Mila Kunis opens up on Jewish identity and early struggles
Mila Kunis is a globally recognised star who is not ashamed of her roots. She was born in Ukraine and emigrated to the USA with her parents. Kunis openly says she is Jewish. In a conversation with an Israeli journalist, she discussed her difficult experiences related to this.
At first glance, Mila Kunis is no different from her American peers, as she spent most of her childhood and her entire adult life in the USA just like them. However, the early years of the actress's life carry a completely different set of experiences.
In an interview with Israeli writer and journalist Noa Tishby, Kunis discussed her roots. The actress was born in Ukraine and emigrated across the ocean with her parents at the age of eight. Part of her identity is also Jewish, although she could not practice as a child for political reasons.
She couldn't talk about her origin
"I knew I was Jewish, but I wasn't allowed to talk about it with anyone. We also didn't practise any holiday rituals at home. At that time in Ukraine, my religion was not tolerated," Kunis explained to the journalist.
For most of her life, Mila did not connect with this part of her identity. Only after marrying Ashton Kutcher, who chose to convert to Judaism, did she start taking an interest in it. Her husband became Kunis's guide to this religion. Together, they are raising their two children in Judaism.
"You want to know something about Judaism, call Ashton Kutcher," Noa Tishby joked.
"I was raised with a sense of guilt"
Interestingly, when asked what is the most Jewish element of culture, the actress had a clear answer: a sense of guilt. In response, the journalist chuckled.
"I was raised with a huge sense of guilt. Superstitions and guilt—those two things have been with me since childhood," Kunis explains.
