Mila Kunis has two incredibly supportive parents: Mark and Elvira Kunis.
The family, including Mila’s older brother Michael, immigrated from Ukraine to the United States in 1991, when Mila was only 7 years old. spoke to himself los angeles times He talked about how his family came to America in 2008 with only $250.
“It was right in autumn [of the Soviet Union]”It was very communist, and my parents wanted my brother and I to have a future, so they dropped everything. They showed up with $250.”
While Mila said she “adapted pretty quickly and pretty well” to the move, she also admitted that she “completely opted out of sophomore year.” “I don’t remember that. I always talk about it with my mother and my grandmother. Because I was crying every day. I didn’t understand the culture. I couldn’t understand the people. I didn’t understand the language.”
Since then, Mila has had a successful acting career with the support of her parents. In fact, Mark and Elvira first enrolled her in acting classes when she was just 9 years old.
So who are Mila Kunis’ parents? Here’s everything you need to know about Mark and Elvira Kunis and their relationship with the actress.
Mila and her family were religious refugees from Ukraine
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Mila was born in the then-Soviet city of Chernivtsi (located in present-day Ukraine) and lived there for seven years until her family emigrated to the United States as religious refugees.
While his parents were ready to move, his grandfather was initially resistant. However, he jokingly changed his mind when he saw Disneyland, a special American flavor.
“His brother had moved to Los Angeles in the ’70s,” Mila told PEOPLE in November 2022. “When my grandfather came to visit, he took her with him, and it changed his perspective on the possibilities of the West. He came back.” ‘We are going to Russia,’ she said. ”
Luckiest Girl Alive The actress also shared that she plans to pass on her Ukrainian Jewish heritage to her children, ensuring they grow up eating her mother’s food and understanding Russian.
He added that although he is originally from Ukraine, he has become “very American” since growing up in Los Angeles, but he has “never been more proud to be Ukrainian.”
“I am so honored that my children can carry on this legacy. When you’re little, all you want to do is assimilate,” she told PEOPLE. “Even though many things are scary in the world today, the sense of identity of ‘you’re different and that’s a wonderful thing’ is new. “I am grateful for that.”
Mila’s parents didn’t tell her they were moving to the United States.
Mila’s parents might have been determined to uproot their family for a better life, but they weren’t ready to include 7-year-old Mila in that plan.
During an appearance Conan In 2016, Mila told host Conan O’Brien that her parents didn’t fully tell her the truth about their move.
“My parents took it upon themselves to lie to me and say that we were going out into the street… and then one day we weren’t going out on the street, we were on the train and then we went to Moscow and then we got on a plane and this was all very new to me,” he said. “The train was new, the plane was new. I drank Coca-Cola for the first time. The whole experience was very new.”
He explained that Mark and Elvira didn’t want to tell him because they were afraid he would tell other people they were moving to America on a refugee visa, and he said it was “not something you show off.”
Mark and Elvira changed their careers
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When they moved to the USA, Mark and Elvira found new jobs. Mila explained daily telegram In 2011, he said their degrees were non-transferable, but they didn’t have time to look for new training.
When they first came to America, Mark was working a variety of jobs, from driving a taxi to delivering toilets and painting houses. “She did everything so that my brother and I could be fed,” Mila said. “They didn’t have time to go back and get their diplomas because who was going to feed the kids?”
In April 2017, Mila told HouzzTV: “Knowing how hard I’m working right now for what I have, it puts things in perspective about how hard my family must have worked to give my brother and I the life we have.”
Mila’s family believed in her acting abilities at an early age
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Mila said her parents believed in her talent so much that they spent $890 on acting lessons for her when she was 9, even though they only had $900 in the bank.
“There is absolutely no rhyme or reason to what my mother did or why she did it,” Mila said. The Howard Stern Show “Mind you, I’ve never gotten a birthday present, I’ve never gotten a holiday present. It’s like we’re not a giving family in that regard – it’s one of those kismet moments you can’t explain.”
Mila also shared that her first commercial was shot when she was 9 years old.
Mila’s family “never took a penny from her”
Mark and Elvira have always remained financially independent from their daughters. She pointed out in an interview with Stern that her parents “never took a dime from her,” and Mila confirmed that they still haven’t, even after her success in Hollywood.
“Until now, ‘Let’s go out to dinner for your birthday, Dad!’ Then, before we get there, he calls the restaurant and leaves his card.” “I’m a grown woman, I’d like to buy you and your mom a treat but they said ‘No’.”
Mila surprised her family with her home makeover
In 2017, Mila and her husband Ashton Kutcher undertook a surprise home renovation of her parents’ Los Angeles apartment (and childhood home) for the online series. My Houzz.
“They did a lot of things for my brother and me,” Mila said during the episode. “And so I desperately want to give them something I think they deserve.”
The make-up was done by designer Breeze Giannasio with the help of Mila. “Seeing Mom and Dad’s reaction to their home for the first time made it all worth it,” she shared.
Mila is incredibly proud of her family
Mila is proud of both her parents for the sacrifices they made for her growing up. Even though Elivira works full-time, Mila always comes home to a fully involved mom, telling HouzzTV that “magically” the family “has dinner on the table every night.”
As for her father, Mila said he was “one of the proudest men you could ever meet” and would never ask him for help. “He would never ask for help. And when things got tough he just worked,” she said.