Your Guide to Macaulay Culkin's Many Siblings
Kieran and Macaulay Culkin
There are plenty of famous acting families in Hollywood, but few loom as large as the Culkin clan. The family first became a subject of public fascination in 1990 with the release of Home Alone, which starred Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McAllister, a precocious young boy whose family accidentally leaves him behind during their Christmas vacation.
The now-classic holiday movie made Macaulay a household name, but he wasn’t the only Culkin in the film: his little brother Kieran appeared as Kevin’s cousin Fuller in both the original and the 1992 sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. While Kieran continued acting throughout the 1990s, Macaulay continued to draw the lion’s share of the spotlight, in part because of his relationship with the late Michael Jackson.
“[Macaulay] would get harassed on the street,” Kieran recalled to The Hollywood Reporter in October 2021. “One time, a woman pulled off his hat and looked at him and said, ‘Yeah, it’s him! You’re not that cute.’ And then handed the hat back and walked away.”
Kieran was often mistaken for Macaulay as well, meaning he’s had his own upsetting encounters with fans. “When I was doing one of the Father of the Bride movies, this woman ran up to me and said, ‘Are you Macluckly Macluckly?’” he remembered. “And I went, ‘No.’ She goes, ‘Can I get a picture?’ I said, ‘I’m not him.’ And in my mind, I’m thinking, ‘Nobody’s that.’”
As an adult, Kieran has become a star independent of his older brother, thanks in large part to his Emmy-nominated role on Succession. The Culkin brothers, however, are still close—and Macaulay and Kieran aren’t the only ones who’ve appeared on the big and small screens. Keep reading for a complete guide to the Culkin family:
How many Culkin siblings are there?
Macaulay and Kieran Culkin’s parents, Kit Culkin and Patricia Brentrup, had a total of seven children: sons Shane, Macaulay, Kieran, Christian and Rory, and daughters Dakota and Quinn. Kit also had one daughter, Jennifer Adamson, with ex Adeena VanWagoner.
Who are the Culkin siblings?
Shane Culkin
Born in 1976, Shane Culkin is the eldest Culkin sibling. He starred in a 1989 production of Our Town on Broadway, but he has otherwise stayed out of the spotlight.
Dakota Culkin
Dakota Culkin arrived in 1979. Like her younger brothers, she was interested in the entertainment industry, but not as an actor—she worked as an art production assistant on the 2009 film Lost Soul. Sadly, her film career was cut short at age 29 when she was killed by a car in December 2008 while crossing the street. Macaulay later named his eldest son, Dakota, in honor of his late sister.
Macaulay Culkin
20th Century Fox
Born in 1980, Macaulay Culkin was the first member of the Culkin family to become famous. His film career began in the late 1980s with Rocket Gibraltar and Uncle Buck, but it was 1990’s Home Alone that made him a celebrity. He went on to star in My Girl, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, The Pagemaster and Richie Rich before taking nearly a decade off from acting. He returned in 2003’s Party Monster and has acted occasionally since then, most recently appearing in American Horror Story: Double Feature and Season 2 of The Righteous Gemstones.
Macaulay is engaged to Brenda Song, whom he met while working on the 2019 film Changeland. The duo became parents in April 2021 with the arrival of son Dakota, who is named after Macaulay’s late older sister. The couple welcomed their second son, Carson, in late 2022.
Related: He'll Never Be 'Home Alone' Again! Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song Are Engaged and Parents of Two
Kieran Culkin
HBO
Kieran Culkin, born in 1982, spent the early years of his career in Macaulay’s shadow, but as an adult, he’s earned tons of acclaim for his work. After appearing in the Home Alone and Father of the Bride franchises as a kid, Kieran began transitioning out of child stardom with 2002’s Igby Goes Down. He later starred in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Margaret, Movie 43, and No Sudden Move. From 2018 to 2023, he played youngest Roy sibling Roman on HBO’s Succession, earning three Emmy nominations and three Golden Globe nods. In 2023, he reprised his role as Wallace Wells (in voice only) in the Netflix animated series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.
Kieran married wife Jazz Charton in June 2013. They welcomed daughter Kinsey Sioux in 2019 and son Wilder Wolf in 2021.
Related: Who Is Jazz Charton? All About ‘Succession’ Actor Kieran Culkin's Wife
Quinn Culkin
Born in 1984, Quinn Culkin originally followed in Macaulay and Kieran’s footsteps as an actor. She starred alongside Macaulay in the 1993 movie The Good Son and lent her voice to the 1991 animated series Wish Kid, which also featured Macaulay. Additionally, she had a brief cameo in Home Alone as a girl waiting at the airport.
Christian Culkin
Like his older siblings, Christian Culkin, born in 1987, briefly tried his hand at acting, starring in the 1994 film My Summer Story alongside Kieran. He never appeared in any other movies or TV shows, however, and has since remained out of the spotlight.
Rory Culkin
Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images
Born in 1989, Rory Culkin is the youngest Culkin sibling. He also began his acting career as a child, making a cameo in 1994’s Richie Rich as a younger version of Macaulay’s character. Rory then starred in 2000’s You Can Count on Me and 2002’s Signs. After playing a younger version of Kieran’s character in 2002’s Igby Goes Down, Rory went on to appear in The Chumscrubber, Scream 4 and Lords of Chaos. In 2022, he starred in the miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven, based on Jon Krakauer’s book of the same name. More recently, he appeared in Prime Video’s Swarm and Season 6 of Black Mirror.
In 2018, Rory married cinematographer Sarah Scrivener.
Jennifer Adamson
Jennifer Adamson was the half-sister of the Culkin siblings, born in 1970 to Kit Culkin and Adeena VanWagoner. She died of a drug overdose in May 2000 at age 29.
Who are the Culkin siblings’ parents?
Macaulay, Kieran, Rory and their siblings are the children of Christopher “Kit” Culkin and partner Patricia Brentrup, who were in a relationship from 1974 to 1995. Kit, a New York City native, worked as a stage actor in his youth.
Both Macaulay and Kieran are estranged from Kit. During a 2018 interview on Marc Maron’s “WTF” podcast, Macaulay described his father as “abusive,” claiming that Kit forced him to host Saturday Night Live at age 11 without using cue cards. “My father was jealous of me,” Macaulay added. “Everything he tried to do in life, I excelled at before I was 10 years old.”
Kieran, meanwhile, has said that his father had a different issue: poor hygiene. “[He’s] one of those guys who, if you try to tell him he stinks, says, ‘I smell human,’” Kieran explained during his own “WTF” interview in 2020. “It sounds like I’m exaggerating, but he wouldn’t bathe, but maybe once a year, he would take a bath. That is true. He just didn’t bathe.”
Which Culkin siblings are actors?
While Macaulay Culkin is arguably the most famous Culkin sibling, his brothers Kieran Culkin and Rory Culkin are also successful actors who’ve made the tricky jump from child stardom to adult acclaim. Quinn, Christian and Shane, meanwhile, are no longer actors, but they’ve all dabbled in the craft at various points.
Are the Culkin brothers close?
Macaulay Culkin and his younger brother Kieran are both estranged from their father, Kit, but their own relationship is not so strained. When Kieran was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2019, Macaulay live-tweeted the awards show from home, joking that he didn’t know what Succession was. After learning of Macaulay’s antics, Kieran told Us Weekly that he and his brothers are naturally supportive of one another. “Because family,” he said. “That’s easy, right? I mean, you got family!”
Next, Everything You Want to Know About the 'Warm and Menacing' House in the Original 'Home Alone'
