling in what is arguably her strongest film performance to date.

1. Stranger Things (2016–2025)

No role has shaped Brown’s career more than Eleven.

Introduced in the first season of Stranger Things, Eleven became one of television’s defining characters of the streaming era.

Brown’s early performance relied heavily on facial expression, body language and subtle emotional cues, particularly when the character spoke very little.

Across five seasons, audiences watched Eleven grow from a frightened child into a determined young woman confronting increasingly dangerous threats. The role earned Brown multiple Emmy nominations and established her as one of Netflix’s biggest international stars.

More importantly, Stranger Things demonstrated her range long before she became the lead of major film franchises, making it the defining performance of her career.

Why These Projects Stand Out

Brown’s filmography shows an unusual balance between blockbuster entertainment and character-driven storytelling.

Her television breakthrough introduced her to global audiences, while Enola Holmes established her as a franchise lead and producer.

The MonsterVerse films demonstrated she could work within large ensemble productions, and projects such as Damsel and The Electric State showed her willingness to lead ambitious original films.

Although future releases may reshape this ranking, these seven titles best represent her development from child actor to one of the streaming era’s most recognizable performers.

Final Verdict

Few actors of Brown’s generation have built such a varied career before the age of 25. From supernatural drama and detective adventures to fantasy epics and blockbuster action, she has consistently taken on leading roles across multiple genres while expanding her work behind the camera.

Whether viewers first discovered her through Stranger Things or the Enola Holmes films, these projects illustrate why Millie Bobby Brown remains one of the most influential young stars in modern entertainment.

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