How Old Is Enola Holmes in the Original Movie & The Sequel?

The sequel to Netflix’s lovely family mystery film, Enola Holmes, has just hit the platform, and fans absolutely love it. However, there’s no clear indication of how old Enola is in this film compared to the first movie, and the actress, Millie Bobby Brown, looks quite older as she grows from a girl into a woman. So, how old is Enola Holmes in the original movie and the sequel?

In the first film, Enola is 16 years old, and the plot kickstarts with her 16th birthday and the disappearance of her mother, Eudoria. In the second film, Enola is actually still 16 years old but quickly approaching her 17th birthday.

While it was never explicitly stated in the movie, fans picked that up due to several hints and clues. The first was, of course, the books by Nancy Springer, which inspired Enola Holmes movies in the first place. The second was newspaper clips from the second movie that clearly stated the date. Let’s dig into all the details regarding Enola Holmes and her age.

How old is Enola Holmes in the original movie?

The first Enola Holmes movie came out in 2020 as a Netflix original directed by Harry Bradbeer, starring Millie Bobby Brown as the titular character, Helena Bonham-Carter as her mother, Eudoria, and Henry Cavill and Sam Claflin as Enola’s older brothers, Sherlock and Mycroft, respectively.

We know that Enola is a teenager, the young sister of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes. But how old is she in the movie, exactly?

Enola Holmes is 16 years only in the first movie. We know that because the plot actually kicks off on her 16th birthday when her mother goes missing. Enola finds all sorts of gifts and trinkets – some of which were quite odd – seemingly left by Eudoria, but no note about her whereabouts or why she’d leave on such a big day for her daughter.

Enola is then left in the care of her two older brothers, Sherlock and Mycroft, who are all but ready to send her away to a school for ‘proper young ladies.’ Of course, Enola was a free spirit in her childhood, and nothing changed in her teenage years.

So, she decides to run away and become a sleuth herself, doing everything she can to solve the mystery of her mother’s disappearance. As the story unfolds, Enola proves she is just as intelligent – if not more so – than her brothers, but she needs their help due to the ever-growing mystery surrounding the case.

The plot is almost entirely revolving around July 1884, the month of Enola’s birthday. That’ll become an important piece of information to determine Enola Holmes’ age in the second movie.

How old is Enola Holmes in the sequel, Enola Holmes 2?

We know that Enola just celebrated her 16th birthday in the first Enola Holmes movie – specifically, in July 1884. She looks quite a bit older in the second film due to the actress Millie Bobby Brown growing up so fast, but it’s never explicitly stated how old she is. So, how much time has passed since the first film, and how old is Enola Holmes in the sequel?

In the sequel, Enola Holmes is actually still 16 years old but very close to her 17th birthday. People thought she might be older because – minor spoiler alert – she had opened her own detective agency after the first film.

While her age was never explicitly stated, nor was the date exactly determined, we see numerous newspaper clippings in the movie that are dated between March and June 1885. 

If you look at the year alone, you’d think that Enola is a year older than in the first movie – meaning 17 years old. However, if you pay attention to the months, you’ll realize that she’s actually still 16, only a few months from her birthday.

If that wasn’t enough, the second Nancy Springer book was also set in 1885, and it’s established that Enola was 16-turning-17 at the time. It’s not always necessary for an adaptation to match the source material to a tee, but in this case, it is true, at least relating to the time gap between the movies.

If it seems as if Enola’s age is a bit odd, considering she opened a private detective agency, you’re not alone. And Enola will soon realize that her age and gender would mean that people won’t really take her and her business seriously. 

She was just about to close shop before a poor girl gave Enola her first real job – to help her find her missing sister. That’s actually where our story kicks off in the sequel.

How old is Millie Bobby Brown, the actress portraying Enola Holmes?

Millie Bobby Brown is just a bit older than the character she’s portraying. Enola is 16-turning-17, whereas Millie is an 18-year-old, born in February 2004. If you feel as if Millie grew up so incredibly fast, you aren’t the only one.

It feels like only yesterday she was this little girl with short hair that became a global sensation after her phenomenal portrayal of Eleven in the Netflix original series Stranger Things. Since then, Millie has played numerous awesome roles, like the lead character in the new Godzilla films, and Enola Holmes, respectively.