Biography of Ashton Kutcher

Good-looking, smart and suave, Ashton Kutcher is one of hottest upcoming stars in Hollywood. Born on February 7, 1978 as Christopher Ashton Kutcher, this model turned actor led a rugged outdoorsy life during his childhood, helping wranglers herd cattle or even skinning deer for the butchers. He lived with his parents Larry and Diane Kutcher, older sister Tausha and twin brother Micheal in Cedar Rapids Iowa, before the family moved to Tiffin, Iowa. His family life was fraught with tensions with his brother being diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a deadly heart disease and his parents getting divorced.

Making of a Star

Bitten by the acting bug at school itself, Ashton worked in numerous productions in school. He then went on to attend the University of Iowa where he majored in biochemical engineering. To support himself through college, Ashton worked several odd jobs. It was during this time that he won the 'Fresh Faces of Iowa' modeling contest which turned out to be his big ticket to New York. For the next one year he walked the ramp in Paris and Milan as well as worked in advertisements for Calvin Klein and Pizza Hut.

His move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting, saw him being cast as goofy and endearing Micheal Kelso in the television smash hit, That '70s Show. This proved to be his launchpad into the movie world where after doing brief stints in Down to You and the Reindeer Games, he landed up with his first major role in Dude, Where's my Car?. This turned out to be a major box office success earning nearly $100 million worldwide.

After his success with comedy, Ashton tried his hand at more serious roles in films like Texas Rangers. However the return to comedy was evident as he went on to star in the movie The Boss's Daughter and the moderately successful movie Just Married opposite Brittany Murphy. One of his most dramatic movies was The Butterfly Effect. Released in 2004, the psychological thriller received mixed reviews but subsequently turned out to be a box office success.

Even as his movies seemed to do well, Ashton Kutcher also found success on the small screen as a producer. He is the executive producer of the successful reality television shows like Beauty and the Geek, Adventures in Hollywood and The Real Wedding Crashers. In 2003 he starred and produced a reality series on MTV called Punk'd which involved hidden cameras and celebrities. He has a production company named Katalyst films owned jointly with star Jason Goldberg.

His upcoming projects include the movie Five Killers where he plays a hitman.

Personal Life

Ashton Kutcher is married to actress Demi Moore who is fifteen years older to him. The couple were married in a Jewish traditional ceremony which was conducted by the rabbi of the Kabbalah centre in 2005. Both Ashton and Demi are followers of the controversial Kabbalah centre which claims to preach Kabbalah, a form of Judaism. Prior to his marriage Ashton had dated actresses January Jones, Ashley Scott and Brittany Murphy.

In addition to acting and producing, Ashton Kutcher has also invested in restaurants in Los Angeles and is the creative director of production house, Ooma.