Mila Kunis was born Milena Markovna Kunis on August 14, 1983 in Kiev, Ukraine, the birthplace of another familiar actress, Milla Jovovich. Her father, Mark, was a mechanical engineer, and her mother, Elvira, a physics teacher. At the time of Mila's birth, Ukraine still formed part of the Soviet Union, and political turmoil surrounded Mila throughout her childhood years. In 1990, Ukraine gained its sovereignty, and the Kunis parents moved to Los Angeles, seeking a more stable environment in which to raise their children.

It didn't take Mila long to become proficient at her new tongue, and at the age of nine, her father registered her in after-school acting classes at the Beverly Hills Studio. Mila took to acting quickly, and acting took to her. At one of the Studio's public showcases, Mila was approached by entertainment manager Susan Curtis, who offered to take her on. Soon thereafter, Mila made her debut national television appearances: first, on a Payless ShoeSource commercial, and then on an episode of the daytime soap Days of Our Lives. Over the next several years leading up to 1998, Mila made appearances in a diverse collection of productions. Guest spots on television programs Baywatch, Walker, Texas Ranger and 7th Heaven were accompanied by a bit role in the 1998 Richard Dreyfuss comedy Krippendorf's Tribe. She also appeared in the 1995 made-for-TV movie Piranha, 1997's Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves and the 1996 Hulk Hogan vehicle, Santa with Muscles. The young Mila was also the focus of a Guess? clothing ad campaign.

Mila's break as an actress came in 1998, when she was cast as the young Gia in the HBO film of the same name (Angelina Jolie played the adult version of the character). The broadcast was well received, and Mila made the jump from bit actor to a familiar face in the entertainment industry. That same year, she auditioned for a part on a new Fox series, Teenage Wasteland. Although she was only 14 at the time (she told the producers she was 18), Mila won the part of the character Jackie, on the show that would be renamed That '70s Show.