Macaulay Culkin belongs to a family of talented siblings. Though Macaulay became the first in his family to hit widespread recognition in Home Alone, the rest have had equally impressive resumes.
In his youth, Macaulay was the most recognizable child actor in the world. Following his breakout role in Home Alone, he had a collection of gripping roles, from the doomed focal character in My Girl to the terrifying antagonist in The Good Son. Though in adulthood, his roles are perhaps chosen more carefully, he has had some interesting choices lately.
Macaulay made his American Horror Story debut in season 10, Cape Fear, and has also appeared in a few episodes of HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones. In this regard, he is not alone. His siblings have also had various acting credits dispersed through the past few decades.
Shane Culkin
The oldest of the Culkin siblings, Shane was born in 1976. Arguably the brother with the least amount of exposure, he still had the acting bug. According to Playbill.com, Shane appeared in the 1988 Broadway revival of Our Town. He played Wally Webb in a cast that included Frances Conroy, James Rebhorn, and Eric Stoltz. Since his stage performance, he has remained relatively under the radar. He has had no further acting roles to speak of or social media presence.
Dakota Culkin
The second born to the Culkin clan was Dakota. Though less prolific than her younger brother, she did have an interest in the entertainment industry. IMDb credits her for the supernatural movie Lost Soul, in which she was an art production assistant. She regretfully did not get a chance to fully realize her potential after a fatal car accident in 2008. Her death impacted the family severely, as brother Kieran Culkin told The Hollywood Reporter.
“That’s the worst thing that’s ever happened, and there’s no sugarcoating that one. Each one of us handled it very differently. I think everyone was just torn up inside.”
The Culkin family continues to remember their lost sister and commemorate her memory. Macaulay named his firstborn son with his finance Brenda Song Dakota in her memory.
Kieran Culkin
Macaulay may be the one that broke out first, but that is not to distract from Kieran’s accomplishments. He had severely child actor roles of his own before reaching critical success with the 2002 film, Igby Goes Down. In the role of the titular character, Kieran showed his capacity for humor and drama in the unique tale about growing up.
Since then, he has endeared himself to cult fans as Wallace in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World before earning himself several Emmy nominations for one of the most popular dramas on HBO. Succession is practically a modern King Lear as Roman (Culkin) and his siblings vie for control of their father’s (Brian Cox) media company. The series finally ended in 2023 with rave reviews.
Quinn Culkin
Born after Macaulay, Quinn Culkin experienced some acting credits as well. As a child, she appeared alongside her brother in the thriller, The Good Son. The film stars Elijah Wood as Mark, who after a family tragedy, goes to live with his aunt and uncle. While he bonds with his cousin, Henry (Macaulay Culkin) initially, it becomes readily apparent that he is a sociopath.
Quinn appears in the film as Henry’s sister, Connie. According to The Independent, their father, Kit Culkin, negotiated for her to appear in the film alongside her brother. The film received mixed reviews, and Quinn did not seriously pursue an acting career following. However, she supports her siblings and attended Macaulay’s ceremony for his Hollywood Walk of Fame star.
Christian Culkin
Like the rest of his siblings, Christian has been in the spotlight, but not as much as his brothers. His only credit was in the 1994 film, My Summer Story. A sequel to the classic, A Christmas Story, Ralphie was recast with Kieran and the role of his brother Randy went to Christian. With no further acting credits in his career, Christian has experienced life outside of the rampant limelight his siblings have experienced.
Rory Culkin
Rory has also taken acting, though on a slightly different path than his brothers. The youngest Culkin has found his niche in genre and true crime fare. His first notable role set the tone for his career in M. Night Shyamalan’s alien feature, Signs. Starring as Morgan, he is essentially the main character whose belief in the phenomena unites the family in unexpected ways. He followed up the film with the harrowing 2004 indie film, Mean Creek, which was lauded for its mature content about bullying gone wrong.
In his adulthood, he still stands apart. After his role as one of the Ghostfaces in Scream 4, he starred as a real-life figure in the Paramount true crime series, Waco. The series was based on David Thibodeau’s book about his experience escaping the tragedy. After Rory starred as Thibodeau, he took on a more insidious role in true crime series, Under the Banner of Heaven. Like Macaulay and Kieren, Rory still continues to act.
Jennifer Adamson
One other sibling stemmed from Kit Culkin’s relationship with a previous girlfriend. Born in 1970, Jennifer Adamson’s mother was Adeena VonWagoner. According to an obituary in The Missoulian, Adamson died at only 29 years old. The Daily Mail reported that Adamon’s death was due to a drug overdose.
