He first burst onto our screens as the loveable Kelso in retro sitcom That 70s Show, winning over fans with his humour, good looks and refusal to take himself too seriously. "I am only young once," he used to say. "Who cares if I'm a goofball".
The 'goofball' is now worth an estimated $200 million, made from his acting career and high tech investment portfolio, which includes Skype, Foursquare and Airbnb.
As well as appearing in various box office hits, he replaced Charlie Sheen as the star of hit sitcom Two and a Half Men. Ashton was the also first Twitter user to reach one million followers, which he celebrated by donating $100,000 to a malaria charity.
And in 2010, Time Magazine named him one of their Top 100 Most Influential People.
His early life
Christopher Ashton Kutcher – now professionally known by middle name Ashton – was born minutes ahead of his fraternal twin brother Michael to factory workers Larry and Diane Kutcher in Iowa. In his teens, he was dealt two painful blows – his parents divorced and his brother had emergency heart transplant surgery following a virus. "If I could give him my heart so that he could live, I would have," he later told People magazine.
Through the tough times, during which Ashton got into trouble with the police for shoplifting, he continued to pursue his interest in acting, appearing in several school productions. Academia took over, however, and his thespian passion was put on the backburner as he studied biochemical engineering at the University of Iowa.
To finance his education, Ashton held a number of odd jobs, including sweeping up cereal dust at a General Mills factory. But, in a turn of events that changed his life forever, he was approached by a talent scout in 1997. This came as a surprise to the handsome young man: "I didn't even know guys modelled before that. And I really didn't fit the bill."
He went on to win the 'Fresh Faces of Iowa' modelling contest. This took him to New York City where he landed high-profile modelling gigs for Calvin Klein and Abercrombie & Fitch. Now that he had a platform, acting was back in his sights and Ashton set about making a name for himself in the fiercely competitive industry.
His acting career
He worked hard to make it big, famously saying: "I don't believe that old cliché that good things come to those who wait. I think good things come to those who want something so bad they can't sit still". This mantra paid off for the ambitious young man, and in 1998 he landed his breakthrough role alongside Mila Kunis on That 70s Show, which aired for eight seasons.
A variety of successful movies followed including What Happens In Vegas with Cameron Diaz, The Guardian with Kevin Costner, A Lot Like Love, Valentine’s Day and the cult hit Dude, Where’s My Car. In 2006, he turned his hand to producing and presenting with Punk’d. The MTV show played practical jokes on celebrities and filmed them using hidden cameras before Ashton popped out for the big reveal.
His personal life
His profile was raised even further by marriage to Hollywood goddess Demi Moore, who was 15 years his senior and had three daughters with ex-husband Bruce Willis. Before his union with the G.I. Jane star, there were brief romances with Brittany Murphy – with whom he starred in Just Married – and Mad Men's January Jones.
The couple married in 2005, in a Kabbalah ceremony which was attended by celebrity friends including Demi's ex-husband. He once addressed their much talked-about age gap, saying: "I really believe in the Freudian idea that every man wants a woman who's like his mother".
Sadly, in 2011, the marriage was rocked by speculation of infidelity, and the duo announced their divorce. Ashton began dating Mila Kunis a longstanding friend, whom he met on the set of That '70s Show, as a teenager.
In February 2014, he proposed and seven months later she gave birth to their first child, a little girl called Wyatt. They are also doting parents to a son called Dimitri whom they welcomed into the world in November 2016.
