Kutcher began his acting career portraying Michael Kelso in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show (1998–2006).

Kutcher starred in the science fiction film The Butterfly Effect (2004) and had a voice role in Open Season (2006).

Kutcher appeared in more romantic comedies, including Guess Who (2005), A Lot Like Love (2005), What Happens in Vegas (2008), and No Strings Attached (2011).

"[8] Kutcher stated that, when he was 13, he contemplated committing suicide to save his brother's life with a heart transplant; when he told his father he was considering jumping from a Cedar Rapids hospital balcony, his father dissuaded him from doing so shortly before doctors announced that a transplant had become available from an accident victim in another state.

During his senior year, he broke into his high school at midnight with his cousin in an attempt to steal money; he was arrested leaving the scene.

Kutcher stated that although the experience "straightened him out", he lost his girlfriend and anticipated college scholarships, and was ostracized at school and in his community.

[10] Kutcher enrolled at the University of Iowa in August 1996, where his planned major was biochemical engineering, motivated by the desire to cure his brother's heart ailment.

"[12] To earn tuition money, Kutcher worked as a college summer hire in the cereal department for the General Mills plant in Cedar Rapids and sometimes sold his blood plasma.

Placing first, he won a trip to New York City's International Modeling and Talent Association (IMTA) Convention.

Leaving Iowa for a stay in New York City, Kutcher then returned to Cedar Rapids, before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting.

In the 2004 drama film The Butterfly Effect, Kutcher played a conflicted young man who time travels.

[10] In 2003, Kutcher produced and starred as the host in his own series, MTV's Punk'd, that involved hidden camera tricks performed on celebrities.

[25] The campaign featured Kutcher as an Indian man named Raj who was "looking for love" in a dating ad-style spoof.

Kutcher's use of brown face paint and a stereotypical Indian accent received criticism from online viewers and members of the Indian-American community.

[28] From 2016 to 2020, Kutcher co-starred in the Netflix series The Ranch alongside Danny Masterson, Elisha Cuthbert and Debra Winger, playing the role of Colt Bennett, the son of a Colorado rancher (Sam Elliott) returning home from a semi-pro football career to run the family business on the ranch.

[30][31] Kutcher has invested in six startups as of August 2017[update]: Neighborly, Zenreach, ResearchGate, Duolingo,[32][33] Kopari Beauty, and most recently, Lemonade.

[34] He is a co-founder of the venture capital firm A-Grade Investments with Guy Oseary and Ron Burkle and fund manager Chris Hollod.

Ooma revamped its sales and marketing strategy with a new management team in the summer of 2008, replacing Kutcher as their creative director.

While the app was initially available exclusively for desktop computers with Adobe Air installed, it eventually became available on mobile platforms, for iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry.

[50] Initially, a product discovery service,[51] it morphed in April 2014 to a social media-driven content platform focused on upbeat stories.

[50][54] In 2016, Kutcher was assailed onstage by a protestor while speaking at an Airbnb event in Los Angeles, who criticized the company for allowing Israeli settlers list their homes in the illegally-occupied West Bank on its website.

[55] In 2018, Kutcher attended the Western Region gala of Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces, which raised over $60 million for IDF soldiers.

[56][57] In 2022, Kutcher and his wife Mila Kunis started a gofundme page to help two online companies (Airbnb and Flexport) to aid refugees fleeing the violence in Ukraine perpetrated by Russia's military.

[68] After more than a year of separation, Kutcher filed for divorce from Moore on December 21, 2012, in Los Angeles Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences.

[75] The family resides in a sustainable farmhouse, designed by the couple and architect Howard Backen, in Beverly Hills.

[79] On September 17, 2008, Kutcher was named the assistant coach for the freshman football team at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles.

As an adult, he practices Kabbalah, and has visited Israel and studied the Torah; his wife Mila Kunis stated that he "taught [me] everything I never knew" about her religion, Judaism, though as of 2018, he has not converted.

[89][90] In November 2011, Kutcher received heavy criticism for his tweet in response to the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal, calling the firing of Penn State football coach Joe Paterno "in poor taste".

[92] In April 2011, Kutcher and then-wife Demi Moore began a public service announcement campaign to end child sex trafficking.

Kutcher and others including The New York Times, C-SPAN, and CNN used a peer-reviewed study referring to minors at risk for sexual exploitation.