Born Milena Markovna Kunis on Aug. 14, 1983 in Kiev, Ukraine, this raven-haired beauty moved to Los Angeles with her parents, Mark and Elvira Kunis and older brother, Mike, at the age of seven. After learning English by watching American television shows, Kunis enrolled in after-school acting classes at Beverly Hills Studios while attending Hubert Howe Bancroft Middle School in Los Angeles. Discovered by a manager while performing in an acting showcase, the young actress was soon cast in children’s programs and television commercials including campaigns for Barbie and Payless shoes.
Making her small-screen debut in 1994 in an episode of “Days of Our Lives” (NBC, 1965- ), Kunis soon landed small roles on a number of television shows including “The John Larroquette Show” (NBC, 1993-96), “Baywatch” (1989-2001), and “Walker Texas Ranger” (CBS, 1993-2001). She went on to appear in recurring roles on “Nick Freno, Licenced Teacher” (The WB, 1996-98) and the WB’s “7th Heaven” (The WB, 1996-2006). With her dark hair and exotic looks, Kunis portrayed a young Angelina Jolie in the critically acclaimed 1998 HBO bio-pic “Gia” about the life of supermodel Gia Carangi.
Lying about her age, Kunis landed the career-breaking role of Jackie Burkhart on the FOX sitcom “That 70’s Show (1998-2006) while still in high school; though the role required Kunis to be at least eighteen, she was only fourteen at the time of her audition. Regardless, Kunis was cast in the role of the fast-talking Jackie, and worked on the series while attending Fairfax High School. Kunis received two Young Star Awards for her role on the series. Lending her distinct voice to animated television, Kunis was also cast as the voice of Meg Griffin on the popular FOX series “Family Guy” (1999- ). Though the series was cancelled in 2002, its popularity with viewers and performance in DVD sales led to the show’s resurrection in May of 2005.
After receiving her high school diploma in 2001, Kunis soon branched out from her work on “70’s” by appearing in a number of films. She landed a supporting role in the teen flick “Get Over It” (2001) with Kirsten Dunst, starred in the horror sequel “American Psycho II: All American Girl” (2002), and played the role of Tina in “Tony and Tina’s Wedding” (2004) opposite Joseph McIntyre. Kunis also appeared in the music videos for Aerosmith’s single “Jaded” and for The Strokes’ single “The End Has No End.” In 2006, Kunis Appeared in the films “After Sex” and “Moving McAllister” opposite Jon Heder and Rutger Hauer and lent her voice-over talents to the Xbox 360 game “Saints Row.” She also continued to received moderate tabloid coverage of her ongoing romance with former child star, Macaulay Culkin.