The Transformation Of Ashton Kutcher From That '70s Show To Now

Ashton Kutcher began his acting career with the huge television hit "That '70s Show," playing Michael Kelso in 183 episodes between 1998 and 2006. However, before Kutcher became a TV star, he was just a college student named Christopher at the University of Iowa. It was while he was a student that a scout approached him and he began modeling.

In 1997, Kutcher won the Fresh Faces of Iowa modeling contest, which sent him heading to New York where he signed with a modeling agency. Although he may have once planned on being a biochemical engineer, Kutcher wound up dropping out of college and moving to California to pursue a career in acting. At 19 he landed the role of Michael Kelso on "That '70s Show" in his first week of auditioning.

While Kutcher never truly found a place on the A-list, he has been successful with both movies, television, and as a producer. There is more to Kutcher's success than a career in the entertainment industry. He has a big life and wears many hats while exploring his various interests. Kutcher is an investor, philanthropist, humanitarian, husband, father, brother, and son. While Kutcher has transformed before our eyes from the goofy yet attractive Kelso, he has kept his charm and reputation for being one of the nicest guys in Hollywood.

Ashton Kutcher began making movies shortly after landing the role of Kelso on "That '70s Show" in 1998. At first, he had a couple of minor supporting roles, but in 2000, Kutcher landed a lead role as Jesse in "Dude, Where's My Car," a stoner comedy about two friends who wake up after a night of partying, unable to remember where they left their car. While the film wasn't a critical success, it was profitable.

Three years later, Kutcher co-starred with Brittany Murphy in "Just Married," discovering romantic comedies just might be his niche. The two young actors dated briefly after filming wrapped, and while it was a short-lived romance, their natural chemistry helped make the movie commercially successful. In 2004, Kutcher played Evan in the sci-fi thriller "The Butterfly Effect." While the film wasn't exactly a blockbuster, it too was profitable. In 2004 Kutcher starred with Amanda Peet in the rom-com "A Lot Like Love," the highest budget film he had made yet. Although it still made money, it didn't have as high of a margin as his earlier films.

Kutcher was in 11 movies while starring in "That '70s Show" and making a handful of guest appearances on other television shows, keeping him busy while making the jump from television to film. Although Kutcher hadn't been in any big blockbusters or won any esteemed awards, it was becoming clear Kutcher was a reliable box-office draw with a faithful fanbase.

After leaving "That '70s Show" in 2006, Ashton Kutcher continued making movies. Between 2006 and 2014, he was in 11 movies. He tried out different genres, from drama to action films and even a biopic. His first project following "That '70s Show" was a drama written and directed by Emilio Estevez about Bobby Kennedy's assassination. "Bobby" starred Demi Moore, Anthony Hopkins, and Harry Belafonte alongside an excellent supporting cast.

Kutcher then branched out from comedies and rom-coms into action when he played a hot-shot coast guard rescue swimmer with Kevin Costner in "The Guardian." Unfortunately for Costner and Kutcher, the movie wasn't the blockbuster the studio had expected, but it earned a return on the $70 million budget. Kutcher followed up this disappointment with a reliable rom-com two years later, "What Happens in Vegas," in which he co-starred with Cameron Diaz. Although the comedy was predictable, it was funny and commercially successful.

Kutcher appeared in the ensemble rom-com "Valentine's Day" in 2010 as a florist who gets dumped by his girlfriend after he proposes. In 2011 Kutcher starred with Natalie Portman in "No Strings Attached," a film about two people who first met as teenagers at summer camp only to become involved in a casual, friends-with-benefits situation years later. In 2013, Kutcher took a risk, playing completely out of his wheelhouse when he took on the role of Steve Jobs in the film "Jobs." This biopic, which follows the college dropout who started Apple from his parents' Los Altos garage, was a big swing for Kutcher, although it was met with mixed reviews.

In April 2012, Jackie and Kelso got back together! According to Elite Daily, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis reconnected at a Golden Globes party shortly after they both became single after their respective long-term relationships ended. They had their first off-screen kiss after the Golden Globes, but since they were both so freshly out of relationships, they kept it casual, like their similarly themed rom-coms, "No Strings Attached" and "Friends With Benefits." Kunis has even joked on WTF with Marc Maron that they "lived our movies out. We were just like, let's just hook up. Let's have fun. We're both single."

Of course, we all know how this story normally goes — someone catches feelings, and the fun is over. However, for Kutcher and Kunis, the feelings were mutual, and they moved in together in April 2012. In December 2012, Kutcher finally filed for divorce from Demi Moore after being separated for nearly a year. In February 2014, their engagement went public when People reported Kutcher had asked Kunis to marry him.

In May 2014, Kunis announced on The Ellen Show that they were expecting their first child, but the couple opted to keep the due date and the sex of their child private until after their daughter was born. They were secretly married in July of the next year and welcomed a son in November 2016. Kutcher and Kunis are fairly private about their family life, but they share a passion for philanthropy and speak glowingly about each other, although often with a healthy dose of humor. In recent years the two have even appeared in some projects together, including a popular 2021 Super Bowl ad for Cheetos, a promo video for comedian Matt Rife's 2023 world tour, and a cameo appearance on Netflix's "That '90s Show" (more on that later).

Ashton Kutcher has been called Hollywood's largest investor in Silicon Valley, as he has invested in numerous start-ups, including Airbnb, Pinterest, Shazam, Skype, Spotify, Warby Parker, and Uber. Kutcher has built a reputation as an investor with an exemplary track record for success. In 2010 Kutcher joined forces with music executive Guy Oseary and investor Ron Burkle, founding A-Grade Investments. Forbes notes that during the six years they had been in business at the time, they "turned their $30 million fund into a cool $250 million."

As reported by Forbes, Kutcher and Oseary founded a new VC firm, Sound Ventures, in 2012, where they will invest $100 million from Liberty Media. At the time, Kutcher told Forbes, "If we don't make a dollar, but we change the world in a meaningful way because we solve real problems and we support great people and do our best to help, the returns are going to be the exhaust of that." Obviously, Kutcher's acting career has provided handsomely, but his interest in tech investment isn't just about the bottom line. He enjoys investing in the future and feeling like he contributes positively to our society.

He told Vox he enjoys investing in the future and seems to enjoy contributing positively to our society. Recently, that focus on the future has turned his attention to the recent advancements in artificial intelligence; in May 2023 he raised nearly $250 million for a fund dedicated to financing AI startups.

People notes that when Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore were married, they started the DNA Foundation to stop child sex trafficking. After the couple divorced, they renamed the foundation Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children. The nonprofit builds software given to law enforcement for free to identify victims of sex trafficking and the people participating in the sale and exploitation of children. Kutcher has been devoted to this cause for over a decade, and the efforts he makes through Thorn are making a difference. This technology helps identify sex trafficking victims and speeds up the rate at which law enforcement can protect the victim.

The 2021 impact report from Thorn shows their software, Spotlight, identified 3,977 victims in 2021, for 24,366 during the lifetime of the software. Over 2,700 law enforcement agencies are now using the technology provided by Thorn. The work Thorn is doing helps protect children from their abusers and removes damaging content from the internet. Kutcher is the co-founder and chairperson of Thorn. In 2017 Kutcher testified on Capitol Hill about child sex trafficking, and in 2022 he raised more than $1 million for Thorn while running the New York City Marathon. His dedication to this cause is a perfect example of his transformation from a young actor to a human rights advocate.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.

The reality series "Running Wild with Bear Grylls" features the British adventurer dragging various Hollywood celebrities along on his perilous treks, and the celebrities in turn open up about their lives and careers. In an August 2022 episode featuring Kutcher, he kayaks through the Costa Rican jungle, climbs a rope across a deep ravine, and most notably, reveals that two years earlier he was diagnosed with vasculitis, a rare autoimmune disease that targets the blood vessels. "[It] knocked out my vision," he told Grylls while the two trudged through a thicket of dead tree branches, "it knocked out my hearing. It knocked out, like, all my equilibrium." It took nearly a year for Kutcher to recover from his symptoms, he said. "Talk about strength through adversity," Grylls marvels.

Vasculitis is not only a rare disease, but it's also notoriously difficult to diagnose, as the symptoms often mimic those of other disorders. There are nearly 20 variations of it, and the symptoms will vary depending on where in the body the disease takes hold. There is no clear cause and no cure other than treatment. For some, vasculitis is a one-time illness, but for others, inflammations can be chronic. But Kutcher's experience has helped shine a light on the tricky disease, and more attention will hopefully lead to better understanding and treatment.