Inside the complex lives of the 8 Culkin siblings: From ultra-close bonds to tragedy

Few films ring in the holiday season quite like Home Alone. The moment it hits our screens, Christmas feels officially underway – even if it is hard to believe more than three decades have passed since Macaulay Culkin starred in the holiday classic. 

Now, Disney is putting a fresh spin on nostalgia, releasing the first trailer for Mickey’s Home Alone. The brand-new animated special premieres November 26 on Disney Jr. before streaming on Disney+ the following day.

Macaulay starred alongside his brother, Kieran Culkin, in the 1990 comedy film directed by Chris Columbus. However, today, it’s their brother, Rory Culkin, who’s commanding the screen. The actor is starring in Apple TV’s new thriller series Nocturne.

Rory opened up about his seven siblings in an interview with USA Today. “Well, I’m the youngest of seven,” he shared. “So I was often locked in closets and because of this, I never get bored. I’m very happy with my own thoughts, and I could just sit for hours and think. So, a silver lining to being bullied as a child.”

When asked who trapped him in the closet, he replied: “Mostly the sisters.”

Kit Culkin and Patricia Brentrup, who were together from 1974 to 1995, shared seven children together: Shane, Dakota, Macaulay, Kieran, Quinn, Christian and Rory. Prior to his relationship with Patricia, Kit has a daughter called Jennifer Adamson with his former partner Adeena VanWagoner. Jennifer died of a drug overdose in 2000.

HELLO! takes a closer look at everything we know about the eight Culkin siblings and their tragic family loss.

Macaulay Culkin

Macaulay was born in New York City in 1980. He experienced childhood stardom after gracing the screen in the Home Alone movie in the 90s. However, he stepped away from the spotlight because of his strained relationship with his father, who was also his manager. 

When he was 15 years old, Macaulay sued his parents to remove them as legal guardians in control of the $17 million he had earned from acting.

Macaulay later returned to the performing world when he starred in season 10 of American Horror Story in 2020.

In 2017, he began dating actress Brenda Song and the pair welcomed their first child, Dakota, in 2021. The couple announced their engagement in January 2022 and became parents to a second child in March 2023. 

Kieran Culkin

Kieran was born in 1982 and is the middle child of the family. Kieran reached a career breakthrough starring in HBO’s Succession, earning widespread acclaim and multiple Golden Globe nods for Best Supporting Actor in 2018, 2020, and 2021. In 2023, he took home the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

In 2013, he married Jazz Charton and the pair share two children: Kinsey Sioux and Wilder Wolf.

Quinn, Shane, and Christian Culkin

Quinn’s acting career was short-lived unlike that of her siblings. She typically refrains from the spotlight but has made the occasional red carpet appearance alongside her brothers.

Meanwhile, Shane, who is the eldest child, had a Broadway stint in 1988, starring in Our Town. Today, he leads a far more private life. Similarly, Christian’s only acting credit is in the 1994 film My Summer Story alongside his brother, Kieran.

Family estrangement

In his 2007 memoir, Macauley claimed that their father was “physically and mentally abusive” toward him, and caused him to emancipate himself from his parents. 

While Kieran insists that he did not have the same “crazy, negative, awful, traumatic experiences as a child actor” as Macaulay, he did tell The Hollywood Reporter that his father “wasn’t a good person and, yeah, probably not a good parent” in 2021.

He added: “I never looked at him as Dad. He didn’t really belong here, and when he was finally gone for good, it made the most sense.” 

Rory Culkin

Rory was born in 1989, and is the youngest child of Kit and Brentrup. He also started acting as a child, and appeared in the likes of You Can Count on Me and Signs. Rory later starred in The Zodiac, Scream 4, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Under the Banner of Heaven. In 2018, he tied the knot with cinematographer Sarah Scrivener in New Orleans, but the couple divorced in 2022. Rory is currently in a relationship with Kate Arizmendi, and the pair welcomed a baby girl named Havoc Moon in May.

The actor has previously revealed the advice his famous older brothers, Macaulay and Kieran, gave him about acting. “Their advice was like, ‘You’ll figure it out. Everyone does, you know? So, you know, just don’t worry,'” he told People.

He also discussed the joys of becoming a father for the very first time. “I was always kind of mad because I’ve always been the youngest Culkin – until they started having kids,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “But now I have the youngest Culkin, so I reclaim the throne.”

Dakota Culkin’s death

In 2008, the Culkin family endured a heartbreaking loss when their sister, Dakota ‘Cody’ Culkin, passed away at just 29 years old after being struck by a car. “That’s the worst thing that’s ever happened, and there’s no sugar-coating that one,” Kieran said in the same Hollywood Reporter interview, adding: “It’s always going to be devastating. 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.

“Sometimes it’s knowing that she’s not going to meet my kids and they don’t get to have her, and it’s hard to describe what she was like.”