Mila Kunis, who was cast in "That '70s Show" in 1998 at just 14 years old, worked with her first female director on a movie that hasn't even hit theaters yet.
The 34-year-old actress said she began focusing more on empowering women in Hollywood after becoming a mother _ she and husband Ashton Kutcher welcomed daughter Wyatt in October 2014 and son Dimitri was born in November 2016. Now, she looks for ways to help young, female writers and directors working their ways up in Hollywood.
But not much has changed in the 20 years she's been in the industry, she said at Variety's Path to Parity women's summit.
Even casting the all-female "Bad Moms," which grossed $113 million at the domestic box office, was a struggle, she said, as women kept dropping out of the comedy.
But the first time she saw a change was on the set of the upcoming "The Spy Who Dumped Me," which was put in the capable hands of Susanna Fogel, the first female director Kunis had worked with.
"There's a noticeable difference," she said. "No one is yelling at each other. ... Nobody got mad ... no screaming matches. At 7 o'clock, bye, go home. I got to see my kids for dinner. It was lovely."
Kunis' comments come amid a slow-moving landslide in Hollywood as women take control of their profession. The #MeToo and Time's Up movements have led to historic changes, but Frances McDormand's call for inclusion riders at the Oscars in March also brought to light the gender disparity in behind-the-scenes crews as well.
"We all have stories to tell and projects we need financed," she said on stage after winning best actress for "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri." Don't talk to us about it at the parties tonight. Invite us into your office in a couple days, or you can come to ours, whatever suits you best, and we'll tell you all about them."
Kunis' only publicly announced upcoming project, the animated "Wonder Park," will be directed by David Feiss after Dylan Brown was replaced amid sexual misconduct allegations.
