Brown was born in Marbella, Spain, to British parents, and the family moved to Bournemouth, England, when she was young before later relocating to Florida in the United States to support her acting ambitions. She began acting as a child, landing early television roles before being cast in Stranger Things at age 11, a part that would transform her life and career almost overnight.

Brown’s breakout role as Eleven in Stranger Things, which premiered on Netflix in 2016, made her one of the youngest actresses ever to receive an Emmy nomination for a leading role and turned her into an international star within months of the show’s release. She quickly became one of the faces most associated with Netflix’s original programming push and one of the most recognizable teenage actresses in the world.

Photo: Laviru Koruwakankanamge via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

Beyond Stranger Things, which ran across five seasons, Brown starred in the Enola Holmes film franchise for Netflix, in which she also served as a producer, and appeared in the Godzilla monster-verse films. She has increasingly moved into producing through her own production company, PCMA Productions, positioning herself for a career beyond acting alone as she has grown into adulthood.

Photo: Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Brown’s per-episode salary for Stranger Things was reported to have grown substantially over the course of the show’s run, reaching figures cited around $300,000 per episode in its later seasons, with her total earnings from the series across all five seasons estimated at several million dollars. Her film salaries for the Enola Holmes and Godzilla franchises have added further significant income on top of her television earnings.

As Stranger Things became one of the most-watched shows in Netflix’s history, Brown’s contract was renegotiated multiple times, reflecting both the show’s success and her growing seniority in the cast. Her Enola Holmes deals with Netflix included producer credits in addition to her acting fee, a structure that gives her a greater stake in the franchise’s ongoing success than a standard acting contract would.

Brown has held brand partnerships with companies including Converse and Pandora jewelry, and has been a prominent ambassadorial face for youth-oriented fashion and lifestyle campaigns. Her most significant commercial venture, however, is one she founded and controls herself rather than a traditional endorsement.

In 2019, Brown launched Florence by Mills, a cosmetics and skincare line aimed at younger consumers, initially developed with the support of incubator company Beach House Group before she became a majority owner of the brand roughly a year later. The line has built a strong retail presence through Ulta Beauty, Walmart, and Nordstrom, and has since expanded from color cosmetics into skincare and fragrance, broadening its customer base well beyond its original teen-focused positioning. Because Florence by Mills is privately held, its exact financial contribution to Brown’s net worth is not publicly disclosed, which is a significant reason estimates of her overall wealth vary as widely as they do. Through her production company, PCMA Productions, she has also begun developing and financing projects rather than only appearing in them as an actress, giving her a further stake in future income streams beyond a standard acting fee.

Brown has been relatively modest in her reported lifestyle relative to her level of fame, with outlets noting she has continued using family streaming accounts and shopping at mainstream retailers well into her twenties. She and her husband, musician Jake Bongiovi, have been linked to property in the United States, though detailed real estate holdings have not been extensively publicized.