Ashton Kutcher

Christopher Ashton Kutcher, born February 7, 1978, is an American actor, film producer, and venture capitalist. He gained wide recognition for his television roles as Michael Kelso on That '70s Show and Walden Schmidt on Two and a Half Men. Throughout his career, he has accumulated several honors, including a People's Choice Award, fifteen Teen Choice Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination.

Kutcher was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Diane and Larry M. Kutcher, alongside an older sister and a fraternal twin brother. He attended Washington High School in Cedar Rapids and Clear Creek–Amana High School in Homestead, developing an interest in acting through school plays. In 1996, he enrolled at the University of Iowa to major in biochemical engineering, funding his studies through work at a General Mills plant and selling blood plasma. While at college, he won the Fresh Faces of Iowa modeling competition, leading him to sign with Next modeling agency in New York before moving to Los Angeles to pursue acting.

Kutcher began his television career in 1998 playing Michael Kelso in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show, a role he portrayed through 2006. In 2003, he created, produced, and hosted the MTV hidden-camera series Punk'd through his production company, Katalyst Films. Kutcher joined the cast of the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men in 2011, starring as Walden Schmidt until 2015. He later starred as Colt Bennett in the Netflix series The Ranch from 2016 to 2020 and made a guest appearance on That '90s Show.

Kutcher made his feature film debut in the 1999 romantic comedy Coming Soon, followed by the box office success Dude, Where's My Car? in 2000. He appeared in various romantic comedies including Just Married, My Boss's Daughter, Guess Who, A Lot Like Love, What Happens in Vegas, and No Strings Attached. His work in other film genres includes the science fiction drama The Butterfly Effect, the animated film Open Season, the action comedy Killers, the biographical drama Jobs as Steve Jobs, and the comedy thriller Vengeance.

Beyond entertainment, Kutcher established himself as an active venture capitalist and tech investor. He co-founded A-Grade Investments and later launched its successor, Sound Ventures, managing investments in companies such as Duolingo, ResearchGate, Lemonade, and Airbnb. His business activities also include working as a product engineer for Lenovo, serving as Creative Director for Ooma, launching media initiatives like A Plus, and investing in restaurant ventures and footwear companies.

Kutcher has engaged in various philanthropic initiatives, including co-founding an international human rights organization, later known as Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children, to address the sexual exploitation of children. In 2022, he co-launched a fundraising campaign to assist refugees from Ukraine. In 2026, Kutcher announced his departure from Sound Ventures to launch a new venture firm alongside former NFX general partner Morgan Beller.