Silke Jasso
Most known for two things, Macaulay Culkin is either the kid from Home Alone or he is friends with Michael Jackson and later testifies at those sexual assault trials. Spoiler, he still says Jackson didn’t do it. But there’s much to know about the recovered child star who’s actually doing seemingly well. While he did hit the lotto hella young, but also paid the life tax for it, if you will.
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The Culkin Family:
Before the young guy landed the big Christmas flick Home Alone with a hunky payout of $250,000, the Culkin family, all 9 of them, were living in a four-bedroom apartment in Manhattan, New York City. Macaulay landing the role was a bit of an accident, however. He was just in the right place at the right time. He was tagging along with his older brother, Shane, who his father was auditioning at the Manhattan Ensemble Studio. The casting directors there discovered his younger brother, which ultimately led to his stardom. After that, he played in nearly a dozen movies before he was 14.
Speaking of siblings, Macaulay had eight of them. Many of which worked in Hollywood, at a time or another. His brother, Rory, was the youngest. Rory starred in Signs, Scream 4, and Lymelife. Kieran Culkin, star of HBO’s Succession and Golden Globe nominee, tried not to become a child actor or an actor at all because of his brother’s life. Yet, he still ended up on that screen.
That’s about the end of the good part. The bad starts with his dad. His dad was Kit Culkin. Kit was a failed actor and was part of why his son was in Hollywood and as overworked as he was. He and Macaulay’s mother never married. Like a good mother, she was always quick to protect them whenever Kit got aggressive, which he often did. Kit later became estranged from his family and a bit of a mountain man. He has a new girlfriend, Jeanette Krylowski, and they live together in the Oregon mountains. If you see them out there, send pics.
Of course, drama and rumors come along with the spotlight of childhood fame. One of those rumors considered the young star emancipation. Many people think that Macaulay emancipated himself from his parents. However, that’s not actually the case. When he was young, Kit and Patricia Brentrup were in the process of separating (not divorcing) and having an intense custody battle- that looked more like who would get his money. So, he took their name off of his hefty trust fund. Because, hey, he was the one earning money.
The family experienced even more drama, including the death of one of their own. Her name was Dakota. She was in a car accident while she was on foot, heading to get some cigarettes out late in Los Angeles one night. Macaulay may have been one of the last people to talk to her. She wasn’t the only sister the family lost. The Culkin children had a half-sister named Jennifer. She died unexpectedly in 2000; many of the details of her accident are still fairly unknown.
A Very Culkin Career
Perhaps his most well-known film was Home Alone and its sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, Uncle Buck with John Candy, The Pagemaster, Rocket Gibraltar, Party Monster, Richie Rich, and a head-spinning amount more. Especially considering many of his movies were filmed in a short time span. The star says that he never was in school for a whole year, past first grade, if at all.
Things are now way more chill. During his childhood, he felt like everyone wanted a piece of him. For example, in My Girl, he totally didn’t wanna kiss that girl, Anna Chlumsky. Today, he has a totally different kind and makes his own choices. He does appearances and does interviews when he wants, but mostly he works on his podcast and runs his website “Bunny Ears” and other passion projects. He lives with his long-term partner, Brenda Song. The two have a couple of pets and spend lots of time together just hanging out in bed. In his free life now, he embarked on many adventures such as touring the world with a cover band called The Pizza Underground. He does act on occasion and was recently in the film, Changeland.
