The Cast of 'That ’70s Show,' Then and Now

Mila Kunis, lest we forget, played Jackie Burkhart, the prima donna of the group and Michael Kelso’s girlfriend for the first two seasons – before she moved on to Stephen Hyde and then eventually Fez. It’s entirely apt, then, that Kunis hooked up with Kelso actor Ashton Kutcher in real life, too: the pair married in July 2015 and have two kids together.

Funny foreigner Fez spent most of his time on screen swooning over girls, sometimes to morally dubious effect. Wilmer Valderrama, though, has been considerably more successful with the ladies than his That ’70s Show alter ego, with the actor having been romantically linked to the likes of Mandy Moore, Lindsay Lohan, and Demi Lovato, to name but a few.

Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon) was more than the typical girl next door. After all, she possessed both beauty and brains and, on more than one occasion, proved herself a force to be reckoned with. And while it took a little while for Prepon to hitch herself regularly to another popular show, she finally did it in 2013.

Being the perfect working wife and mother isn’t easy, and Kitty Forman dealt with the pressures by wielding, from time to time, a drink and some cutting sarcasm. The generally doting mom was played by Debra Jo Rupp, who went on to star in the short-lived ABC sitcom Better with You.

Tough-talking WWII veteran dad Red Forman kept the kids – particularly the unfortunate Eric – in line during the series. It was a role that arguably boosted Kurtwood Smith’s career, too, but it’s worth noting that he’s never stopped working – before or since the show’s finale.

The Formans’ magnificently afroed neighbor Bob Pinciotti was seemingly always hungry – but the man who played him, Don Stark, wasn’t hungry for acting gigs once That ’70s Show ended.

As the self-absorbed and somewhat dim Michael Kelso, Ashton Kutcher provided some of the best comic relief in the series. Kutcher has proved to be somewhat savvier than Kelso when it comes to his career, though, landing small- and silver-screen roles aplenty since the show’s end.

Nerdy Eric Forman was predominantly the protagonist of That ’70s Show, with viewers often following him to the basement as he solicited his friends’ help for his latest conundrum. And it’s fair to say that the sci-fi-and comic book-loving member of the Forman family would have appreciated what Topher Grace has gone on to star in next.

Donna’s mother and Kitty’s bestie, Midge Pinciotti was a source of some fantasy to the lascivious and hormone-crazed neighborhood boys. Former Bond girl Tanya Roberts is the actress who played her as she wound down her career in Hollywood, eventually departing from the show in 2001, as her husband was suffering from a terminal illness.

Steven Hyde was Eric’s brother from another mother in the earliest episodes of the show, and he retained his anti-establishment streak throughout its run. But the character didn't merit a mention in the sequel series, That '90s Show — and you can probably guess why.

Tommy Chong was perhaps the obvious choice to play weed-dabbling Foto Hut owner Leo Chingkwake – and it was a role that the legendary marijuana advocate pulled off with aplomb. Perhaps more unusually, though, Chong has since excelled at shimmying his way into the semifinal of season 19 of Dancing with the Stars – a feat he pulled off in 2014.

Randy Pearson turned up in the last season of That ‘70s Show as both a budding romantic interest for Donna and a somewhat square new addition to the record store team. And while Josh Meyers hasn’t quite become an A-lister off the back of his brief time on the show, he’s still managed to grab roles in the likes of Are You There, Chelsea? and The Mindy Project.

Shannon Elizabeth had quite the movie and TV career behind her before she ever turned up in Point Place as overachiever – and eventual mom to Kelso’s child – Brooke Rockwell. Arguably her most iconic screen role to date is that of Nadia in the 1999 teen comedy American Pie.

As her last name suggests, Samantha Hyde arrived on the show as Hyde’s new wife – a drunken Las Vegas mistake that he forgot about until the consequences showed up on his doorstep. Jud Tylor’s brief spell in the series led her, though, to similarly high-profile TV shows.

Jackie’s mother Pam left the country for Mexico in order to avoid the embezzlement scandal that her father created but eventually returned to patch things up with her daughter in season six. And it was likely a bit of a coup to get a name such as Brooke Shields’ on board for the part.

Military man and troublemaker Casey Kelso stole Donna’s heart for a brief spell until both her father and Red got involved, eventually forcing a breakup between the two. Luke Wilson, however, hasn’t split with Hollywood just yet.

Mitch Miller was trouble from the start: from publishing a picture in the school newspaper of Fez and Kelso kissing to nearly fighting with Eric over Donna, he made enemies every way he turned. Seth Green, meanwhile, remains hugely popular – in Hollywood, at least.

“Crazy Caroline” certainly lived up to her nickname in the show, her paranoid nature leading her to suspect that Donna and Jackie were pursuing Fez. Allison Munn, for her part, has been considerably more restrained in most of the roles that followed her leaving the show.

When Hyde found out that the man he knew as his dad wasn’t his biological father, it was shocking. But when he learned that William Barnett was his father and he was actually biracial, it stunned audiences everywhere – and that’s not even to mention the revelation that Hyde had a half-sister.

Strong-willed Joanne Stupac swooped in to scoop up Bob once he and Midge got divorced, and let’s just say that she wasn’t shy about also butting heads with Red. After her departure from the show in season five, actress Mo Gaffney bagged the role of Marilyn Norris in The WB series Run of the House.

As we mentioned before, one of the biggest developments since the show's end has been the marriage between Kunis and Kutcher. It’s fair to say that their relationship was as much a slow burn as it was unconventional. 

Despite the five-year age gap, however, Kutcher and Kunis became friends. In fact, as Kutcher told Howard Stern in 2017, he even used to help Kunis with her science homework. And in the first season of That ’70s Show, the stars had to smooch on screen when their characters got together.

Speaking to People magazine in 2001, Kunis shared her memories about the aforementioned lip-locking. She said of Kutcher, “I was like, ‘Oh, he’s so cute. It’s the Calvin Klein model!’"

But despite Kutcher and Kunis playing love interests on screen, there was nothing to suggest that they would eventually become a thing in real life. Kutcher, for one, saw a string of Hollywood actresses during his time working on the show.

Meanwhile, in 2002 Kunis entered into a relationship with former child star Macaulay Culkin. And despite the fact that years had passed since Culkin had last appeared in the Home Alone franchise, his light was apparently still shining brightly when he and Kunis got together.

Then, after making the most of his A-list status, Kutcher eventually settled down in 2003 with one of the leading actresses of the 1990s: Demi Moore. Kutcher was 25 at the time, while the Ghost star was 41.

However, in 2010 tabloids began claiming that Kutcher had strayed from Moore on numerous occasions. And a year later, the once-happy couple decided to go their separate ways. In a diplomatic statement, Kutcher tweeted:

Coincidentally, this was also the same year that the public learned of Kunis and Culkin’s split. The couple had actually separated in 2010, although they had chosen to keep this development under wraps for as long as possible.

Despite these relationship traumas, however, Kutcher and Kunis’ respective careers thrived. And 2011 saw the actors find success with separate romantic comedies based on similar concepts. Kunis, for her part, starred alongside Justin Timberlake in Friends with Benefits.

And in 2012 Kutcher and Kunis got tongues wagging thanks to the number of times they were spotted sharing each other’s company. Initially, the stars claimed that their relationship was still purely platonic.

And during a 2016 interview on The Howard Stern Show, Kunis recalled the moment that she and Kutcher suddenly realized they were made for each other. She said:

Kunis then elaborated on how it had felt to see Kutcher that day. “I think, for the first time ever, he took my breath away,” she said. “I was like, ‘He’s good-looking.’” After that, the actress revealed, Kutcher had asked her to join him at his place for a party...

Then, after attending various family weddings as a couple, Kunis and Kutcher decided that they, too, wanted to walk down the aisle. In early 2014 E! News went on to confirm that the long-time pals had gotten engaged.

What’s more, the lovebirds shared the screen once again in 2014 when Kunis guested on Kutcher’s hit sitcom Two and a Half Men. In a very meta scene, Kunis’ character Vivian jokes:

But, of course, Kutcher was more than happy to be with Kunis. And this was proved in 2015 when the two became husband and wife at a ceremony that was shrouded in secrecy. Kutcher told Ellen DeGeneres:

However, it’s perhaps a wonder that Kutcher and Kunis ever got hitched at all, given the pair’s previous opinions on the subject. Kunis explained to Stern:

Moreover, Kunis revealed that she and Kutcher have always been “incredibly open” about their feelings toward each other. And she admitted, too, that she’s glad they took the time to transform their relationship.

In 2016 Kutcher and Kunis added to their family with the birth of a son, whom they named Dimitri. And when Kutcher appeared on Ellen that year, he revealed that their firstborn couldn’t have been more delighted with the new arrival.

Plus, during the same interview, Kutcher decided to pay tribute to his wife’s natural abilities as a parent. He told DeGeneres:

But Kutcher and Kunis haven’t just told various talk show hosts how in love they are; they’ve proved it in public, too. Yes, it’s fair to say that the Hollywood couple isn’t afraid of a bit of PDA.

In fact, Kutcher and Kunis can’t seem to attend a sporting event without showing the cameras just how much they adore each other. In 2016 the pair were the picture of romance as they enjoyed the Dodgers’ game.

Plus, Kutcher and Kunis aren’t averse to the odd romantic gesture, either. Take Kunis’ first pregnancy, for instance, when Kutcher ensured that his partner’s unusual cravings would always be catered to by filling a “secondary fridge” with weird and wonderful food items.

However, not every act of romance may bowl the recipient over, as the Hollywood couple probably know. Take the RV that Kunis purchased as a birthday surprise for Kutcher, for example, which the pair had decided to use for their post-nuptials getaway with Kutcher’s parents.

Yes, just a few hours into the journey – and when the outside temperature was 110 degrees – the RV’s air conditioning went kaput. Then, on day two, the couple had to walk three miles while Kutcher’s father drove, and Apple Maps took them onto a mountainside fire road.

Another romantic mishap occurred in 2019. Kutcher decided to treat his wife of four years to a thoughtful Valentine’s Day gift, but he had no idea just how much it would backfire!

While a pair of birds may seem like a curious Valentine’s gesture, the gift does have particular significance when it comes to the Kutcher-Kunis clan. Kunis told DeGeneres, you see, that she and her two kids, Wyatt and Dimitri, had spent time together birdwatching from the window in their kitchen.

It’s perhaps easy to see why Kunis was delighted and touched by Kutcher’s thoughtful gift, then. However, it turns out that the Hollywood actor perhaps hadn’t done as much research as he should have before heading to the pet shop.

Hilariously, Kunis explained that the expert had informed her and her husband that the so-called lovebirds weren’t actually lovebirds at all. They were, in fact, parakeets.

Yes, DeGeneres was spot on about the disparity in cost between the animals. Anyone looking to take home a parakeet should expect to pay anywhere between $10 and $35 at the average pet store.

To be fair to Kutcher, though, the type of parakeet that he had accidentally ended up bringing home – the budgerigar – does look rather similar to the lovebird that he had meant to buy.

But Kutcher’s well-intentioned trip to the pet store wasn’t entirely in vain. After all, Kunis told DeGeneres’ audience that she still very much appreciated the effort to which her loving husband had gone.

Plus, by the sound of it, Kunis is actually just as enamored with the budgies as she would have been with a pair of lovebirds. The Bad Moms star explained:

Incidentally, the pets that Kutcher acquired purely as a result of a lack of research aren’t entirely inappropriate for an occasion such as Valentine’s Day.

What’s more, Kunis and Kutcher have certainly had fun with the not-so-romantic Valentine’s gift. Kunis told DeGeneres that she and her husband often joke about how affectionate the two parakeets are with each other, for example.

It’s also fair to say that the mishap wasn’t all Kutcher’s fault. The actor had received some poor advice from the pet store that he had chosen to visit, after all.

But, of course, Kutcher may well have avoided the entire misunderstanding if he had just stuck to the type of Valentine’s treats that Kunis had requested earlier on in their relationship.

Kunis continued, “So, flowers are nice. Chocolates — who doesn’t like chocolate? Super stereotypical.” And, fully embracing the true spirit of the romantic holiday, the Black Swan star also added:

However, Kutcher’s Valentine’s Day gift fail doesn’t appear to have affected his relationship in the long run. Less than two weeks after the February holiday, he and Kunis attended a highly exclusive post-Oscars bash.

Perhaps, then, the lovebirds – or rather parakeets – seem to have done the trick, since the Oscars party marked Kutcher and Kunis’ first official public appearance together in 15 months.

Of course, the TV-couple-turned-real-life-couple is still going strong and even returned to their TV roots in 2023. The duo made an appearance on That '90s Show, a sequel to the sitcom that made them famous, as their original characters, Jackie and Kelso.