Kieran Culkin’s ethnicity, confirmed

Kieran Culkin capped off his illustrious run on the awards show circuit with a Best Supporting Actor win at the 97th Academy Awards this week, sparking renewed interest in the veteran performer’s background. The actor, who took home the trophy for his role in the Jesse Eisenberg-directed drama, A Real Pain, has been a big name in Hollywood for most of his life as the son of actor Christopher “Kit” Culkin and the younger brother of Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin. 

Despite his decades-long career, Culkin’s breakthrough wouldn’t come until Succession, the HBO television series that scored him multiple Golden Globes and Emmy nominations. The success of that role, on top of his recent Oscar-winning turn, has led to curiosity among fans as to Culkin’s history, including his ethnicity. 

Kieran Culkin was born in New York City. 

every ten years kieran culkin has a role in the most iconic representation of the culture at the time pic.twitter.com/6ywBsR8XR7

— sarah gorman🍉 (@thesarahgorman) April 5, 2023

By nationality, Kieran Culkin is American. He was born in Manhattan, New York, in 1982, but his parents’ background stretches beyond the U.S. Though also born in Manhattan, “Kit” Culkin had German and one-quarter Irish ancestry, with smaller amounts of English, Swiss-German, and Swiss-French. Culkin’s mother was born in North Dakota, and was of half German and half Norwegian descent. “Kit” Culkin gave most of his sons Irish names, with Kieran, Macaulay and Rory (Culkin’s younger brother) all traditional Irish names. 

Kieran Culkin’s background raised questions around his role in A Real Pain. 

Kieran Culkin’s #Oscars acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actor for A REAL PAIN will go down in history as one of the best ever. #Oscars2025 pic.twitter.com/9gWNrosTnX

— Courtney Howard (@Lulamaybelle) March 3, 2025

Culkin’s background was thought to be a concern during the casting process for A Real Pain. The film follows two Jewish cousins, played by Eisenberg and Culkin, as they travel to Poland to honor their grandmother’s heritage. Since Culkin is not Jewish — and was instead raised as a Catholic — the characterization was a concern for the actor, who raised it with Eisenberg ahead of filming. 

“Jesse goes, ‘That doesn’t matter,’” Culkin told The Guardian of his phone call to discuss the matter with Eisenberg. “I said, ‘Are you sure?’”. Eisenberg told Vulture that he had “17,000 thoughts about” casting a non-Jewish actor in the role but was ultimately satisfied that the character was played by Culkin. “Where I come out is that [Culkin] gave me an amazing gift by helping to tell this story that is very personal for my family,” The Social Network star said. 

Kieran Culkin still lives in New York City.

Kieran Culkin during his #Oscars acceptance speech:

“[My wife] said we can have 4 children when I win an Oscar… let’s get cracking with these kids!” pic.twitter.com/0pxSbX7res

— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) March 3, 2025

After being born and raised in Manhattan, Culkin still resides in the Big Apple. He reportedly shares a three-bedroom home in New York City with his British wife, Jazz Charton, and their two children, daughter Kinsey and son Wilder.