Millie Bright OBE (born 21 August 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Women's Super League club Chelsea[4][5] who she captains, and the England national team.
[10] After watching a friend play for Killamarsh Dynamos, a local team in Derbyshire, she decided to join;[11] as part of the "Where Greatness Is Made" campaign, a plaque honouring Bright was installed at the club in 2022.
[7][13] Described by the club as "a tall, powerful, athletic striker with an good eye for goal," Bright made her Belles debut as a substitute against Watford at the Keepmoat Stadium in August 2009.
[14] She scored her first goal on the occasion of her first start, in the following month's 5–0 FA Women's Premier League Cup win at Leeds City Vixens.
[15] At her own request, Bright then went on loan to Leeds United in their 2011–12 FA Women's Premier League season and debuted on her 18th birthday, scoring a goal after entering play as a substitute.
[17] Bright was critical of The Football Association's decision to demote Doncaster Rovers Belles from the WSL in favour of Manchester City one game into the 2013 season: "It was heartbreaking.
[19] Chelsea assistant manager Paul Green said of the signing, "Millie is a great character and a young player who is hungry to develop and improve her game.
Chelsea finished in first place during the regular season with a 10–2–2 record and qualified for the 2016–17 UEFA Women's Champions League for the second time in the team's history.
[24] Bright was Chelsea's starting left-side defender for the 2017 FA WSL Spring Series and helped lead the defensive line to concede only five goals in all competitions.
"[27] During the 2019–20 FA WSL season, Bright was named the league's Player of the Month for December after she scored and provided an assist against Birmingham and led the Chelsea defense in a shut-out against Manchester United.
[29] When the 2020 Women's FA Community Shield was played for the first time since 2008, Bright scored Chelsea's game-winning goal from long range during the team's 2–0 over Manchester City.
[37] She was again called on to captain the squad by head coach Sarina Wiegman in the two November World Cup qualifiers against Austria and Latvia.