The Culkin Siblings: All About Macaulay and Kieran's Brothers and Sisters
Macaulay and Kieran Culkin have six siblings: Rory, Dakota, Quinn, Shane, Christian and Jennifer
From starring in Home Alone as children to becoming fathers, Macaulay and Kieran Culkin have been in the public eye for most of their lives. They come from a massive showbiz family, with some of their siblings also making names for themselves in Hollywood.
The actors' father Kit Culkin and his longtime partner, Patricia Brentrup, who were together from 1974 to 1995 but never married, shared seven children together: Shane, Dakota, Macaulay, Kieran, Quinn, Christian and Rory. Kit worked as a Broadway theater actor before managing his sons' careers in the '80s and '90s.
Prior to his relationship with Brentrup, Kit and former partner Adeena VanWagoner welcomed a daughter, Jennifer Adamson. Adamson died of a drug overdose in 2000.
In a 2018 appearance on WTF with Marc Maron, Macaulay opened up about his turbulent relationship with his father, saying their difficulties stemmed from the fact that, as a child, he far surpassed his father's own acting career.
"I was never tight with him to begin with," he said. "My concept of a father is almost one of those things you get from TV shows and movies, rather than having affection for a father."
Keep reading for everything to know about the eight Culkin siblings: Macaulay, Kieran, Rory, Dakota, Quinn, Shane, Christian and Jennifer.
Macaulay Culkin, 43
Macaulay Culkin was born in New York City on Aug. 26, 1980, and is the third oldest child of Kit and Brentrup.
He rose to fame for starring in the Home Alone movie franchise as a child. His other notable childhood roles include My Girl, The Nutcracker and Richie Rich.
During his childhood, Macaulay also had a controversial friendship with the late musician Michael Jackson. In a 2019 appearance on Michael Rosenbaum's podcast Inside of You, Macaulay said, despite their large age gap, the friendship was "normal and mundane."
After finding huge success as a child star, Macaulay took a step back from acting, which he attributed to his strained relationship with his father, who was also his manager.
"I even wanted to take a break for a while and eventually I was like 'I'm done guys, hope you all made your money because there is no more coming from me,' " he told Maron in 2018.
At just 15 years old, Macaulay sued his parents to remove them as legal guardians in control of the $17 million he had earned from acting.
In 2013, he formed a pizza-themed Velvet Underground cover band, the Pizza Underground. During his appearance WTF, the actor revealed that the group had dissolved, saying, "I was a little tired of it, to be completely honest."
In 2016, Macaulay started a satirical website, Bunny Ears, and in 2019, he launched an accompanying podcast of the same name. In 2018, he held a poll on his website to decide on a new middle name. He reportedly changed his middle name to "Macaulay Culkin" in 2019, making his full name Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin. He eventually returned to acting in 2020, starring in season 10 of American Horror Story.
As for his personal life, Macaulay quietly dated actress Mila Kunis from 2002 to 2011. In 2017, he started dating actress Brenda Song and the pair welcomed their first child, Dakota, in 2021. They announced their engagement in January 2022. In March 2023, Macaulay's brother Kieran confirmed that the couple had quietly welcomed their second child.
Kieran Culkin, 41
Kieran Kyle Culkin was born in N.Y.C. on Sept. 30, 1982, and is the middle child of Kit and Brentrup. In 2018, Kieran told Vanity Fair that, like Macaulay, he did not have contact with his father.
He got his start as a child actor, appearing in a small role alongside his brother Macaulay in Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. He also appeared in Father of the Bride and Father of the Bride Part II.
In 2002, he played the titular role in the comedy-drama film Igby Goes Down (which also starred his younger brother Rory), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe.
Kieran gained wider recognition as a main cast member on HBO's Succession. His performance earned him a slew of award nominations, including best supporting actor at the Golden Globes in 2018, 2020 and 2021. He also won a 2023 Emmy Award for outstanding lead actor.
In 2013, Kieran married Jazz Charton and the pair share two children: Kinsey Sioux, born in 2019, and Wilder Wolf, born in 2021.
During an interview with Esquire in March 2023, Kieran recalled Macaulay's rise to childhood fame — and how all the attention, mostly from the media, made his brother uncomfortable.
"Even at that time, as a kid, I remember thinking, 'That sucks for him,' " the Succession star shared. "Poor f---ing guy. He was little and having to try to accept that level of fame as reality."
Macaulay's loss of privacy led Kieran to have an "unhealthy relationship" with his own acting career.
"I really wanted to [be an actor], but I didn't want to be successful at it," he told the outlet.
Rory Culkin, 34
Rory Hugh Culkin was born in N.Y.C. on July 21, 1989, and is the youngest child of Kit and Brentrup.
He started acting as a child, often playing younger versions of his brothers' characters, in films like Richie Rich and Igby Goes Down. Rory also landed larger roles on his own; he starred opposite Laura Linney in You Can Count on Me and appeared in Signs with Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix.
His later film credits include The Zodiac and Scream 4, while his TV credits include Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Under the Banner of Heaven. Most recently, Rory made headlines for his full-frontal nude scene in Prime Video's cult series Swarm, which was based on one of creator Donald Glover's own experiences after a one-night stand.
In 2018, Rory married cinematographer Sarah Scrivener in New Orleans.
Dakota Culkin
Born in N.Y.C. on June 15, 1978, Dakota "Cody" Culkin was the second child of Kit and Brentrup.
Like her siblings, she was interested in film, but Dakota preferred to be on the other side of the camera. She served as an art production assistant on the 2009 supernatural thriller Lost Soul.
In 2008, at age 29, Dakota died after she was struck by a car while crossing a street in Marina del Rey, California.
After her death, Dakota's friend Andrea Poe told PEOPLE that she had recently moved from N.Y.C. to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film production.
"She was very low-key [about her name], but at the same time proud of her siblings," Poe said. "She was very close to Macaulay. They would talk frequently on the phone or go out to eat."
In 2021, Kieran reflected on his sister's tragic death in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
"I accepted at the time that this is going to be forever, and it's never going to be fine. It's always going to be devastating," he told the outlet. "I still weep about it out of nowhere. Something funny she did will pop in the head and make me laugh, and then I'm weeping."
In April 2021, Macaulay named his son after his late sister.
Quinn Culkin, 39
Born on Nov. 8, 1984, in N.Y.C., Quinn Culkin is the third youngest child of Kit and Brentrup.
Quinn originally followed in her famous siblings' footsteps, though her acting career was short-lived. She worked on two films, Wish Kid and The Good Son, both of which also starred her brother Macaulay.
In December 2023, Quinn made a rare public appearance at Macaulay's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in Los Angeles. She was also joined by Rory.
Shane Culkin, 47
Shane Culkin was born in 1976 in N.Y.C. and is the eldest child of Kit and Brentrup.
In 1988, Shane played Wally Webb in Our Town on Broadway at Lincoln Center Theater. For the most part, however, he tends to stay out of the public eye.
Christian Culkin, 36
Christian Culkin was born in 1987 and is the second youngest child of Kit and Brentrup.
He appeared in the 1994 film My Summer Story alongside his brother Kieran, but he has no further acting credits.
Jennifer Adamson
The Culkin siblings' half-sister, Jennifer Adamson, was born on June 27, 1970, in N.Y.C. She was the eldest child of Kit from a previous relationship with Adeena VanWagoner.
Adamson graduated from Sentinel High School in 1988 and then attended Seattle Central Community College.
On May 20, 2000, at age 29, she died of a drug overdose at her home in Missoula, Montana. According to her obituary in the Missoulian, Adamson worked as a supervisor at a group home for adults with disabilities.
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