Mila Kunis biography, net worth, ethnicity, husband, kids, age, height 2025

Mila Kunis Biography

Mila Kunis, born Milena Markovna Kunis, is an American actress and model who originally hails from Ukraine. She's best known for her roles in "That '70s Show," "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," "Max Payne," "The Book of Eli," "Friends with Benefits," "Ted," "Oz the Great and Powerful," and "Black Swan." She's won a Saturn Award and earned nominations for both a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Childhood and Early Roles

Milena Kunis was born on August 14, 1983, in Chernivtsi, Ukraine. Her mother Elvira taught physics before becoming a pharmacy manager in the United States. Her father Mark worked as a mechanical engineer at the "Legmash" factory before driving taxi in the US. Mila has an older brother named Michael.

Despite earning a decent income by Soviet standards, her parents couldn't see a bright future for their children in the USSR. The family also faced significant antisemitism due to their Jewish heritage, so in 1991, the Kunis family moved to the United States and settled in Los Angeles. According to Mila, her parents raised her "as Jewish as possible," something that was discouraged in the USSR.

Little Mila Kunis with her brother Michael

Just two days after arriving in America, Mila started at Rosewood Elementary School without knowing a single word of English. The experience was overwhelming – she came home in tears every single day. "I didn't understand the culture. I didn't understand the people. I didn't understand the language," the actress later recalled.

Her self-written essay for college admission started with, 'Imagine being blind and deaf at age seven.'

To help their daughter adapt and connect with her peers, Mark and Elvira enrolled her in a children's acting workshop at the Beverly Hills Studio. Manager Susan Curtis spotted her there and brought her in to shoot TV commercials, including one for Barbie dolls.

Mila Kunis in a Barbie commercial (1994)

The commercials led to roles on various TV shows including "The John Larroquette Show," "Days of Our Lives," and "7th Heaven," which she balanced with her studies at Bancroft Middle School.

The young actress also landed minor film roles in "Santa with Muscles" (1996), "Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves" (1997), and "Gia" (1998) with Angelina Jolie, playing the main character as a child. It was then that her name was shortened to "Mila" for simplicity.

In 1998, at just 14 years old, Mila landed her first major role in the hit series "That '70s Show." It was on this show that Mila first met Ashton Kutcher, who would become her husband years later.

Mila Kunis gained fame from 'That '70s Show'

Their first kiss happened on set, though their relationship was purely platonic at the time. "I was 19, she was about 14. I even did her chemistry homework! That on-set kiss was probably her first in real life. Imagine – our first kiss is documented on TV!" Kutcher recalled in an interview.

First kiss between Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher ('That '70s Show')

Her eight-season run on the series earned her first Young Star Award at 16, with another win following the next year. In addition, she was repeatedly nominated for the Teen Choice Awards.

In 1999, Mila began voicing Meg in the animated series "Family Guy". At the audition, the 15-year-old's voice captivated the director with its naturalness and how perfectly she captured her character's quirks through intonation alone.

Mila Kunis Constantly Gets Told 'Shut Up Meg'

She's voiced the character in every season since, earning an Annie Award nomination in 2007. She also voiced Meg Griffin in the "Family Guy" video game and the feature-length animated film "Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story" (2005 – 2006).

People on the street often yell at me Peter Griffin's catchphrase, 'Shut up, Meg!'

After graduating from Fairfax High School in 2001, Kunis enrolled at UCLA before transferring to Loyola Marymount University, though she didn't stick around long.

Film Career

In 2001, while continuing her television career, a more mature Kunis played the friend of the main character in the romantic comedy "Get Over It," starring Kirsten Dunst.

The next year, the actress played her first leading role in a movie - in the thriller "American Psycho II" (2002) with William Shatner. The film was widely considered a failure, and Mila herself later voiced her disappointment and spoke out against a third installment: "Please, someone, stop this. Write a petition. When I shot the sequel, I had no idea it would become "American Psycho II." It started as a totally different project, then got edited and re-edited, but... I don't know. It just turned out terrible."

Even Mila Kunis Didn't Like the Sequel to American Psycho

Mila's film career breakthrough came with her role in the romantic comedy "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" (2008) directed by Nicholas Stoller. The film was a box office success and received critical acclaim: "It has a lot of funny and sharp situations, and maintains the perfect balance between romance and vulgarity for a comedy," "... it's on the cutting edge of the latest and most relevant trend: a romantic comedy for guys." Although Mila's role in this film was not the lead, her work was also highly valued - the young actress was nominated for the Teen Choice Awards.

A Scene from the Comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall

In the same year, Kunis played the lead female role - gangster Mona in the thriller directed by John Moore "Max Payne," based on the eponymous video game, along with the famous actor Mark Wahlberg. Though critics panned the film (calling the plot illogical and packed with pointless action sequences), it performed well at the box office, and Mila again received a nomination for the Teen Choice Awards.

Still, the award eluded her once again, with critics calling Mila "completely wrong" for the role and describing her crime boss as a "tiny figure with a soft, purring voice." Director John Moore came to the actress's defense: "Sure, Mila wasn't the obvious choice for this role, but she transformed beautifully into Mona... We needed someone who could capture the character's essence while bringing their own interpretation. I think Mila did incredible work."

In 2009, Mila starred in the lead role in Mike Judge's comedy "Extract," and the following year brought a more significant project - the post-apocalyptic drama by the Hughes brothers "The Book of Eli," where Mila's partners were Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman. While critics found the film unremarkable, audiences loved it, and critics universally praised Mila's "very strong performance": "She brought life and determination to the character, portraying an independent young woman who doesn't always play it safe." Mila was once again nominated for the Teen Choice Awards, but she missed out on the win once more.

That same year, 2010 brought Kunis another compelling project - Darren Aronofsky's psychological thriller "Black Swan," where she played a supporting role as a ballerina and rival to Natalie Portman's main character. Ironically, in real life, Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman aren't rivals at all - they're actually close friends.

Mila Kunis in 'Black Swan'

To convincingly transform into a ballerina, Mila had to study ballet for 5 hours every day and lose about 20 lbs before filming began, putting herself on a strict diet and intense cardio routine.

For Black Swan, Mila Kunis lost almost 20 lbs

The demanding shoot took its toll: she tore a ligament in her leg and dislocated her shoulder. "I will never dance again in my life," she admitted when filming wrapped. "I've always believed that mind over matter was real, but until this film, I had no idea how it actually works."

In Real Life, Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman are Friends

All those sacrifices paid off - the film was a massive success, earning a staggering $329 million against a $13 million budget and receiving several prestigious awards and nominations, including five Oscar nods. Mila's performance didn't go unnoticed either: she won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress and earned nominations for both the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award.

After this intense dramatic work, Mila's next film was a return to romantic comedy - director Will Gluck's "Friends with Benefits" (2011), where she starred opposite Justin Timberlake, with Woody Harrelson and Emma Stone in supporting roles. The film was well-received by audiences and critics alike: "The film succeeds with its snappy dialogue and genuine romantic chemistry between the leads, plus the central misunderstanding actually feels... believable."

The following year, she starred in director Seth MacFarlane's black comedy "Ted," reuniting with Mark Wahlberg as her co-star. The plot centers on a young couple and... a foul-mouthed talking teddy bear who's less than thrilled about his owner's girlfriend.

In 2013, Mila starred in director Sam Raimi's fantasy adventure "Oz the Great and Powerful," a prequel to the 1939 classic "The Wizard of Oz." She played one of the lead roles as the witch Theodora. The character appears in two different forms throughout the film, and transforming into one of them - the Wicked Witch of the West - required incredibly complex makeup. The transformation process took four hours, with another hour needed to remove all the makeup. According to Mila, it took two months after filming wrapped for her skin to fully recover.

Oz: The Great And Powerful - Mila Kunis Interview

The actress herself admitted that her biggest challenge was creating a character that wouldn't contradict Margaret Hamilton's iconic Wicked Witch of the West from the original film, while also avoiding being seen as a mere copycat: "I was very nervous, working on a character who had already become an icon before me... I didn't want to spoil it, I didn't want to recreate it, I didn't want to reinterpret it. So instead of driving myself crazy, I had to cultivate my own authentic sense of her personality, as if the character had been handed to me fresh."

Following that, Mila took on three indie projects: the thriller by Guillaume Canet "Blood Ties" (2013), the tragicomedy by Phil Robinson "The Angriest Man in Brooklyn" (2014) co-starring Robin Williams and the melodrama by Paul Haggis "Third Person" (2014) alongside Liam Neeson and Olivia Wilde.

Mila Kunis on the Howard Stern Show (2016)

Her next big-budget project was starring in the space opera by Lana and Lilly Wachowski "Jupiter Ascending" (2015), played in partnership with Channing Tatum and Sean Bean. Critics weren't impressed, dismissing it as "another scattered sci-fi story" while criticizing the ridiculous trend of portraying women in sci-fi and action films as impossibly strong—like "Arnold Schwarzenegger with a bust."

In 2016, the comedy "Bad Moms" directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore was released, featuring Mila Kunis alongside Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn. The film was a hit, prompting the same team to reunite for the sequel "Bad Moms Christmas."

In 2018, Mila Kunis starred in the comedy "The Spy Who Dumped Me," directed by Susanna Fogel, alongside Kate McKinnon and Sam Heughan. Part of this film was shot in Budapest.

In 2020, Mila Kunis played a dramatic role in "Four Good Days," portraying a drug addict. The role required dramatic weight loss—she weighed just 95 pounds (43 kilograms) when filming began. The teeth typical of methamphetamine addicts were actually a special overlay.

"I don't use drugs, but I've lost many friends to addiction, while others are still fighting it. I drew on their experiences for the emotional side. For the physical transformation—how addicts actually look—I relied heavily on YouTube, NA meetings, and rehab centers," Mila shared about her preparation for the role, which she later called the most challenging of her career.

Mila Kunis talks about addiction - Four Good Days

In 2022, Mila Kunis played the lead role in the drama "Luckiest Girl Alive." Her character is a successful journalist for a glossy magazine, but her happy life collapses after confronting her past: witnessing a school shooting during her teenage years.

Mila Kunis behind the scenes of Luckiest Girl Alive

Other Achievements

In 2007, Mila Kunis appeared in a "Funny or Die" video with James Franco, spoofing the reality show "The Hills". After that, she participated in the Christmas video "Shine Your Own Star" for the Gap brand. She's also appeared in music videos for major artists including Kiss, Aerosmith, The Strokes, Joel Madden, Norah Jones, and others.

Mila Kunis Shows Her Childhood Home

She's graced the covers of top magazines including Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar, Glamour, and many others. In 2010, she was featured in Esquire's "Women We Love" section and posed for singer Bryan Adams' "American Women - 2010" photo series with Calvin Klein, with proceeds benefiting the AIDS Foundation.

In 2013, Kunis landed at #89 on Forbes' list of the 100 most influential celebrities and ranked 14th for earnings. In 2017, she ranked 5th among Hollywood's highest-paid actresses, earning $15.5 million that year. Men's Health named her one of the "100 Most Attractive Women of All Time," while FHM crowned her #1 on their "100 Sexiest Women in the World" list for 2013.

Maxim ranked Mila 5th on their "100 Sexy People" list in 2009 and 2011, 3rd in 2012, while AskMen placed her at #2 on their most desired celebrities list in 2010.

The actress herself is quite skeptical about such ratings: "A career should be based on something more than the first place in the list of 100 girls FHM. External beauty fades - what's left after that?"

Mila never agrees to shoot naked - for all explicit scenes with her participation, doubles were invited or computer graphics were used

In 2012, Mila Kunis became the face of Christian Dior's spring handbag collection, and in 2013 she started representing Gemfields, a precious stone company. She took the role seriously, even visiting the company's mine in Zambia to learn more about the brand.

Mila Kunis' Personal Life

When she was about 16, Mila told her father, "You know, I don't want to get married, I don't believe in marriage." Over time, she softened her stance with a new declaration: "I'll only get married when gays can do it too."

In her youth, Mila did not believe in marriage

In 2002, 19-year-old Mila began dating 22-year-old actor Macaulay Culkin, who was still riding high on his child star fame. His iconic roles in "Home Alone" and "Richie Rich" kept him firmly in the spotlight. According to Mila, it was "impossible to just walk down the street" with Culkin because fans would literally start screaming.

Mila Kunis and Macaulay Culkin dated for 8 years

Their relationship was rock-solid and lasted eight years, though they weren't rushing to the altar. When they finally split in January 2011, Culkin reportedly fell into a deep depression.

In April 2012, Mila began dating actor Ashton Kutcher, her longtime co-star from "That '70s Show". They got engaged in February 2014, and their daughter Wyatt Isabelle Kutcher was born on October 1, 2014.

On July 4, 2015, Kunis and Kutcher officially got married, and on November 30, 2016, their second child, son Dimitri Portwood Kutcher, was born.

The young family desperately wanted to keep their private life private and were tormented by relentless paparazzi attention. 'When Wyatt was born, our backyard was swarming with drones', Mila was horrified.

The couple still values their personal space and looks very happy. When a journalist asked if there's anything about Kutcher that annoys her, Mila replied: "I can tell you honestly, though this probably isn't what people want to hear. My husband doesn't annoy me. He doesn't annoy me at all. I don't know, maybe that's still coming since we haven't been married that long, you know? A lot between us still feels like we're on our honeymoon... Everything is so wonderful and beautiful, and I haven't reached that stage where people get annoyed... not yet."

For the longest time, the kids had no clue their parents were famous actors. Wyatt was convinced her mom was a hairdresser. That illusion came crashing down when massive billboards featuring Mila's face went up everywhere to promote "A Bad Moms Christmas."

Wyatt and Dimitri are learning three languages - English, Russian, and Spanish. Ashton even had to learn Russian to communicate with Mila's family, since her grandparents don't speak English.

In January 2011, Kunis revealed to the press that she'd suffered from chronic iritis since childhood, which caused her heterochromia: her right eye is green, while her left eye is light brown. The condition even caused temporary blindness in one eye, but successful surgery restored her vision.

Mila Kunis has not pronounced heterochromia

Mila's a huge "World of Warcraft" fan, though she doesn't play often and completely avoids the game's voice chat because other players instantly recognize her voice.

Politically, she's a vocal Democrat who doesn't hold back when criticizing Republican positions she finds offensive – particularly their stance on women's issues and religious matters.

In August 2017, Mila and her husband made the journey to her birthplace of Chernivtsi, Ukraine. But the homecoming didn't go as planned – Mila felt surprisingly disconnected from the places she'd known as a child, and the current owner of her old house wouldn't even let them inside. The trip ended up being a major letdown for both of them.

In 2017, Mila Kunis and her husband went to Ukraine

Mila Kunis Now

In 2023, Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher wrote a letter to the judge who was sentencing actor Danny Masterson, a former colleague of the couple on "That '70s Show". Masterson had been accused of rape by three women, with allegations that in the early 2000s, he would lure victims to his home, drug their drinks, and sexually assault them. He was looking at 30 years behind bars – which is exactly what he got.

Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson

In their letter, Mila and Ashton described Danny as an honest, decent person – a true friend and role model – saying they were shocked by the potential sentence. Predictably, a massive backlash followed, forcing the couple to issue an apology. "We support victims. We have done this historically through our work and will continue to do so in the future," they stated. But the public wasn't buying it, especially since the couple claimed their letter was meant only for the judge, not public consumption.

Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis Apologize for Masterson Letter

In 2024, Mila worked with Michael Keaton on a role in the comedy "Goodrich", a story about the complicated relationship between a famous gallery owner and his adult daughter.

Betty Graham

I just see at the first time this movie Black Swan. What is this movie about? And a screensaver is strange, is that sure that Mila Kunis is playing there? :)

2021-04-19 10:39:49
Andrea Dixon

This beautiful woman has already two children with a handsome Kutcher. She still have time to act in the movies, good job

2021-04-13 12:10:07
Tammy Davis

I like more when Kunis is playing in comedy movies, she looks more harmonically in there, serious roles are not for her

2021-03-23 20:17:14
Mae Fitzgerald

Everywhere where Kunis is playing I like it, it`s already kind of `must watch` for me

2021-03-21 18:22:32
Margie Lynch

It`s necessary to wright one more movie - Friends with Benefits, she played a main role in there together with Timberlake.

2021-03-09 10:27:04

Photos: Mila Kunis