Ashton Kutcher

Ashton Kutcher was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Larry Kutcher (an employee of General Mills) and Diane (who worked for Procter & Gamble); he has Irish, Native American and Bohemian ancestry. Kutcher has an older sister, Tausha, and a fraternal twin, Michael, who suffers from cerebral palsy and had a heart transplant in his early teens.

Kutcher grew up on a farm in rural Homestead, Iowa. As a teen, he worked as a floor sweeper for a General Mills plant, and once donated blood for money. He attended Clear Creek-Amana high school, where he was an avid competitor in soccer and wrestling, and took part in every play the school staged. He was expelled from the school for underaged drinking and was arrested at age 18 for breaking into the school with a friend and stealing money from a vending machine. Kutcher majored in biochemical engineering and was a member of the Delta Chi fraternity at the University of Iowa. In 1997, he dropped out in order to pursue a modeling career, some of which involved working in underwear ads. Because there were already several well-known models named Chris, Kutcher was asked to use "Ashton" as his professional name.