Ashton Kutcher

Christopher Ashton Kutcher was born on February 7, 1978, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Diane Kutcher, a Procter & Gamble employee, and Larry M. Kutcher, a factory worker. He has Czech, German, and Irish ancestry and was raised in a Catholic household. Kutcher has an older sister named Tausha and a fraternal twin brother named Michael, who has cerebral palsy and underwent a heart transplant when the brothers were young. Michael's condition created significant stress in the family home, and Kutcher has spoken about contemplating suicide at age 13 with the intention of donating his heart to his brother, an act his father dissuaded him from shortly before a donor became available.

Kutcher attended Washington High School in Cedar Rapids before his family relocated to Homestead, Iowa, where he enrolled at Clear Creek–Amana High School. During his senior year, he was arrested after breaking into his high school with a cousin in an attempt to steal money. He was convicted of third-degree burglary and sentenced to three years of probation and 180 hours of community service. He subsequently enrolled at the University of Iowa in August 1996, intending to study biochemical engineering in hopes of finding a cure for his brother's heart condition. While at the university, he was discovered by a model scout at The Airliner bar in Iowa City and entered the "Fresh Faces of Iowa" modeling competition. Placing first, he won a trip to New York City's International Modeling and Talent Association Convention. To cover tuition costs during this period, he worked at a General Mills plant in Cedar Rapids and sold blood plasma.

Following the IMTA competition in 1998, Kutcher signed with Next modeling agency in New York and appeared in Calvin Klein commercials, also modeling in Paris and Milan. His first acting audition led to his relocation to Los Angeles, where he was cast as Michael Kelso in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show, a role he held from 1998 to 2006. His film debut came in the romantic comedy Coming Soon in 1999, followed by the box office success Dude, Where's My Car? in 2000. He appeared in Just Married and My Boss's Daughter in 2003, and that same year created, produced, and hosted MTV's Punk'd, serving as host for the first eight of its ten seasons. In 2004, he starred in the science fiction film The Butterfly Effect, and in 2006 contributed a voice role to the animated film Open Season.

Kutcher continued working in romantic comedies throughout the mid-2000s, appearing in Guess Who and A Lot Like Love in 2005, What Happens in Vegas in 2008, and No Strings Attached in 2011. In May 2011, he was announced as the replacement for Charlie Sheen on the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men, portraying the character Walden Schmidt. His debut episode on September 19, 2011, drew 28.7 million viewers, a figure larger than any episode from the show's previous eight seasons. He earned $750,000 per episode, and the series concluded with a finale on February 19, 2015. In 2013, Kutcher portrayed Steve Jobs in the biographical film Jobs. He subsequently led the Netflix sitcom The Ranch from 2016 to 2020 and appeared in the comedy thriller Vengeance in 2022.

Among his accolades are a People's Choice Award, fifteen Teen Choice Awards, and a nomination for a Screen Actors Guild Award. Beyond performance, Kutcher co-founded the venture capital firm A-Grade Investments and announced its successor, Sound Ventures, at SXSW in March 2015. He has invested in numerous high-technology startups and runs the production company Katalyst Films with partner Jason Goldberg, through which many of his producing credits originate.

Kutcher's Broadway work includes a participation in The 24 Hour Plays in 2004 and a Broadway appearance in 2009.