This week’s Actress of The Week is a petite and multi-faceted beauty whose work with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars has launched the Ukrainian actress into superstardom.
Born in 1983, Mila Kunis began acting by the age of nine, two years after immigrating to Los Angeles, CA.
After appearing in several TV shows and commercials, Kunis landed a regular spot on the soon-to-be hit TV show That 70′s Show as the fashionable, snobby yet lovable, and always hilarious Jackie Burkhart.
Kunis remained on the show for 8 years, while also doing voice-over work for the popular animated Seth MacFarlane show, Family Guy.
From 1998 until now, Kunis has been giving life to the unpopular, ugly, abused, and often ignored Meg Griffin.
The irony, of course, is the actress portraying Meg is by far one of Hollywood’s and the world’s most beautiful women.
Kunis soon transitioned to the big screen with a small part in 2001′s Get Over It opposite Kristen Dunst.
In her largely overlooked but first lead role in 2007′s Moving McAllister, Kunis must’ve turned heads.
Although the Andrew Black film wasn’t a huge success at the box office, Kunis breakthrough hit in 2008′s Forgetting Sarah Marshall solidified her staying power in Hollywood and paved the way for bigger and better roles.
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Also released in 2008 was Max Payne, where Kunis played a bad-ass Russian assassin alongside Mark Wahlberg.
Kunis underwent training with guns, boxing, and martial arts to prepare for the role.
While the movie was technically popular at the box office, it was a pretty underwhelming film as agreed by most critics.
Kunis’s deadly character showed audiences she was more than the girl next door.
In 2009 Kunis took part in the film Extract opposite Jason Bateman and Ben Affleck.
Although this flick only gained around $10 million a the box office, its positive review perpetuated Mila’s career.
2010 was a busy year for Mila and it started of with her co-starring in Book of Eli among one of Hollywood’s most renowned actors, Denzel Washington.
As is every Denzel film, this one was a huge hit.
Next up to bat was Date Night featuring an all-star cast: Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Mark Wahlberg, Mark Ruffalo, and James Franco.
Kunis’ last film of 2010 would launch her into superstardom if she wasn’t already there.
Portraying the daring and mysterious Lily in Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, Kunis shined alongside established actress, Natalie Portman.
With a plot centered around the famous ballet Swan Lake, a phenomenal performance was delivered by both actresses earning the film a 2011 Oscar nomination and Kunis a Golden Globe for ‘Best Supporting Actress.
Kunis trained for several months to build strength and stamina in order to portray a lifelong ballet dancer in Black Swan.
In fact, Kunis admitted to Nylon Magazine that, “It was the most intense training I’ve ever had in my life, and probably will have for anything. I lost 20 pounds, so I went down to 95 pounds.
I weigh 117 usually, like today. I looked like Gollum [from ‘The Lord of the Rings’]“.
She went on further to say she hated the shapeless body the training gave her, but we think it was well worth her amazing performance.
In 2011 Kunis starred in Friends With Benefits alongside the super sexy Justin Timberlake.
Although the film looked eerily similar to Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher’s No Strings Attached released earlier in the year.
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Despite similarities, romantic comedy gained popularity with fans.
The flick was a witty and up-to-date romance focusing on whether adding sex to a friendship complicates things or not.
To be released in July this summer, Kunis stars in Seth MacFarlane’s Ted, alongside Mark Wahlberg.
She’ll play Wahlberg’s girlfriend, who tries to bring him to the reality that holding on to a stuffed teddy bear at the age of 33 is beyond disturbing.
Check out the Ted trailer here.
Kunis has a few other films in the works at the moment including Tar which should be released sometime this year.
Featuring James Franco, the flick gives a poetic look at author C.K. Williams’ life over the course of 40 years.
Also in post-production is Oz: The Great and Powerful, in which Kunis joins a superstar cast including James Franco, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz, and Zach Braff.
As an enormous fan of musicals, especially my favorite movie of all time The Wizard of Oz, I hope this prequel gives new light to the classic tale and hopefully incorporates some Wicked references!
From the small screen to the big screen, Mila Kunis may be small in stature but has a big personality with diverse acting abilities.
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Whether it’s comedy, drama, action, or even dance, Kunis shines on camera.
Not only is she undeniably beautiful but Kunis seems to be a down-to-earth girl, unlike many of Hollywood’s other young starlets (cough, Lindsay Lohan).
The 28-year-old actress shows no signs of slowing down her career and I can’t wait to see what challenging roles she chooses in the future.
Mila Kunis’ Filmography/ Upcoming Films
- Blood Ties (TBA)
- Hell and Back (2013)
- OZ: The Great and Powerful (2013)
- Tar (2012)
- Ted (2012)
- Friends with Benefits (2011)
- Black Swan (2010)
- Date Night (2010)
- The Book of Eli (2010)
- Extract (2009)
- Tom Cool (2009)
- Max Payne (2008)
- Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
- Boot Camp (2008)
