Hollywood actors with family roots in Ukraine

The war in Ukraine concerns people all over the world. It is especially difficult for those who have family in the attacked country. Did you know that there are quite a few actors and actresses in Hollywood with Ukrainian heritage? Some were born in Ukraine themselves, while others have more distant ties. Check it out!

Milena Markovna Kunis, or Mila Kunis as we all know her, was born on August 14, 1984 in the Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi. At the time, Ukraine belonged to the Soviet Union. In 1991 she moved with her family to Los Angeles.

She gained fame with the TV series 'That '70s Show', (where she met Ashton Kutcher, her current husband), and she's also known for over a dozen films, such as 'Black Swan', 'Ted', 'A Bad Moms Christmas' and 'The Spy Who Dumped Me.'

Her real name is Militza Bogdanovna and she was born in Kiev, Ukrainian SSR on December 17th 1975. In 1980, when Milla was 5 years old, her family left the Soviet Union for political reasons and moved to London. They finally settled in Los Angeles.

At the age of 11 she started her modeling career, shooting ads for Revlon. She also did campaigns for renowned brands such as L'Oréal, Christian Dior, Donna Karan and Versace. Soon enough, the young girl started acting in films. Milla Jovovich is known for the 'Zoolander' and 'Resident Evil' movies, among others.

Isaac Liev Schreiber, born on October 4, 1967 in San Francisco, California, has many origins. One of them is Ukrainian through his maternal grandfather. The actor's name Liev is actually an adaptation of the Ukrainian name Lev.

He is known as a producer, director, writer and actor. In the '90s and 2000s he became known for the 'Scream' trilogy. In addition, he appeared in 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' and 'The 5th Wave,' among others.

Vera Ann Farmiga was born in Clifton, New Jersey, on August 6, 1973. Her parents are Ukrainian and they raised her under a strict Ukrainian Catholic upbringing. In fact, Farmiga did not speak English until she was 6 years old. She also used to tour with a Ukrainian folk dance company when she was a child.

Her first job was in a TV series called 'Roar,' together with the late Heath Ledger. Afterwards, she participated in films such as 'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,' 'Orphan,' and 'Up in the Air,' for which she received an Oscar nomination. Finally, people may know her as Mrs. Norma Bates, Freddie Highmore's mom in 'Bates Motel.'

Leonard Simon Nimoy was born on March 26, 1931 in Boston, Massachusetts. His parents were Ukrainian Jews from the city of Iziaslav who had fled the country separately in the 1920s. They spoke Yiddish at home.

Nimoy was an actor, director, poet and photographer. His most famous role was that of Mr. Spock in the television series 'Star Trek' and its spin-offs, where he started to appear in the 1960s. He won several awards and has an asteroid belt, 4864 Nimoy, named after him. Nimoy died in 2015.

Dustin Lee Hoffman was born in Los Angeles, August 8, 1937. His family is Ashkenazi Jewish and has roots in Kyiv (Ukraine) and Iași (Romania).

He began his career in the 1960s with several TV series. When he appeared in the 1967 film 'The Graduate,' Hoffman got his first Oscar nomination and his career skyrocketed. The actor's extensive filmography includes 'Kramer vs. Kramer' and Rain Man, both awarded with an Oscar, 'All the President's Men,' 'Tootsie,' 'Hook,' and other classics.

Olga Konstantinovna Kurylenko was born on November 14, 1979 in Berdyansk, Ukraine SSR. While growing up there, she studied art and languages while studying piano at a music school in Berdyansk for seven years. Kurylenko also went to a ballet studio until she was 13.

As a teenager, she was scouted by a modeling agency in Moscow. She moved to Paris to pursue her career as a model and also began starring in films in the early 2000s. Kurylenko became the Bond girl of the movie 'Quantum of Solace' in 2011 and starred in 'Oblivion' (2013) alongside Tom Cruise. More recently, she played the role of Taskmaster in 'Black Widow.'

David William Duchovny was born in New York on August 7th, 1960. His paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Ukraine.

After getting his degrees at Princeton and Yale, Duchovny began his acting career with a small role in the film 'Kalifornia' alongside Bratt Pitt and Juliette Lewis. After a few other films and series, he got his big breakthrough Agent Mulder in the sci-fi series 'The X-Files.' Later in his career, Duchovny had his own comedy, 'Californication,' and he returned in an 'X-Files' remake.

Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone was born in New York July 6, 1946. He's of Italian and Ukrainian descent. His mother's side of the family comes from Odessa.

Stallone worked on several small films until he got his famous role as Rocky Balboa in 'Rocky' (1976). He also starred in 'Rambo', 'First Blood,' 'The Expendables,' and many more.

Katheryn Winnick was born in Toronto, Canada, on December 17, 1977. Her parents are Ukrainian and she is fluent in the language. Besides Ukrainian, she speaks Russian, French, Italian and English.

As a girl, Winnick was trained in martial arts. She got her first black belt at the age of 13. Thanks to her fighting expertise, she began training actors and actresses before finally making it onto the screen herself. Among her TV roles, the most important has been that of Lagertha in 'Vikings.'

This actor hardly needs an introduction, but how many people would know he has Ukrainian origins? Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio was born on 11 November 1974 in Los Angeles. He has not only German and Italian roots, but his maternal grandmother, Yelena Smirnova, was a native of Odessa.

He began his career as a child actor in several TV series such as 'Growing Pains.' In 1997 he starred in one of the highest grossing and award-winning films 'Titanic.' But that was only the beginning. DiCaprio is known for films like 'The Beach,' 'Catch Me If You Can,' and 'The Revenant' which earned him an Oscar and a Golden Globe.

Steven Allan Spielberg was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on December 18, 1946. His grandparents were Ukrainian Jews.

Spielberg is one of Hollywood's most famous directors. It started as early as the '70s with 'Jaws' and then the '80s with 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial' and 'Indiana Jones.' He won Oscars for the direction of two World War II movies: 'Schindler's List' (1993) and 'Saving Private Ryan' (1998) while being nominated for 11 others.