What You Never Knew About Mila Kunis
Over the years, Mila Kunis has become one of Hollywood's most recognizable actresses. After shooting to fame in the late '90s as Jackie in the classic series "That '70s Show" and as the voice of Meg in the long-running cartoon "Family Guy," Kunis began acting in films. Her impressive resume includes projects such as "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," "Date Night," "Friends With Benefits," "Black Swan," "Ted," and many more (via IMDb).
But her impressive acting performances aren't Kunis' only claim to fame. For one thing, she's one half of one of Hollywood's sweetest couples. You may know that she married her co-star from "That '70s Show," Ashton Kutcher, back in 2015. In fact, even if you've never seen any of her shows or films, you've probably come across her at least once thanks to some of her viral moments. For instance, in 2021, she went viral after an interview in which she confessed to not washing her children very frequently.
Curious to learn more about this star? Here is what you never knew about Mila Kunis.
Mila Kunis steers clear of press about herself
For people like Mila Kunis, being in the public eye is just part of the job. The actress has been appearing in magazines and TV interviews since she was a teenager. However, it turns out, she tries to ignore what the press says about her. "I don't read anything about myself. I genuinely don't know what's written about me," she told Cosmopolitan in 2018. Of course, every now and then she catches a glimpse of some of the tabloid rumors. As she joked, "I know that I'm pregnant about once a year and my husband and I are getting a divorce once a year."
While Kunis clearly has a good sense of humor about the ridiculous things written about her in the tabloids, there are plenty of downsides to the press attention. As she explained, it can become "upsetting" when her family members believe the rumors. Once, the papers falsely reported that she'd had a medical emergency. "The amount of stress that caused my family, nobody will understand," she recalled. No wonder Kunis tries to avoid all the rumors!
Her parents struggled to emigrate to the U.S.
If you're a big fan of Mila Kunis, you may already know that the star wasn't actually born in the United States. As she told Stylist, her parents moved their large family from Ukraine when she was just 7 years old. As Kunis told Glamour, she didn't realize at the time what a struggle it was for them. "My parents went through hell and back," she said. "They came to America with suitcases and a family of seven and $250, and that's it."
As Kunis went on to explain, her parents worked incredibly hard to give her and her siblings a normal life. Apparently, they both took classes at a night school, learned English, and worked multiple jobs to get by. She told Interview that they weren't even free on weekends to take care of her, as they were always working. However, despite their financial issues, her parents made sure she "never missed out on anything."
Mila Kunis is definitely not a perfectionist
Hollywood breeds a certain level of perfectionism. Many actors and actresses find themselves fixated on their appearance and persona in the press. After all, it's a pretty competitive industry! However, Mila Kunis has always avoided that kind of obsession with her looks. As she explained to The Talks, she has never been a perfectionist. "I'm not looking for perfection," she said. "I don't think it's achievable; I think it is impossible to achieve perfection."
As Kunis went on to say, she actually believes that the trend of perfectionism in Hollywood makes everyone a little boring. "It is bizarre how everyone has the same facial features now. ... I think people lose all sense of themselves," she mused. Of course, she added, even the perfection portrayed in Hollywood is mostly down to Photoshop. It sounds like Kunis is pretty clear-sighted about the illusion of perfection in Hollywood — no wonder she doesn't waste her time worrying about it.
Here's how Mila Kunis picks her projects
For the past few decades, Mila Kunis has been one of Hollywood's most sought-after actresses. It's easy to imagine that she has multiple scripts and opportunities coming across her desk. So, how does she decide which projects are worth her while?
As the actress explained to Interview back in 2012, she became more picky about choosing projects over the years. After "That '70s Show" came to an end, Kunis explained, she decided to look for films that would help her to grow as an artist. Her main interest became films with inspiring scripts and excellent teams behind them. "I decided to step back and do things not just for the sake of doing them, but because I believe in them and I want to do them," she said. While this meant that Kunis' schedule may have slowed down a little, it was just what she needed in order to keep growing as an actress. "I think that if I hadn't done it that way, then I would've just stunted myself," she explained.
She uses this process to keep her performances fresh and spontaneous
Acting is anything but an exact science. In fact, most actors have their own unique techniques for getting into character for the camera. For Mila Kunis, acting is all about staying spontaneous and reactive when the cameras are rolling. In a 2014 interview with Collider, Kunis explained her process for the movie "Third Person." As she explained, she likes to do a lot of research before the shoot begins. "I'll have everything done and marked out," she explained. Then, when she arrives to film, she lets her "muscle memory" take over. "If you just have the muscle memory and you know your character, inside out, you show up and become present," she said.
Then, Kunis lets herself respond to the other actors in a sort of a "dance," as she put it. For her, this process helps her keep her performances fresh, exciting, and alive. "That's just the process that works for me, and probably nobody else," she summed up. Kunis may be humble about her process, but clearly something is working!
Mila Kunis had a surprisingly unromantic honeymoon
Mila Kunis married her "That '70s Show" co-star Ashton Kutcher in 2015. Their wedding was incredibly low-key — in fact, most people didn't even know the pair had tied the knot until months later (via People). In an interview with Jimmy Fallon on "The Tonight Show" in 2018, Kunis opened up about their unusual honeymoon. Apparently, the pair spent their honeymoon in an RV with Kutcher's parents. "If you've ever seen the 'National Lampoon' movies," she said, "our honeymoon was like a real-life 'National Lampoon's' honeymoon."
Kunis revealed that she had bought Kutcher a gift card for an RV for his birthday, and he promptly decided that travelling around in the RV he got would make for the perfect honeymoon — with his parents coming along in their own RV, too. Kunis wasn't too pleased with the idea, but went along with it. "We're in our little, like, tin can on wheels, and my in-laws are in what my husband coined as, like, the 'Taj Mahal of RVs,'" she recalled.
By the sounds of things, their not-so-romantic getaway only got worse — their air conditioner broke, their GPS sent them in the wrong direction, and one RV park they stayed at was located near two prisons! What a nightmare!
She took time off acting to become a mother
Balancing parenthood and a busy career is never easy — especially when your career involves late nights on set and international filming locations! So, when Mila Kunis decided to start a family with her husband, Ashton Kutcher, she made the decision to take some time off work.
As she told Glamour, when she finished filming "Jupiter Ascending," she stopped working completely. And by the sounds of things, she took her break very seriously. "Let me tell you, when I would get a call with an offer, I wouldn't even flinch. I was like, 'No, I'm pregnant,'" she recalled.
While taking time off work was a little difficult for Kunis, she knew that she had made the right decision. She even found a way to keep working without going back to the hectic schedule of an actor. "I ultimately started my production company, so I have a 9-to-5," she explained. "I can't not work."
The actress learned a lot from her time on That '70s Show
"That '70s Show" was Mila Kunis' first big role, giving the actress her first claim to fame. She was just 14 years old when she began filming the show. So, for Kunis, it ended up being a fantastic learning experience. "I think I got really lucky with the people I was surrounded by on ”70s,'" she explained to Interview. "Everybody was older than I was, but nobody d**ked around." Apparently, all of her co-stars became important influences for Kunis, because they took their jobs seriously. Thanks to them, she said, "I never had to go through that period of angst where I was rebelling against this industry or my parents."
Plus, the show also taught her about the craft of acting in a comedy. She learned about how to hit punchlines and make her jokes land. It sounds like the set of "That '70s Show" was the perfect place for Kunis to learn about the entertainment industry and the craft of acting.
Mila Kunis doesn't always have the best instincts when it comes to business
It's safe to say that as a couple, Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher are pretty financially secure. In fact, Kutcher has made significant investments in some pretty big businesses, including Airbnb, Uber, Acorns, and more. Nevertheless, it turns out, they almost missed out on some big investment opportunities. In an interview with Stephen Colbert on "The Late Show," Kunis revealed that she doesn't really have the best head for business investments.
When asked if she ever tries to veto her husband's investment ideas, she said, "This happens nightly." For instance, when Kutcher told her about Uber in the company's early days, she said, "That's the worst idea ever." Later, he told her about the idea of Bitcoin. She retorted, "I think this is a horrible idea." Luckily, Kutcher trusted his instincts on both companies and made some seriously lucrative investments! As Kunis said, "I've never been happier to be wrong."
She loves being engaged in politics
While Mila Kunis is widely known for her acting, she's less well-known for her interest in politics. Nevertheless, it turns out the actress is passionate about the government. As Kunis explained to Stylist, her interest in politics comes from her upbringing. "Me and my family are very political," she said. "We don't necessarily agree on our beliefs but we talk about it a lot, like at dinner." Apparently, she and her father even get into some heated arguments about it!
Kunis went on to explain that she was a big fan of Barack Obama, although she wasn't as big a fan of his deal with the Republicans to end the debt crisis in the U.S.
Clearly, Kunis knows her stuff when it comes to the country's politics. So, it's no surprise that she becomes frustrated when young people don't pay attention to politics. She shared, "I can tell you why I voted for [Obama], what I agreed and disagreed with him on, for hours. It's crazy to me that people don't educate themselves about the world considering so many of them have children who are going to suffer because of it."
Mila Kunis went viral for this strange bathing controversy
If you heard Mila Kunis' name in 2021, chances are it was in connection to the viral bathing controversy. Kunis and her husband, Ashton Kutcher, were guests on the podcast "Armchair Expert" and revealed some pretty controversial bathing practices. "I don't wash my body with soap every day," Kunis said. She added that she also doesn't wash her children every day. In fact, Kutcher added that they only washed them if you can "see the dirt on them." The comments quickly went viral with numerous people chiming in with their own opinions.
In fact, the interview became so famous that Ellen DeGeneres even asked Kunis about it later that year. Kunis clarified that while her "intent" is to bathe her kids every day, in reality, it doesn't always happen. After all, she said to a skeptical DeGeneres, during COVID-19, they didn't "leave the house" anyway. Clearly, Kunis' bathing habits are a lot more controversial than she realized!
She lives in a sustainable farmhouse in LA
Ever wondered where Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher live? Well, you probably won't be surprised to learn that their house is stunning. In 2021, they opened their doors to Architectural Digest, giving us all a peek inside how they live. The couple live in a custom-built farm in Los Angeles where they farm the land and even grow their own corn. They call it KuKu Farms. As Kunis explained, their goal with the house was to make it comfortable rather than extravagant. "We wanted a home, not an estate," she said. The pair spent time collecting inspirational images on Pinterest before they finally got to work building it.
While the result certainly feels like a home, for most of us, it also looks pretty grand. The gigantic home looks like a cross between a barn and a mansion, with towering ceilings, huge paned glass windows, a massive fireplace, and a pool-side pavilion outside. While the home is definitely luxurious, it's designed to be sustainable. We have to say — this home is definitely the perfect mixture of rustic rural bliss and Hollywood grandeur.
Living with a tall husband means Mila Kunis had to keep ladders around her house
Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher are an undeniably amazing couple. After they met on the set of "That '70s Show," they reconnected years later and fell in love — their story is definitely one of the most adorable love stories in Hollywood. However, there is one way that the pair aren't exactly perfectly suited — their heights.
As Kunis told "First We Feast," things are a little complicated at their house because everything was built for someone of Kutcher's height. "I am five foot four on a good day; my husband is six foot three. Our house is built for six foot three," she explained, adding that she has to walk around the house on tippy toes. She added, "I have ladders everywhere. I have a ladder in the closet. I have a ladder in the kitchen. I can't reach things!"
Mila Kunis is passionate about revealing gender bias in the workplace
As someone who has worked in Hollywood for years, Mila Kunis has had her fair share of experience with misogyny in the industry. In fact, in an open letter published on Medium in 2016, Kunis revealed that she had even been pressured to pose semi-nude for a magazine. When she refused, she was told, "You'll never work in this town again." After this experience, Kunis became passionate about tackling gender bias in all workplaces.
In her letter, she wrote, "I taught myself that to succeed as a woman in this industry I had to play by the rules of the boy's club." She went on to write that she was committed to helping other women in similar positions in their industries. She explained that she hoped her words brought "one more voice to the conversation so that women in the workplace feel a little less alone and more able to push back for themselves." And that's definitely a message we can get behind.