Millie Bobby Brown Says Shaving Her Head for Stranger Things Was the “Most Empowering Moment of My Whole Life”

There is perhaps no television character more Internet-beloved than Stranger Things‘ precocious, often silent Eleven, what with her powerful stares, emotional revelations, and one powerful haircut. And it seems that art imitates life, as Millie Bobby Brown, who portrays the character on the show, has revealed that shaving her head for the first season of the show was super empowering.

After posting a video of her freshly-shorn head on Instagram, she posted a video of the big cut with the caption, “The day I shaved my head was the most empowering moment of my whole life. The last strand of hair cut off was the moment my whole face was on show and I couldn’t hide behind my hair like I used to. The only image I had in my head about what I could possibly look like is Charlize Theron in Madmax [sic]. As I looked at myself and couldn’t see my old self, I realized that now; I have a job to do and that is to inspire other girls that your image or exterior part is not what I think is important. What I find important is caring, loving and inspiring other girls. Thought to share my thoughts during this life changing moment.” In the video, you can see her delighted and shocked reaction at her reflection as Stranger Things co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer record her on their phones. Goodbye Millie, hello Eleven!

In fact, Eleven’s relationship to her hair and her femininity are an integral part of her season one journey; she’s been a motherless lab rat for so long, she’s never gotten to explore what it means to be a girl, and when Mike gives her a blonde wig, she’s transfixed by her reflection. But as Brown explains, hair is still just hair, and of course it’s what’s inside that gives Eleven, and all women, their power. Also, look how young and cute she was! Time flies.

Related: Drake and Millie Bobby Brown, Mutual Fans, Did Their Best Eleven Impressions on Instagram