After the first season of Stranger Things, actress Cara Buono received a text. It was from one of her former co-stars, Jon Hamm, aka Don Draper in Mad Men. ‘Jon said, “You are the rabbit’s foot,”’ she says, smiling. ‘I said, “I’ll take that!”’
What Hamm meant was that Buono’s presence acts as a lucky charm – sprinkling gold dust on every show she appears in. For the past decade, she has featured in virtually every episode of Stranger Things, as Karen Wheeler, the quintessential 1980s suburban mother, whose children (unbeknown to her) are battling supernatural monsters.
Since its debut in 2016, the show has smashed streaming records, with season four one of Netflix’s most-watched series ever. Success has come with a colossal price tag: the streamer reportedly spent between $50 million and $60 million on each episode of the final season – which dropped the first four of eight episodes this week– making it one of the most expensive TV shows of all time. Stranger Things is estimated to have raked in two million new subscribers and more than $1 billion in revenue for Netflix since 2020. It has also, of course, sparked an 80s nostalgia rush, sending Kate Bush back to the top of the charts in 2022 with her 1985 anthem Running Up That Hill after it was featured in the series.
Blazer and trousers, The Frankie Shop. Shirt and tie, Marcéla London. Ring, Cara’s own. Shoes, Roger Vivier
Fans have waited more than three years for the concluding season – although the personal dramas of David Harbour, who plays police chief Jim Hopper in the show, threatened to overshadow the long-anticipated finale. Last month, Harbour’s ex-wife Lily Allen released a new album, West End Girl, apparently chronicling his adultery. A week later, The Mail On Sunday reported his Stranger Things co-star Millie Bobby Brown, 21, who plays Hopper’s adopted daughter Eleven, had filed a complaint accusing Harbour of on-set bullying and harassment prior to shooting the final season. He and Brown downplayed the stories by posing together at the world premiere in Los Angeles earlier this month, although he was notably absent from the London premiere. Buono herself didn’t want to comment on the scandal.
Unlike Harbour and the younger cohort who found fame on Stranger Things, Buono was already well known to TV audiences. Nominated for an Emmy for her role as Dr Faye Miller in Mad Men, she also had a pivotal role as Kelli Moltisanti in The Sopranos. Both shows won the top TV accolade – an Outstanding Drama Series Emmy – while Buono was starring in them.
‘I know you shouldn’t care about awards, but I really want Strangers Things to be nominated [for that Emmy] this time,’ she says. ‘Then I can be a crossword-puzzle trivia question: “Who is the actor who’s been in three Emmy winners?”’
For someone with such a stellar CV, Buono, 54, couldn’t be more down to earth. Sitting in a photographic studio in West London (she is in the UK filming a secret project), she is chatty, maternal (checking I’ve had lunch) and open. She launches straight into chat about how she is still having to ‘manage’ her 13-year-old daughter Esmé’s life at home in Manhattan, from the other side of the Atlantic.
Bodysuit, Max Mara. Necklace, Alicat Jewellery
‘Once I was filming in Hawaii, but I knew what was missing in the refrigerator back home, so I was doing a food order on my phone. When men leave town, they leave town, but we never stop managing,’ she says.
Despite Stranger Things’ global reach, Buono goes about her day-to-day business largely unbothered, unlike her ‘child’ co-stars. These include her character Karen’s screen children – played by Natalia Dyer (Nancy), 30, and Finn Wolfhard (Mike), 22, as well as Sadie Sink (Max), 23, and Millie Bobby Brown.
When shooting began in Atlanta back in 2015, most were pre-teens. They’ve all gone on to adult careers, but have felt the pressures of growing up in the spotlight, not least Brown, a Brit, who’s spoken of suffering relentless ‘bullying’ by online commentators.
‘Millie was a child and no one should ever be treated like that,’ Buono says. ‘It’s outrageous and disgusting that people don’t have anything better to do. I’m protective of Millie – I’m protective of all of them.’
Brown recently adopted a baby with her new husband Jake Bongiovi, 23, son of rock star Jon Bon Jovi. ‘Millie has an old soul and brain. She’s a natural-born mother, she’s amazing; one of the most “together” people I know and with an incredible work ethic. They say, “never work with animals or kids”, but I love working with children – and these ones work harder than some of the adults I know.’
Much of the reason Buono is so devoted to her television family is because when making season one of Stranger Things, she had been struggling to conceive a second child. ‘I really, really wanted a big family, but I had a lot of fertility issues and several miscarriages during the show,’ she says. ‘So I always think the universe gave me Stranger Things to be around all these kids, because it came at this time when I was accepting I wouldn’t have more children, and I felt very happy to be their de-facto mum. I love hearing all about their lives – their interests, their music, their worries. Now I text them: “I’ve seen your play” or whatever. I love seeing them all shine.’
While the children in Hawkins, the sleepy US Stranger Things town, mysteriously vanish, mum Karen potters around her kitchen, oblivious. But in what we’ve so far seen of season five, a new Karen will be unleashed. Episode one started with the Wheeler and Byers families locked down together by the military after the huge (apparent) earthquake that has ripped Hawkins apart.
Facing the fear: as Karen with her daughter in Stranger Things season five
As is the Hawkins way, a Demogorgon breaks into the house. ‘I’m having a drunken fight with my husband, I’m about to take a bath and I end up trying to save my daughter from a Demogorgon who tries to take her. I grab my wine bottle and start attacking it,’ is how Buono sums up the scene.
She was thrilled to be using booze as a weapon. ‘It made me feel so good, because it’s something I thought of years ago. The joke’s always been that Karen is the quintessential clueless 80s mum, not affected by anything. We’ve exaggerated it to almost comedic effect. But I wanted to give it some realistic basis, which was she’s a closet drinker, a quiet alcoholic. She numbs herself into denial with alcohol.’
On her phone, Buono shows me gory snaps of herself after filming the scene, caked head-to-toe in ‘blood’. ‘Millie looked at me and said, “How is she still alive?” Finally, we’re seeing fierce, badass Karen. It’s a good evolution for her – she’s still clueless but she didn’t back down.’
It’s great news for the Stranger Things fanverse, which has long demanded to see more of Karen Wheeler. There was huge excitement when in seasons two and three she had a flirtation with a much younger man but didn’t pursue it out of loyalty to her (dull) husband and children. ‘I’ve filled in quite a bit of Karen’s backstory, clearly there are a lot of unfulfilled dreams there,’ she says.
Over the past decade, the cast ‘all became a family’ so, filming the series finale, ‘There were a lot of tears, a lot of “This is the last time we’ll be in this location”. We were feeling premature grief about it ending. When we did the read-through of the final episode, it was hard to believe. I was in the last scene on the last day’s shooting and I couldn’t get my line out I was so emotional.’
Like the Stranger Things children, Buono’s formative years were the 1980s. But rather than growing up in the (apparently) quiet Midwest, her childhood was spent in New York’s bustling Bronx neighbourhood. Her Italian American father was a mechanic, her mother worked several jobs while bringing up her four children. Buono, the youngest, fell into acting and not for the noblest reasons. ‘Girls my age were already kissing boys, but I had two big brothers and nobody would go near me because of them. I’d literally never seen a play, but I thought if I act and there’s a scene that says, “You must kiss”, then I’ll have to be kissed,’ she says, laughing.
From 12, she started ‘playing hooky from school’, heading into Manhattan on the bus for auditions. Like the Wheelers, her parents were ignorant of it all. ‘I mean, if I think of my daughter skipping school to go downtown on the bus like that now!’ she exclaims.
She soon landed an understudy role in an off-Broadway play and the theatre rang her parents to sign the contract. ‘My dad was like, “What is this?” But it opened my world up.’
From then on, she combined appearing in ads, TV and plays with studying hard, winning a place at prestigious Ivy League Columbia University. There, she funded herself through acting gigs, and to save money on fees she completed her course in three years instead of the usual four.
She has worked constantly since – mixing theatre and film (parts include playing Bruce ‘The Hulk’ Banner’s mother in the film Hulk) with TV projects. In the final season of The Sopranos, she was Kelli Moltisanti, the girlfriend and eventual grieving widow of mobster Christopher. Next came Mad Men, in which she played Hamm’s girlfriend Dr Faye Miller for ten episodes. ‘It was a bit uncomfortable making out with Jon on screen because I’d just got married. But my husband was very funny about it. Everyone would text him after every episode, but he just joked about it: “Yep, that’s my wife!”’
Her husband is social entrepreneur Peter Thum, founder of Ethos Water (a brand stocked in Starbucks worldwide), which donates a proportion of profit from every bottle sold to water-relief projects. They met on an overnight flight and Buono summoned the courage to take his details and emailed him. ‘I said, “It was so nice to meet you. I hope maybe we can chat again when we’re not dozing off.” I got a very formal email back: “Cara, thank you for your email. I’ll add your details to my Outlook.” I didn’t even know what Outlook was. I was examining it with my girlfriends: “He must be married, he’s not interested.”’ In fact, he was single and keen, and they married in 2008.
The charity-minded couple co-founded Liberty United, an organisation that transforms illegally-owned, confiscated guns into jewellery, the profits helping victims of gun violence. ‘It’s turning tragedy into beauty,’ Buono says. Since her student days she has also volunteered overnight shifts, going into emergency rooms when called to counsel victims of rape and domestic violence. ‘I can’t talk about cases I’ve seen for privacy reasons, but there have been some intense and memorable experiences that changed me.’ Since Stranger Things she’s sometimes recognised, which alters the dynamic, so now she trains others. ‘But I think I could do it again. Often people look at me and go, “Where do I know you from?” But they can’t place me.’
Buono looks incredible: she takes excellent care of herself, cooking meals from scratch, running (she has completed three New York marathons), lifting weights and practising yoga. But, unlike actresses of, say, a decade ago, she has few fears about how ageing might affect her career. ‘The situation has changed; it used to be by 40 you’re done but that’s not the case any more. People of all ages are embracing stories with older actresses: the stories are better, the roles are better and that draws in bigger audiences. I had a hard time turning 30, but no problem with 50. With age you understand yourself and human nature better. You’re more accepting. You have less f**ks to give and it’s fantastic. Right now, I’m having the best time of my life.’
Stranger Things (season five, volume one) is streaming now on Netflix
WHERE ARE THEY NOW
Millie Bobby Brown, 21, said to be worth £11 million, the actress is also a Vogue cover star, owns beauty brand Florence By Mills and will co-produce Netflix drama Prism.
Finn Wolfhard, 22, co-fronts indie duo The Aubreys and recently starred opposite Julianne Moore in hit arthouse film When You Finish Saving The World.
Sadie Sink, 23, the Chanel muse impressed in Oscar-winning The Whale – and Taylor Swift’s Grammy-winning All Too Well music video.
Noah Schnapp, 21, has branched out to the boardroom and classroom, launching vegetable snack brand To Be Honest and enrolling at the University of Pennsylvania.
Gaten Matarazzo, 23, a Broadway regular, most recently in Dear Evan Hansen and Sweeney Todd, as well as co-starring in comedy film Honor Society.
Natalia Dyer, 30, and Charlie Heaton, 31, still together after meeting on set in 2016, Dyer sticks to indie movies; Heaton hit it big in critically lauded The Souvenir Part II.
Winona Ryder, 54, solidified her comeback as the face of a 2022 Marc Jacobs ad campaign, then reprised her iconic role as Lydia in 2024’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
David Harbour, 50, not doing quite as well, having been apparently outed as a cheat on ex-wife Lily Allen’s new album and accused of bullying on set by Millie Bobby Brown.
Photographer’s assistants: Chris Turner, Codie Nemorin.
Hair: Sheridan Ward.
Make-up: Kenneth Soh at The Wall Group using Beauty of Joseon and Clé de Peau Beauté.
