- Macaulay Culkin is an actor who was one of the biggest child stars of all time
- He is best known for playing Kevin McCallister in ‘Home Alone’ and its sequel
- Macalauy has six siblings and one half-sibling, some of whom are also actors
Macaulay Culkin‘s family came out to support him at his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2023! The former child star, 43, welcomed his second child with his partner of several years, Brenda Song, 35, at the end of 2022. It’s not clear how many children Macaulay plans to have, but he comes from quite a large family. His father, actor Kit Culkin, welcomed seven children into the world with two different women. Six of his kids were born from his nearly 20-year relationship with Patricia Brentrup, while his eldest child, Jennifer Adamson, was born from his relationship with Adeena VanWagoner.
As mentioned, Kit was an actor, and several of his kids followed his path into the spotlight and have enjoyed much more successful careers. Unfortunately, Kit and his family have also gone through immense loss, as Kit’s first daughter — and Macaulay’s half-sister — Jennifer died in 2000 from drug-related complications. Then, in 2008, Macaulay’s sister Dakota died from injuries she sustained after she was hit by a car in Los Angeles. She was 29 years old. Learn more about the Macaulay and the rest of the Culkin siblings below.
Kieran Culkin
Kieran Culkin, born on Sept. 30, 1982, is Macaulay’s younger brother. Like Macaulay, Kiernan is an actor, who actually appeared alongside his brother in both Home Alone films as Kevin McCallister’s younger cousin, Fuller. Kieran continued to act throughout his childhood, appearing in films like Father of the Bride and its subsequent sequel, as well as She’s All That and The Cider House Rules during the latter half of his teenage years. Kieran took a bit of a break from acting in the mid-2000s, but by 2010, Kieran was back on the scene.
He starred in the ensemble cast of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World as Wallace Wells, the roommate of the titular protagonist played by Michael Cera. He continued to make consistent appearances in film and TV before landing the role of Roman Roy in the critically acclaimed HBO series Succession. In 2020 and 2022, he earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his performance. “All it is is more nominations and more things for the show and it really just feels like a collective,” he said of his second nomination during an Aug. 2022 chat with Awards Daily. “It feels like when one person wins something it is like we did it. … It’s if you win great, if I win great, if nobody does that’s fine too.”
Kieran prefers to live away from the limelight, but the show’s popularity has certainly helped his face become more familiar around town. “It’s mostly fine,” he told Vanity Fair regarding how he’s handling being thrust into the spotlight during an Aug. 2022 interview. “Most people’s instincts when they do like a double-take, the first thing to do is they reach for their phone and that camera comes out and they have to [indicates taking a photo]. Then there’s the awkward moment of saying something like, ‘Hey, did you take a picture?’ when they will inevitably say no. And then I feel like an a** because I was assuming that they’re taking pictures of me.”
“But the only part that actually bothers me is that people do that same exact thing when I’m out with my kids,” he continued. “That’s just obviously a violation and I don’t think people know it. I can say that because when I confront people about it, you can see in their face, they didn’t realize they were doing something horrible.” Kieran has a son and a daughter with his wife, Jazz Charton. They walked down the aisle in 2013.
In a March 2023 interview, Kieran admitted he has not met Macaulay’s second-born child. “The cousins live in Los Angeles, we live in New York. I have a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old and as busy as I am there is no getting on a plane and going,” he told Access Hollywood at the Succession season 4 premiere . “And same with them. I haven’t met no. 2 yet and they haven’t met no. 2 yet either, because we just haven’t been able to figure that out.”
Unfortunately, the rising actor hit a roadblock in May of 2023, when news broke that his planned gig as a Saturday Night Live host would not go forward, due to the writers’ strike. Per a report in Variety, Kieran was expected to host the May 13 episode, with musical guest Labrinth. The strike cut the season short, but Kieran has hosted SNL before — in November of 2021.
Rory Culkin
Rory Culkin, born on July 21, 1989, is also Macaulay’s younger brother. Much like his siblings, Rory began acting as a child and made his first appearance alongside Macaulay in the 1993 film The Good Son. From there, he appeared in the 2000 film You Can Count On Me and alongside his older brother, Kieran, in the movie Igby Goes Down. In 2002, Rory got his first major starring role in the M. Night Shyamalan film Signs, in which he appeared alongside Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, and Abigail Breslin.
The young actor continued to work in both film and TV throughout the 2000s, appearing in more mature films like Scream 4 and Hick in 2011. In 2017, Rory had a supporting role in the critically acclaimed film Columbus, and in 2018, he led the film Lords of Chaos. Like Kieran, Rory has seemingly set his sights on TV, appearing in The Expecting, eight episodes of the TV mini-series Under the Banner of Heaven, and in an episode of Swarm in 2023.
Rory’s nude scene in Swarm turned heads for its cringe-worthy nature. After his character takes the main character’s virginity, he presents her with a bowl of strawberries that was strategically placed over his privates. It turns out that the show’s creators crafted that scene with some real-life inspiration. “[Co-creator Donald Glover] told this very funny story about a girl who he really liked, and how after they hooked, he was standing there with a bowl of cherries, just being like, ‘Hey,’” co-creator Janine Nabers recalled to Insider in March 2023. “She was like, so not into it, because it’s so weird to hook up with a guy that you barely know and then wake up with him holding a bowl of cherries.”
“I was like, ‘I’m stealing that,’” she continued. “And he was like, ‘All right.’ So I just ran with it.”
Shane Culkin
Shane Culkin, born in 1976, is Macaulay’s older brother. He tried acting as a teen and has one IMDb credit for a 1989 appearance in the series Great Performances, in which he played Wally Webb in the episode “Our Town.” However, that is the extent of his professional acting career. He lives a very private life and it is unclear what he does today.
Quinn Culkin
Quinn Culkin, born on Nov. 8, 1984, is Macaulay’s younger sister. Unsurprisingly, Quinn began acting as a child, as well. She made a small appearance in the film Home Alone as a girl in the airport, and provided the voice of Katie McClary in the animated series Wish Kid throughout its run in 1991. In 1993, she appeared alongside her big brother, Macaulay, in the film The Good Son. It doesn’t appear that she’s acted in film or TV since that time, per IMDb. Similar to her brother Shane, she has shied away from the spotlight and little is known about her whereabouts.
Christian Culkin
Christian Culkin, born on Jan. 30, 1987, is Macaulay’s younger brother. Unlike his siblings that went on to take the entertainment industry by storm, Christian made only one appearance in the 1994 film My Summer Story, which also starred his brother Kieran, per IMDb.
Dakota Culkin
Dakota Culkin, born on June 15, 1978, was Macaulay’s sister, who tragically died after being struck by a car in Dec. 2008. The Culkin siblings were absolutely shaken by Dakota’s death, but Macaulay has kept her memory alive, naming his first child with partner Brenda Song after his beloved sister. “We’re overjoyed,” the couple told Esquire about welcoming their baby boy.
Dakota seemingly avoided the spotlight and never tried acting professionally. Her IMDb page says she was involved in the art department for the 2009 film, Lost Soul.
