Ever since the days of Shirley Temple and Jackie Coogan, child actors have been veritable stars in Hollywood. Over the years, they have begun to command salaries that justify that stardom as well. It was recently revealed that a 17-year-old broke the record for the highest payday for a child star a few years ago when they charged $10 million for a single role, more than many Holywood A-listers. (Also read: World's richest child actor has $6 million net worth, starred in his own show at age 9, became millionaire at 13)
The world's highest-paid child actor
In July 2022, reports surfaced that Millie Bobby Brown was making $10 million for starring in and co-producing Enola Holmes 2. Millie, who broke through after Stranger Things, was 17 when the Netflix film began production, making this the highest payday ever for a child star. Later, another leak claimed that as far back as season 3 of Stranger Things (when the actor was just 14), she earned $250k per episode for the show (and $2 million for the season). The $10 million payday, way back in 2022, meant that Millie Bobby Brown earned even more than top stars like Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya (who earned around $6-8 million for Dune). Even an industry veteran like Nicole Kidman earns less than $10 million per film today.
What Millie Bobby Brown said about her salary discussions
In a cover story with Vanity Fair last month, the now 22-year-old spoke about how she feels when child actors' salaries are leaked. She added that details of contracts she signed as a minor 'should have been protected so that they're not on record'.
“It just puts children in a really dangerous situation,” she said. “I think everybody’s a little bit too lax about the way that children are brought up in the industry. I grew up with a lot of eyes on my parents, but I feel that those were the people that protected me the most.”
All about Millie Bobby Brown
Millie shot to fame at the age of 11 with Netflix's hit show, Stranger Things in 2016. She has continued to act in the show, which concludes this year. But the actor has diversified her work, appearing in blockbusters such as Godzilla: King of the Monsters and The Electric State, alongside streaming titles like Enola Holmes and Damsel. Millie has been an executive producer on the last two titles.