Mila Kunis was told “never” to talk about her Judaism.
Mila Kunis
The actress, 41, who has been married to fellow Hollywood star Ashton Kutcher, also 41, for nearly a decade, was born in Ukraine and immigrated to Los Angeles when she was eight years old.
She has now told in an interview with writer and activist Noa Tishby, 49, who she joined for the second night of Hanukkah on 26 December – and to highlight the author’s pro-Judaism #BringOnTheLight campaign – how she was ordered not to open up about her faith growing up.
She said: “I always knew I was Jewish, but I was told to never talk about it.”
When Noa asked her for the reason behind being ordered to be silent about her faith, Mila added she was in a “country that didn’t allow for religion”.
She went on: “I was raised culturally Jewish, so for me, it’s a culture, and as I had kids, and my kids very much identify with the religion aspect of it.”
Mila has daughter Wyatt Isabelle, 10, and son Dimitri Portwood, eight, with Ashton, and she celebrates Shabbos and Jewish holidays with her kids.
She also said Ashton is part of her religion “by choice”, adding: “I fell in love with my religion because he explained it to me.”
Mila added due to her Jewish upbringing, food plays a huge role in how she approaches motherhood.
Sher said: “I have a fear of not having enough food. My fear of someone being hungry. Like, the worst thing my kids can say to me is, ‘I’m hungry’.
“Food fixes everything. You’re tired? Eat some food. You’re cranky? Eat some food.
“A health person’s gonna say this is unhealthy and we’re doing something wrong, and I understand.
“I’m working on it. But it is just something that’s embedded in me.”
Mila also admitted she was burdened with “guilt” from her youth due to her faith, adding: “I was raised with a lot of guilt. All the time. I mean, superstition and guilt.”
