Mila Kunis Says She Was 'Told Never to Talk About' Her Jewish Faith While Growing Up

26/12/2024 19:56

While the actress, who was born in Ukraine, "grew up doing nothing" in terms of her Jewish faith, her family does practice some of the religious aspects now

Mila Kunis is opening up about her Jewish faith in adulthood versus during her childhood.

The actress, 41, joined Noa Tishby in a video published Thursday, Dec. 26, where they lit a candle to mark the second night of Hanukkah and discussed her experience with Judaism from the time she was a child in Ukraine.

"I grew up doing nothing," she said of not practicing any religious traditions as a kid in Ukraine, before she moved to the United States with her family at age 8 in the early 1990s.

"I always knew I was Jewish, but I was told never to talk about it," Kunis continued. "I think because I was in a country that didn't allow for religion."

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Kunis and husband Ashton Kutcher have incorporated more religious practices into their home now, and their two kids, daughter Wyatt, 10, and son Dimitri, 8, are involved too.

"I was raised culturally Jewish, so for me it's a culture," said the actress. "And as I had kids, and my kids very much identify with the religion aspect of it, I was like, okay, I guess we'll do [Shabbat] and we'll do the candles."

"There's so much beautiful tradition in it," Kunis added.

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Asked by Tishby for an example of something that is culturally Jewish in her family, Kunis joked, "Guilt. Guilt. I was raised with a lot of guilt, all the time. Superstition and guilt."

But also, "I think I have a fear of not having enough food," said the Family Guy voice actress. "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 is it just something that's embedded in me," she added.

Noa Tishby's web series will continue with more celebrity guests every day at 11 a.m. ET throughout the eight nights of Hanukkah. Gwyneth Paltrow was featured on the first episode.