8 Celebrities You Never Knew Were Of Ukrainian Origin

As it turned out, many celebrities' families had to flee the harsh Soviet regime to find their place under the sun. Probably, it was a good idea, as now we have lots of talented and inspirational stars. But, who knows, what would've been if their relatives hadn't escaped the USSR? Here's the list of celebrities who have a connection to one of the former Soviet Union countries, Ukraine.

8 Milla Jovovich

Everyone knows Milla Jovovich, right? But do you know Milica Bogdanovna Jovovich? That was her name before she became a Hollywood star. For those who don't know, Bogdanovna is her patronymic name, which is quite common among the Eastern European Slavs. Milla was born in the Ukrainian SSR (yes, Ukrainian part of the Soviet Union) in 1975, in Kyiv, and yet, her official website states she's Montenegrian. Her father was a medical doctor in Kyiv, and he's Serbian; her mother was a famous actress in the USSR, and she's Russian, born in Ukraine. Her family moved to the US when she was five, and the new life wasn't easy, "The kids made fun of me because of my name and my background. They got freaked out that I wasn't American. I was called a Commie and a Russian spy. I was never, ever, ever accepted into the crowd. So, I learned to be by myself, and to cherish the time spent in my own world," she shares with her memories on her official website.

Still, the star was not upset, "For what our family had to achieve, we had to advance very quickly. I knew I had a job to do. I could see my future beyond school and the kids who teased me. I never came home from school crying. I didn't have time. My days were totally filled up," she said to PurpleFashion magazine. Interestingly, Milla speaks French, Serbian, and Russian, but not Ukrainian. She confessed to Vogue UA that she barely remembers her childhood in Ukraine, as she mostly lived in Moscow. However, she shared a post on Instagram, stating, "My country and people being bombed." She also put a link on her handle with the information about funds that help Ukraine in the current situation.

7 Dustin Hoffman

The first idea that comes to mind is that Dustin Hoffman is a Jew. Right, but he belongs to an Ashkenazi Jewish family of immigrants from Kyiv, which was part of the Russian Empire, which today is Ukraine. Hoffman took part in the Finding Your Roots program and found completely shocking information. His grandmother was conditionally sentenced to a concentration camp in Ukraine for five years. Yet, the famous actor identifies himself as a Jew. "People ask me today: 'What are you?' I say, 'I'm a Jew,'" he said in the program.

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6 Vera Farmiga

Do you remember her magnetic sight in The Conjuring movie franchise? We bet you gazed into her eyes. Anyway, Farmiga identifies herself as Ukrainian-American. "I went to Ukrainian Catholic school, all my extracurricular activities were within the Ukrainian community, I even became a professional Ukrainian folk dancer," she said to The Guardian. She was raised in the Ukrainian-speaking enclave by first-generation immigrants, her Ukrainian parents, Luba, and Michael. By the way, she didn't speak English (even though she was born in the US) until she was six. Also, her family is huge; there are seven (!) children in the family, and all of them have typical Slavic names: Victor, Stepan, Alexander, Nadya, Larisa, and Taissa (she's also a famous actress. Taissa was starring in American Horror Story (2011), The Bling Ring (2013), The Final Girls (2015), and more). So, Vera is fluent in English (obviously) and Ukrainian.

5 Mila Kunis

Mila Kunis, or Milena Markovna Kunis, was born in a Jewish family in Chernivtsi, in Southeastern Ukraine. However, her family fled Soviet Ukraine in 1991 because of anti-Semitism. "My grandparents were in the Holocaust [they survived, but other relatives weren't as lucky], and I'm very much part of that story," cites Independent. Mila remembers seeing anti-Semitic graffiti in her school and shared, "This is a country that obviously does not want you." The Black Swan star identifies herself as a Jew, as her parents "raised [her] Jewish as much as they could" (even though religion was prohibited in the USSR). But the adaptation to the new country was complex; Mila was 7 years old. She couldn't speak English at first, "I cried every day. I didn't understand the culture. I didn't understand the people," shares the star. Yet, her parents decided to send her to acting classes, and, as we all know, that was Mila's gold ticket. By the way, recently, she (together with Ashton Kutcher) posted a video of support to Ukraine and called people to collect up to $3 mln in donations to support Ukrainian refugees.

RELATED: The 8 Highest-Grossing Mila Kunis Movies, Ranked

4 Steven Spielberg

One of the wealthiest filmmakers in the world, Spielberg, was born in the US. Yet, he comes from an Orthodox Jewish family, and his grandparents from his father's side are from Ukraine. To be more precise, his grandfather is from Kamianets-Podilskyi, and his grandmother is from Sudylkiv. They settled in Cincinnati in the first decade of the 1900s. His relatives also died during the Holocaust in Poland and Ukraine. Spielberg suffered anti-Semitism in his childhood, which obviously affected his self-identification. His film, "Shindler's List," is one of the ways to fight anti-Semitism and pay attention to the Holocaust. He also directed a documentary film, "Spell Your Name," with Victor Pinchuk; it's about the Holocaust in Ukraine; the Babi Yar massacre during WW2.

3 David Duchovny

The X-Files star was born in the US to a family of Jewish immigrants from Ukraine. His paternal grandfather was born in Berdychiv, in the Russian Empire, which is Ukraine today. His family moved from The Soviet Union, fearing Stalin's repression. Interestingly, until the Euromaidan didn't happen, David was sure he was Russian. But "it's never late to change," right?

RELATED: 10 Ways The Ukraine Crisis Could Affect The Global Economy

2 Katheryn Winnick

An actress, director, and producer starring in Vikings, Emmy's award-winning TV series is of Ukrainian descent. Even though she was born in Canada, her first language was Ukrainian, and only at 8 years did she start speaking English. She also attended Ukrainian school on Saturdays, but she's happy with that. "It gave me a sense of history and a sense of pride of being Ukrainian," she said to People, adding that her "family is "very proud" of their heritage and continues to celebrate their roots."

1 Sylvester Stallone

The Rockie star has Italian and Jewish roots. But to be more precise, his maternal grandparents were Odessan Jews; at that time, Odessa was part of the Russian Empire, but today, it's Ukraine. His relatives flee the country because of the pogroms. Interestingly, in the US, his mother became a famous and successful astrologist, and her job helped her find her Ukrainian relatives. Several sources believe she made a personal horoscope for Mikhail Gorbachev, the final leader of the USSR, who helped her find her Ukrainian relatives in exchange. The Soviet-era KGB found a Ukrainian businessman, Valery Kravchenko, the owner of the first private petrol filling station in the Soviet Union. His paternal grandmother, Yevdokia, was a blood relative of Sylvester Stallone's maternal great-grandmother, Rose Labofish.

READ NEXT: Ashton Kutcher & Mila Kunis To Match Up To $3 Million In Donations For Ukraine

Sources: IMDb, Slavorum.org, Scmp.com,

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