“If I said the word Ukraine, no one would know where that country was on the map, and so I was like, 'that's exhausting. ' Let's just stick to the big red dot over there, and so I would say I'm from Russia for many, many years,” Kunis told CNN's Erin Burnett.
Why did Mila Kunis say she was Russian and not Ukrainian?
Kunis said that because she identified so strongly as an American, for a long time, being Ukrainian felt “irrelevant” to her, despite having close friends in the country and visiting it with her husband, the actor Ashton Kutcher.
Despite having moved to the west coast US mainland aged 7 (following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991), Kunis' Russian-language skills have remained and has stated repeatedly that they are both an integral part of her indemnity and heritage as well as being the common language spoken amongst her family at home.
Mila Kunis and her family fled their home of Ukraine in 1991, escaping antisemitism and settling in the U.S. on a religious refugee visa. When war broke out in the country earlier this year, Kunis, a proud Ukrainian American, immediately launched a fundraiser with her husband Ashton Kutcher.
In the wake of the backlash to their video, Kutcher resigned as chair of the board of Thorn, an anti-human trafficking organization that targets child sex abuse. Kutcher co-founded Thorn with fellow actor and ex-wife Demi Moore in 2009. Kunis also stepped down from her role as observer on the organization's board.
Top 10 Celebrities Who Tried To Warn Us About Mila Kunis
What illness is Ashton Kutcher have?
Actor Ashton Kutcher's rare autoimmune condition, vasculitis, is a disorder characterized by inflammation of the blood vessels that can be life-threatening.
Why did Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher have to apologize?
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis apologized on Saturday for character letters the celebrity couple wrote on behalf of fellow That '70s Show actor Danny Masterson before he was sentenced for rape this week. A judge in Los Angeles on Thursday sentenced Masterson to 30 years to life in prison for raping two women in 2003.
Kunis has cited antisemitism in the Soviet Union as one of several reasons for her family's move to the United States. She has stated that her parents "raised [her] Jewish as much as they could", although religion was suppressed in the Soviet Union.
Kutcher grew up as a Roman Catholic. As an adult, he practices Kabbalah, and has visited Israel and studied the Torah; his wife Mila Kunis stated that he "taught [me] everything I never knew" about her religion, Judaism, though as of 2018, he has not converted.
Mini Bio. Milena Markovna "Mila" Kunis was born to a Jewish family in Chernivtsi, Ukraine. Her mother, Elvira, is a physics teacher, her father, Mark Kunis, is a mechanical engineer, and she has an older brother named Michael. Her family moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1991.
At age 7, Milena Markovna Kunis and her family moved from Ukraine to Los Angeles. Mila's mother, Elvira, and father, Mark, soon enrolled her in acting classes and allowed Mila to shorten her name when she started booking her first roles on "Days of our Lives," "7th Heaven," and playing a young Angelina Jolie in "Gia."
As women whose names are tied to their profession are less likely to change their names after marriage, Mila's star status would skew her towards keeping her last name of Kunis.
“My kids understand Russian, I speak Russian with my parents. I just kept thinking, 'It's good for them to know another language. ' But I never thought culturally speaking it was important to know where they came from. It never crossed my mind until this happened.”
The family, including Mila's older brother Michael, immigrated to the United States from Ukraine in 1991 when Mila was just 7 years old. She spoke to the Los Angeles Times in 2008 about how her parents came to the States with just $250. “It was right at the fall [of the Soviet Union]," she said.
Kutcher has a net worth of $200 million according to Celebrity Net Worth. The actor was an early investor in successful startups like Uber, Airbnb, and Spotify.
Not only are the pair close, but thanks to Masterson — who now faces between 30 years to life in prison — Kutcher has quietly maintained ties to Scientology, Page Six can reveal. And he's not the only “That '70s Show” cast member who got roped into activities at the controversial church.
How many biological kids does Ashton Kutcher have?
Along with his three stepdaughters, Kutcher has a biological daughter, Wyatt, 8, and a son, Dimitri, 6, with Kunis. And no matter the acting jobs that come his way, “Dad” is the role that is most important to him.
The pair officially get married in a private ceremony in Oak Glen, California, on the Fourth of July. Kunis later opens up to Glamour about her evolved philosophy on commitment and marriage, as well as why she and Kutcher chose to get married when they did.
The 31-year-old Kunis gave birth to a baby girl at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Both mom and baby are said to be doing well. Kunis and Kutcher, 36, met when they played a teen couple on the hit sitcom "That '70s Show."
What is Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher's age gap? Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher's age gap is five years, but she was 14 when they started working together on That 70s Show.
The 51-year-old actor was fired from the hit CBS sitcom in 2011, and slammed Kutcher when he replaced him on the beloved series. "I was stupidly mean to him because I overlooked the reality and difficulty of taking over a show,” Sheen said on Wednesday'sKyle & Jackie O show.
The 44-year-old star waged a year-long battle with the autoimmune disease vasculitis in 2019 which left him unable to see, hear or walk and explained that he just "woke up one day" with an array of problems, reports femalefirst.co.uk. He said: "I woke up one day and was having vision issues, could hardly see.
