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Kieran and Macaulay Culkin’s childhood stardom thrust them into the spotlight at a young age but in very different ways. Macaulay, who is two years older than Kieran, shot to fame at the age of 10 as Kevin McCallister in the beloved holiday franchise, Home Alone. Kieran played his younger brother in those films, but it was the Father of the Bride series of movies that really catapulted his young career.
Macaulay’s fame was an event that impacted Kieran on a deep level at such a tender age. “Even at that time, as a kid, I remember thinking, ‘That sucks for him,’” Kieran told Esquire in March 2023. “Poor f–king guy. He was little and having to try to accept that level of fame as reality.”
Kieran’s empathy for his brother even seeped into his own child acting career — it was a battle between loving the job and the pitfalls of a public life. “I had this unhealthy relationship with what I did for a living,” Kieran added. “I really wanted to do it, but I didn’t want to be successful at it.”
WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF THE CULKIN FAMILY?
The history of Kieran and Macaulay’s upbringing is complex and not exactly the happiest of stories. The siblings were part of a family of nine, born to Kit Culkin and Patricia Brentrup: son Shane, Macaulay, Karan, Christian, and Rory, and daughters Dakota (who died in 2008) and Quinn. Dad Kit was a former Broadway actor turned taxi driver and mom Patricia weren’t living in the lap of luxury in New York City with their seven kids. The family’s decision to pursue acting careers for their children became a way to sustain life in the big city.
Macaulay’s charisma was evident when he churned out hit after hit in his post-Home Alone fame from My Girl to Richie Rich. Still, life at home was challenging because Kit became Macaulay’s full-time manager where he reportedly forced his son to stay up late to memorize lines no matter how tired he was. After their parents’ breakup (they never married) in 1995, a child custody battle and a fight over Macaulay’s fortunes took over the headlines.
Macaulay described his father as a “bad man” on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast in 2018. “He was abusive, physically and mentally – I can show you all my scars if I wanted to,” the Uncle Buck star said. Kieran also sided with his mother during the contentious split and had similar feelings about Kit as his older brother. “[My mom is] just an absolutely wonderful woman who took on raising seven kids in a studio apartment, by herself, Kieran said to the press backstage at the Emmys in 2024. “There was a guy [his dad, Kit] there — he didn’t do anything.”
Both Macaulay and Kieran have been estranged from Kit since the divorce.
Macaulay’s childhood stardom
Kieran is still in awe of his brother for surviving the white-hot spotlight as a kid, it was a level of fame that most adults couldn’t even handle. “It was pretty nuts. And I think what people sometimes fail to remember, too, is that he was a kid. He didn’t really choose that,” the Succession star told NPR in December 2021 of Macaulay’s young career success. “It’s something that happened to him. And I think when you’re a kid, you obviously don’t have the tools to handle something like that. So, I think it might have been pretty tough.”
Still, there were times when Kieran was jealous of his brother, who was the one everyone was clamoring to work with. The Emmy winner recalled being a small part of Macaulay’s night when he hosted Saturday Night Live in 1991.
“I got to be on the stage for the good nights and I think we have a clip … So, there’s my brother, and the cast has lifted him up on their shoulders and, boom there I am, clearly jealous,” Kieran shared in his monologue when he finally had the opportunity to host SNL in 2021. Luckily, former cast member Kevin Nealon saved the day by picking him up so he could be a bigger scene-stealer than Macaulay — such a baby sibling move.
Their troubled relationship with their father
The brothers seemed bonded over their traumatic upbringing and their united response to who Kit was as a father. “He’s not a good dude, but he wasn’t really a big part of my life after the age of 15,” Kieran told Vanity Fair in 2018. “My mom was the parent, so when he wasn’t there it was nicer and better.”
Macaulay wrote about his relationship with his father in his 2006 novel, Junior, which was a veiled look at his life as a child star — it was a celebrity memoir in disguise. In one chapter, he wrote a letter entitled, “Dear Father” and it dove into their troubled relationship. “You hurt people a lot, you know. I am not just talking about your family and the other important people around you; you hurt our name. I should know,” wrote Macaulay.
Kieran’s rise to fame
While Macaulay retired from acting at 14, only to return under his own terms as an adult, Kieran became the new star in the family. He steadily kept working over the years, building a strong resumé that eventually brought him to his game-changing role as Roman Roy in Succession. He’s an Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor for the TV series and now he finds himself up for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the film, A Real Pain. The tide has now turned to the other Culkin brother, and Macaulay is supportive of that shift.
“Oh s—t! My brother is at the Golden Globes?! That is so cool,” Macaulay joked on Twitter in January 2019 after watching Kieran walk the red carpet on TV. “HOLY S—T KIERAN IS NOMINATED??? WHAT IS SUCCESSION?! Man, I should really answer his calls more often. Thanksgiving is going to be really awkward this year.” Yep, big bros love to tease their little bros.
Their shared experience as dads
The siblings are now dads so that bonding experience has brought them closer together. Macaulay has been with fiancée Brenda Song since 2017 and they share sons Dakota, 3, and Carson, 2. Kieran married Jazz Charton in 2013 and they share two children, daughter Kinsey, 5, and son Wilder, 3.
“I’m a little bit ahead on the dad thing,” Kieran told Access Hollywood in October 2021. “I’ve got a 2-year-old daughter and an 8-week-old son [with my wife, Jazz Charton], but I haven’t actually met his son yet because he lives in California and there’s been work and a pandemic and all that stuff.”
While fans might think Kieran was giving his older brother some tips on how to be a father, think again. This was his helpful hint to Macaulay after his first son was born: “Don’t take anyone’s advice, you’ll figure it out.” Spoken like a true pro parent!
Long-distance admiration
The brothers are close in age and share an admiration for each other, but distance does keep them apart more often than not. Macaulay and Song live in Los Angeles while Kieran and Charton reside in New York, so it’s not always easy to hop on a plane to see each other because of their young families.
“Well, the cousins live in Los Angeles, we live in New York,” Kieran explained to Access Hollywood in March 2023 after the birth of his second nephew. “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.” We’ll just call it a long-distance brotherly admiration!
Before you go, click here to see celebrities who are best friends with their siblings.
