Born Jane Ives, Eleven is the daughter of Teresa "Terry" Ives, and a participant in the Project MKUltraexperiments conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Eleven appears to have been born a psychic with notable telekinetic and extrasensory abilities. However, when she uses these abilities to a significant degree, she becomes temporarily weakened and her nose bleeds. At birth, Eleven was taken away from her mother by Dr. Martin Brenner and was raised as a test subject at Hawkins National Laboratory in order to develop her psychokinetic skills. When placed in a sensory deprivation tank, she can use remote viewing to access other dimensions, primarily for the purposes of espionage. In addition, Eleven can open and close portals, known as “Gates”, to a parallel dimension called the Upside Down.
In the first season, Eleven escapes from Hawkins National Laboratory wearing only her hospital gown and attempts to steal food from a local restaurant. The owner Benny takes pity on her and calls social services while putting her in a long t-shirt associated with the restaurant. The responding social worker, who turns out to be an agent sent from Hawkins Laboratory, kills Benny. Eleven then flees before she can be taken again. She is encountered by Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo) and Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin), who are looking for their missing friend Will Byers (Noah Schnapp). The boys learn that her name is Eleven based on a "011" tattoo found on her left forearm. Mike decides to call her "El" for short and allows Eleven to live in his basement while providing her with some new clothes. Fearing recapture, Eleven convinces Mike not to tell any adults so Dr. Brenner, whom she calls “Papa” and the people that work for him called “Bad Men”, cannot find her.
Eleven helps to locate Will and determines that he is trapped in a parallel dimension, which the children dub the "Upside Down", where he is being hunted by a creature called the "Demogorgon". The group sets out to find Will using their compasses, but Eleven interferes with their search when she realizes they are being led toward Hawkins Laboratory. Lucas, noticing her deception, becomes angry at her; she ends up knocking him unconscious and fleeing. She later steals Eggo waffles from a grocery store and eats them in the forest. Mike and Dustin are later threatened by bullies (whom Eleven calls "mouth breathers"); Mike is forced to jump off a high cliff into a lake while Dustin is held hostage. Eleven returns and intervenes before Mike hits the water, frightening the bullies and saving both Mike and Dustin.
Eleven, Mike, and Dustin reunite with Lucas and make amends. They travel to the town junkyard with Dr. Brenner and his associates in close pursuit. During the chase, a government van catches up to the children; Eleven uses her powers to flip the van through the air, blocking the convoy's path and allowing the group to flee. They are then joined by Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder), Hawkins police chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour), Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer), and Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton). Together, they create a makeshift isolation tank with a pool and bags of salt in order to help Eleven access the Upside Down. Eleven, using her powers, confirms that Will is alive, but says that Barb, Nancy's friend taken shortly after Will, is “gone”. As government forces close in on the school, Mike tells Eleven she can be a part of his family; he then asks her to the school dance, and kisses her after struggling to explain his feelings. Eleven later helps the group escape by using her powers to kill most of the agents. After the Demogorgon makes its way into their dimension, Eleven seemingly sacrifices herself to destroy the creature and save her friends.
One month later after a Christmas party, Hopper leaves the police station and drives to the woods. There, he leaves waffles in a concealed box. Eleven's condition and location are left ambiguous.[4][5]
After defeating the Demogorgon, Eleven wakes up in the Upside Down. She escapes through a portal that leads her back to Hawkins Middle School. With the government still searching for her, she is forced to hide in the forest. Eleven eventually finds the Eggos Hopper has left for her and seeks him out. The two move into a fortified cabin in the woods where he forbids her to leave, fearing for her safety. Hopper hides Eleven indoors for almost a year, concealing her survival and whereabouts from everyone, including the children. During this time, Eleven gains better control over her powers; she is less weakened by the use of her telekinesis, and she is now able to project her mind without the use of a sensory deprivation tank. She uses the latter ability to listen to Mike's attempts to contact her, though she is increasingly frustrated at her inability to reply. Eleven also significantly expands her vocabulary during this time, learning from both Hopper and television.
Eleven becomes restless and longs to reunite with Mike and his friends, which causes tension between her and Hopper. One day, she runs away from home and travels to Hawkins Middle School. When she finds Mike with new student Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink), Eleven mistakenly thinks Max is flirting with Mike. Out of jealousy, she uses her powers to knock Max off her skateboard before leaving. Upon returning to the cabin, she gets into a heated argument with Hopper over her leaving without permission, ending with her angrily using her powers to damage the cabin. The next day, whilst cleaning the mess she made, Eleven looks through records in the cabin's basement and discovers that her birth mother Terry is alive, contradicting what Hopper and Dr. Brenner had told her. She runs away once again and hitchhikes to her mother's residence, where she first meets her aunt Becky. Through Becky, Eleven finds out what happened to Terry at Hawkins National Laboratory. While there, she realizes Terry is trying to communicate with her, but is unable to effectively do so due to her catatonic state. Eleven, using her powers, views a flashback from her mother. After her daughter was taken from her, Terry attempted to force her way into Hawkins National Laboratory to save her. As a response, Brenner and his assistants capture her and subject her head to 450 volts of electricity, resulting in her current condition. This makes the words breathe, sunflower, rainbow, 450, three to the right, four to the left repeat in her head faster and faster.
Eleven then uses her abilities to find out she has a "sister"–another gifted girl taken by Dr. Brenner for experimentation–and sets out to find her.
Using her abilities once again, Eleven locates her sister and discovers that she is an older girl named Kali Prasad with the ID number 008, who has the ability to cause people to have visual hallucinations. Eleven stays with Kali and her friends–runaways who are determined to take revenge on people who have hurt them. Kali teaches Eleven to focus on her anger to get the most out of her powers; she successfully uses this tactic to move a rail car, impressing Kali and eliciting cheers from the gang. Later, the group tracks down Ray Carroll, a former Hawkins Lab employee. When she discovers that he was one of the individuals responsible for Terry's condition, Eleven begins to choke him to death in a rage. However, she stops upon realizing that he has two daughters, and ends up preventing Kali from shooting him. Back at the hideout, Eleven witnesses Hopper and Mike in danger through the void. While the gang is about to flee, Eleven realizes she needs to return to her friends to save them.
Eleven goes back to Hawkins and finally reunites with Mike with a heartfelt embrace and her friends after saving them from a Demodog. The group realizes that she needs to close the gate to the Upside Down, and she and Hopper head to Hawkins Laboratory. There, Eleven remembers Kali's lessons and focuses her anger on her powers, closing the gate and draining her energy. Afterwards, Dr. Sam Owens (Paul Reiser) meets up with Hopper and hands him a forged birth certificate, which allows Hopper to legally adopt Eleven, and tells him that she must be hidden for at least a year to ensure her safety. However, on Owen's advice, Hopper lets her attend the Snow Ball at Hawkins Middle School. She meets up with Mike, dances with him, and they share their first kiss as a couple.
Back in the Upside Down, the Mind Flayer observes El and her friends at the high school.
At the start of season three, Eleven and Mike have been dating for seven months, much to the dismay of Hopper, who is annoyed that El and Mike are constantly together. When Hopper confesses to Joyce that he feels uncomfortable about the situation, she suggests that he sit down and calmly talk to El and Mike about how he feels. However, this backfires, and Hopper resorts to directly instructing Mike to stay away from Eleven, threatening to end their relationship if he does not comply. When Mike is forced to lie to Eleven about why he can no longer visit her, she becomes suspicious and seeks advice from Max, who asserts that Mike is pushing Eleven aside to spend time with the boys. To take her mind off of the situation, Max suggests that they have some fun of their own by going shopping at the newly built Starcourt Mall.
The girls spend quality time together at the mall where they encounter Lucas, Will, and Mike attempting to buy Eleven a makeup present. When Mike lies and says the present is for his sick grandmother, Eleven breaks up with him on the spot, to Max's delight and Mike's shock. Eleven then leaves on a bus with Max, where the girls spend the night sleeping over at Hopper's house and use Eleven's psychic powers to spy on the boys. For their amusement, they create a game in which they spin a bottle and have Eleven observe whoever it lands on. When the bottle lands on Billy and he is watched, he appears to behave suspiciously and erratically. This concerns Eleven and Max enough that the two go out to the Hawkins Community Pool, where he works as a lifeguard, to look for him. In the process, they discover that Heather Holloway, one of Billy's coworkers, has gone missing. They soon learn that Billy has been corrupted by the Mind Flayer, and is taking Heather to be assimilated.
They reunite with Mike, Lucas, and Will. Mike is annoyed that El would spy on him and has an argument with Max about his feelings for Eleven while she is spying on the Flayer. She holds off the Mind Flayer when the cabin is attacked, but the Flayer wounds her and leaves a piece of itself in the wound. El and Mike make up, but the Mind Flayer and Billy track them due to El's wound. Eleven loses her powers after removing the piece of the monster from her leg but helps Billy to break free of the Mind Flayer's possession by recalling his childhood memories. The group defeat the Mind Flayer by closing the portal to the Upside Down and with Billy's sacrifice. Hopper is presumed dead in the explosion that closes the gate and Eleven is taken in by the Byers. While the Byers are packing to leave Hawkins, El reveals to Mike that she also loves him, and they share a kiss. Joyce gives her a letter written by Hopper that he intended to use when talking to her and Mike about how he felt about them dating. Eleven and the Byers then leave Hawkins where Eleven cries as they drive away.
At the start of season four, Eleven begins going to school in California alongside Will and struggles with the loss of her powers, as well as being bullied by a girl named Angela (Elodie Grace Orkin). When Mike comes to visit, Eleven pretends she has many friends to please Mike, but Will isn't convinced. She is humiliated at a roller rink and strikes Angela in the face in retaliation. She is taken into police custody, but Dr. Owens intercepts her arrest and takes her with him. He explains that Hawkins is in danger and he has been working in a program that may be able to bring back Eleven's powers. Eleven agrees to participate, risking that she may never see her friends ever again. Eleven is taken to a facility in Nevada and discovers Dr. Brenner is still alive. Eleven tries to run only to end up tranquilized.
After Eleven's hair is cut and is placed in a short jumpsuit offscreen, she is placed into a sensory deprivation tank (dubbed NINA) and relives her repressed memories of her time at Hawkins lab. Eleven attempts to escape the facility but discovers her powers are slowly returning, convincing her to stay. She discovers she was often ostracized by the other children, but a kindly orderly (Jamie Campbell Bower) watched over her and gave her advice on how to control her powers. The orderly, who is in fact subject One in Brenner's experiments, manipulated Eleven into removing an implant in his neck that suppressed his powers, then went on to massacre the rest of the children and staff in the lab. One later revealed himself to be Henry Creel, who killed his mother and sister in the 1950s and got his father arrested for it. Henry attempted to kill Eleven after she refused to help him eradicate humanity, but she overpowered him and sent him into the Upside Down, where he became Vecna. Brenner discovers Eleven at the scene of the massacre where she fell comatose and forgot the events. Brenner discovered the events through security cameras and made Eleven spies on Russians as a cover for searching for Henry.
Eleven discovers the Hawkins group's plan to kill Vecna by using Max as bait to lure him out and convinces Owens to help her return to Hawkins. However, Brenner locks up Owens and traps Eleven, placing a shock collar on her so she is unable to leave. When the army attacks the base, Brenner flees with Eleven but is shot and incapacitated, however, she is able to destroy the helicopter and vehicles as Mike, Will, Jonathan, and Argyle (Eduardo Franco) arrive. Brenner unlocks the collar and tells Eleven they are family, but she refuses to forgive him and he dies. The group goes to Argyle's pizza place where they create an isolation tank for her to enter Max's mind at the same time as Vecna. Vecna overwhelms Eleven and breaks Max's bones and blinds her before Mike tells Eleven that he loves her, which gives her the strength to break his control. Despite her efforts, Max still ends up in a coma from her injuries.
The group return to Hawkins and Eleven reunites with Hopper who compliments her shortened hair. Will senses the Upside Down and they all discover that the Upside Down has begun to infiltrate and take over Hawkins.
Development
Conception and writing
The Duffer Brothers based the character of Eleven on survivors of the Project MKUltra experiments, with influences from E.T. and the idea of being an outsider. They also drew inspiration from the animeElfen Lied and Akira,[6] saying they "wanted there to be a mystery in her past, and also have her seem a little scary."[7] Originally planned as a feature film, Stranger Things was then pitched to Netflix as a limited series, and it was planned that Eleven would sacrifice herself in the last episode of the series. After Netflix was then keen for the show to be continued in a second season, the brothers decided to change the ending to keep the character alive.[8]
Casting
The brothers believed Eleven was the most difficult role to cast, as the character had few lines. They wanted a child actor who was able to convey much emotion. The Duffers were concerned they would not find someone who could stay in character when not speaking. The brothers were relieved after meeting Millie Bobby Brown, whom they described as "something special, alright, with a downright spooky preternatural talent." Brown had to shave her head for the role, something she and her parents were worried would "diminish her beauty" until shown a photo of Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road.[6]
The character and Brown's performance have received critical acclaim; Alice Vincent of The Daily Telegraph wrote:
"Millie Bobby Brown continues to be the star of the show: she has inspired fan art and tattoos, a worldwide acknowledgment of Eggos, the waffles her character devours and given a whole new life to the phrase 'mouth breather'".[13]
Stranger Things is an American television series created by the Duffer Brothers for Netflix. Produced by Monkey Massacre Productions and 21 Laps Entertainment, the first season was released on Netflix on July 15, 2016. The second and third seasons followed in October 2017 and July 2019, respectively, and the fourth season was released in two parts in May and July 2022. The fifth and final season of Stranger Things is expected to be released in 2025. The show is known for its cast of characters, plot, nostalgic tones, and mix of the horror, drama, science-fiction, mystery, and coming-of-age genres.
Millie Bobby Brown Bongiovi is a British actress and producer. She gained recognition for playing Eleven in the Netflix science fiction series Stranger Things (2016–present), for which she received nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards. Brown has starred in the monster film Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) and its sequel Godzilla vs. Kong (2021). She also starred in and produced the Netflix films Enola Holmes (2020), its 2022 sequel, and Damsel (2024).
William Byers is a fictional character from the American science fiction horror drama television series Stranger Things. He is portrayed by Noah Schnapp. The character appeared in a recurring capacity in the first season before being promoted to the main cast in the second season.
The first season of the American science fiction,horror drama television series Stranger Things premiered worldwide on the streaming service Netflix on July 15, 2016. The series was created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen.
The Stranger Things original music score soundtracks are composed by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein of the electronic band Survive. They make extensive use of synthesizers in the styles of 1980s artists and film composers including Jean-Michel Jarre, Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, Goblin, John Carpenter, Giorgio Moroder, and Fabio Frizzi. The soundtrack includes period music from the artists: The Clash, Joy Division, Toto, New Order, Madonna, The Bangles, Foreigner, Echo and the Bunnymen, Queen, Peter Gabriel, and Corey Hart, as well as excerpts from Tangerine Dream, John Carpenter, and Vangelis.
The second season of the science fiction television series Stranger Things, marketed as Stranger Things 2, was released worldwide on the streaming service Netflix on October 27, 2017. The series was created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as executive producers along with Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen and Iain Paterson.
James "Jim" Hopper Jr. is a fictional character from the Netflix science fiction horror drama series Stranger Things. He is the chief of police in Hawkins, Indiana, who, throughout the first three seasons, investigates the strange occurrences in the town. Hopper is portrayed by David Harbour.
The third season of the American science fiction horror television series Stranger Things, marketed as Stranger Things 3, was released worldwide on the streaming service Netflix on July 4, 2019. The series was created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as executive producers along with Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen and Iain Paterson.
Steve Harrington is a fictional character from the Netflix television show Stranger Things, portrayed by Joe Keery. Though initially characterized as a stereotypically unlikeable jock, Steve has progressed throughout the series into a more courageous, thoughtful, and caring character. His character development has been well received, with critics calling him the show's breakout character and its emotional anchor.
Michael "Mike" Wheeler is a fictional character from the Netflix science fiction horror series Stranger Things. He is one of the central characters in the series, acting as the leader of the main group of kids. Mike is portrayed by Finn Wolfhard.
Nancy Wheeler is a fictional character from the Netflix television show Stranger Things, portrayed by American actress Natalia Dyer. She is the sister of Mike Wheeler, the girlfriend of Jonathan Byers, and the ex-girlfriend of Steve Harrington. Nancy starts investigating the disappearance of Will Byers when her friend Barbara also goes missing. She teams up with her future boyfriend Jonathan Byers to investigate Will and Barbara's disappearance, which leads to her discovery of the Upside Down, an alternate dimension.
The fourth season of the American science fiction horror drama television series Stranger Things, marketed as Stranger Things 4, was released worldwide on the streaming service Netflix in two volumes. The first set of seven episodes was released on May 27, 2022, while the second set of two episodes was released on July 1, 2022. The season was produced by the show's creators, the Duffer Brothers, along with Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, Iain Paterson and Curtis Gwinn.
"Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers" is the series premiere of the American science fiction horror television series Stranger Things. Written and directed by series' creators The Duffer Brothers, the episode was released alongside the rest of the first season on July 15, 2016, on Netflix.
Joyce Byers is a fictional character from the Netflix science fiction horror drama television series Stranger Things. She is portrayed as a resilient and fiercely protective mother to her son Will, who mysteriously disappears in the town of Hawkins, Indiana. Joyce is characterized as a determined, resourceful, and deeply emotional person, willing to go to great lengths to find her son, even if it means confronting supernatural forces. Throughout the series, she demonstrates immense strength in the face of adversity, making her a beloved and memorable character.
"Chapter One: The Hellfire Club" is the fourth season premiere of the American science fiction horror drama television series Stranger Things, and the 26th episode overall. Set in 1986, months after the events of the previous season, it shows the changes and challenges of Eleven, Mike Wheeler, and their friends in their freshman year of high school, while a new supernatural monster begins attacking the inhabitants of Hawkins. The episode was written and directed by the series' creators, the Duffer Brothers.
Lego Stranger Things was a Lego theme based on the 2016 Netflix sci-fi horror series of the same name created by the Duffer Brothers. It was licensed from Netflix. The theme was first introduced in May 2019 and was discontinued in December 2022.
The fifth and final season of the American science fiction horror drama television series Stranger Things, marketed as Stranger Things 5, will be released on the streaming service Netflix. The season will be produced by the show's creators, the Duffer brothers, along with Shawn Levy, and Dan Cohen.
"Chapter Four: Dear Billy" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction horror drama television series Stranger Things, and the 29th episode overall. It was written by Paul Dichter and directed by Shawn Levy. The episode was released on May 27, 2022 on Netflix, alongside the six other episodes comprising volume 1 of the season.
Vecna, born as Henry Creel and later revealed as 001/Peter Ballard, is a fictional character and the secondary antagonist of the Netflix television series Stranger Things created by the Duffer Brothers. Portrayed by Jamie Campbell Bower and Raphael Luce, the character made his debut in the fourth season as a malevolent being from the Upside Down that haunts his victims with horrifying visions of their past traumas before killing them in a sadistic, brutal manner. As the fourth season progresses, he is ultimately revealed to be the ruler of the Upside Down as well as the mastermind behind all of the events of the series that have terrorized the town of Hawkins, beginning with the disappearance of Will Byers.
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