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Mila Kunis Profile |
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Birth Date: August 14, 1983
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Birth Place: Kiev, Ukraine
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Birth Name: Milena Markovna Kunis
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Height: 5'3"
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Biography |
Mila Kunis was born Milena Markovna Kunis on August 14, 1983
in Kiev, Ukraine, the birthplace of another familiar
actress, Milla Jovovich. Her father, Mark, was a mechanical
engineer, and her mother, Elvira, a physics teacher.
At the time of Mila's birth, Ukraine still formed part of
the Soviet Union, and political turmoil surrounded Mila
throughout her childhood years. In 1990, Ukraine gained its
sovereignty, and the Kunis parents moved to Los Angeles,
seeking a more stable environment in which to raise their
children.
Relocation to the West brought with it abrupt changes, and
the Kunis family was forced to shed their former professions
(to this day Mark continues to work as the president of a
cab company and Elvira as a drugstore manager). Mila and her
brother were immediately enrolled in a local public school,
where they began to learn English through immersion. Mila
honed her conversational skills further through watching
television; the game show The Price is Right proved
particularly helpful to Mila, as host Bob Barker spoke
slowly enough for her to consistently pick up on what he was
saying.
It didn't take Mila long to become proficient at her new
tongue, and at the age of nine, her father registered her in
after-school acting classes at the Beverly Hills Studio.
Mila took to acting quickly, and acting took to her. At one
of the Studio's public showcases, Mila was approached by
entertainment manager Susan Curtis, who offered to take her
on. Soon thereafter, Mila made her debut national television
appearances: first, on a Payless ShoeSource commercial, and
then on an episode of the daytime soap Days of Our Lives.
Over the next several years leading up to 1998, Mila made
appearances in a diverse collection of productions. Guest
spots on television programs Baywatch, Walker, Texas Ranger
and 7th Heaven were accompanied by a bit role in the 1998
Richard Dreyfuss comedy Krippendorf's Tribe. She also
appeared in the 1995 made-for-TV movie Piranha, 1997's
Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves and the 1996 Hulk Hogan vehicle,
Santa with Muscles. The young Mila was also the focus of a
Guess? clothing ad campaign.
Mila's break as an actress came in 1998, when she was cast
as the young Gia in the HBO film of the same name (Angelina
Jolie played the adult version of the character). The
broadcast was well received, and Mila made the jump from bit
actor to a familiar face in the entertainment industry. That
same year, she auditioned for a part on a new Fox series,
Teenage Wasteland. Although she was only 14 at the time (she
told the producers she was 18), Mila won the part of the
character Jackie, on the show that would be renamed That
'70s Show.
That '70s Show went on to great success, and is currently
under contract with Fox through the 2002-03 season. In spite
of the recognition her work had brought her, Mila continued
to attend part-time classes at her local school, Fairfax
Senior High School, sitting alongside students from the
nearby Inglewood and South Central L.A. neighborhoods. She
graduated from Fairfax in 2001, the same year that she
appeared alongside Kirsten Dunst and Sisqo in the teenie hit
movie Get Over It and in the video for Aerosmith's single
"Jaded."
Mila will continue her role as Jackie in That '70s Show
throughout the upcoming season, and will most probably stay
on board if the show's contract is extended further. She
will also be starring opposite William Shatner in American
Psycho II: All American Girl, playing the lead role of
Rachelle Newman, a purported Patrick Bateman survivor. The
film will probably be released straight to video in the
summer of 2002. |
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Other
Information |
Mila and her family moved from Ukraine to LA when she was 7.
Her father, Mark, is a mechanical engineer. Her mother,
Elvira, is a physics teacher. Brother Mike is a biochemist.
Has 2 different color eyes (one is green, the other is
blue).
Met her manager at the Beverly Hills Studios (an
after-school acting class). Her father enrolled her there
when she was nine.
Graduated from Fairfax Senior High School in June 2001.
Missed her senior prom due to a scheduling conflict.
Learned to speak English from watching the _"Price Is Right,
The" (1972)_ . She said Bob Barker talked slow enough for
her to understand him. In second episode of the fifth season
of _"That 70s Show" (1998)_ , she and Hyde (Danny Masterson)
are watching an episode of _"Price Is Right, The" (1972)_
when they come on to each other.
Auditioned for "That '70s Show" (1998) at age 14. Though
actors had to be at least 18 to get the part, she truthfully
claimed she would be 18 on her birthday, not specifying
which birthday, and won the role.
Terrified of bugs so much that during her May 2004
appearance on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (1993), she
ran offstage when the "bug man" appeared after her
interview.
Ranked #54 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women In The
World" (2002).
She and Laura Prepon are often filmed sitting down for their
scenes on That 70s Show (1998) due to the fact that Laura is
seven inches taller than Mila. In other scenes Mila wears
platform shoes to give her four extra inches.
She is a fan of hard rock/metal band Aerosmith. |
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