Culkin was born in 1980, in New York City. His parents Christopher "Kit" Culkin and Patricia Brentup were never married and had a total of seven children together. The large family lived in a very small apartment and lived on a small income. Macaulay’s mother worked as a telephone operator and his father worked as a sacristan at a Catholic church. Macaulay also attended a Catholic school before transferring to the Professional Children’s School. Culkin’s brothers, Kieran and Rory, also attended the school, which has been home to many child actors including Paris Hilton, Mischa Barton, Jerry O Connell, and Sarah Michelle Gellar.
Macaulay’s first blockbuster hit was Home Alone in 1990, in which he made a reported $100,000. The film launched Culkin into superstardom and paved the way for a sequel. For Home Alone 2: Lost in New York in 1992, Macaulay’s salary increased to $4,500,000 making him the highest paid child actor in history. During his early teen years, Culkin also starred in The Good Son, co-starring Elijah Wood; My Girl; Getting Even with Dad; and Richie Rich. None of those films did as well at the box office as Home Alone, but they all paid Culkin significantly more. He made a reported eight million dollars for his role in Getting Even with Dad.
When Culkin was fourteen years old his parents split up and went to court battling over custody of the kids and who could control Macaulay’s fortune. Kit was Macaulay’s manager and had a reputation for being an aggressive show biz dad. Full custody was granted to Macaulay’s mom, though the star’s fortune was handed over to an accountant to manage after it had been shown that his parents were improperly managing his funds. To this day, Macaulay does not speak to his father, doesn’t know where he lives, and prefers it that way.
In 1998 an eighteen-year-old Macaulay married actress Rachel Miner. The two were classmates at the Professional Children’s School. The couple then spent $1.7 million on a home on lower Broadway. The marriage lasted only two years and the divorce was finalized on August 5, 2000. Currently Macaulay is dating That 70’s Show star, Mila Kunis.
Culkin’s first film after his semi-retirement was Party Monster in 2003, which co-starred Seth Green. The film was not a huge commercial success but later developed a cult following. Culkin clearly does not choose his roles by how big the paycheck is anymore, and prefers interesting characters to anything else. Also, to prevent getting burned out on the acting business again, Culkin has decided to work on only one film project per year. Another film that Macaulay has starred in since growing out of his child stardom is Saved!, With Jenna Malone and Mandy Moore.
Culkin has broadened his skills by starring in plays and making the occasional guest appearance on television shows. He also wrote and published his own semi-autobiographical novel titled Junior.
Today, two of his brothers, Rory and Kieran, have followed in Macaulay’s footsteps and become successful actors in their own right. They got their foot into the acting world by making smaller appearances when they were younger in some of Macaulay’s films.
YUDDY
