What happened between Macaulay Culkin and his parents? Actor’s strained history with family explained

Macaulay Culkin and his brother, Kieran, didn't want to be famous.

Born to parents Christopher Cornelius "Kit" Culkin and Patricia Brentrup and one of seven children, the Home Alone alum recently sat down for an interview in the latest episode of Sibling Revelry, where he shared that none of his nieces and nephews speak to his father.

Macaulay Culkin, who has been estranged from his father for 30 years, shared in the segment:

"He's a man who had seven kids and now has four grandkids, and none of them want anything to do with him."

The young Culkin, who has previously accused his father of being physically and mentally abusive, noted during the sit-down that if it were him his family wasn't speaking to instead, he'd introspect to know if he'd "done something wrong."

“I have more than an inkling that he does not feel that way," he added. "Like we're wrong and he's right. He's one of those narcissistic people."

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Macaulay Culkin says he wanted "nothing to do" with his father growing up: Read more

The Culkin children grew up in a family of modest means, and for the first several years of Macaulay's life, they lived in an apartment alongside the railroad in New York City. "Barely suitable for a couple," Kieran told Vanity Fair in December 2018.

"It was just a hallway, and there were no separating doors, except for the bathroom, which didn't have a lock. They raised seven kids in that apartment—for years! They just kept bringing babies home to this little space."

Their mother worked as a telephone operator, and their father worked at the Catholic church. Macaulay Culkin eventually landed his first acting gig at the age of 6, and by 1990, he landed the biggest role of his career as Kevin McCallister in Home Alone, which premiered in 1990.

When he became a teenager, Macaulay Culkin separated his earnings from his father and mother not long after the latter split up. During the segment, he reflected on the custody battle his mother waged against his father at the time:

"I wanted nothing to do with my father," Culkin said.

"He was just the worst. The judge was like, well, you have to do visitations with him. I told my lawyer, 'Yeah, I'm not doing that.' He said, 'Well, you'll be in contempt of court' and this and that."

He recalled telling his lawyer:

"Well, how about this? I dare the judge to put me in jail for not wanting to visit his abusive father.' I actually had to double down on that. 'I double dare him to arrest the most famous kid in the world.' I never played that card, but that was the one time I played that card.”

He also revealed that none of his six siblings speak to their father.

“I think my older brother had some contact with him at one point, but I think that turned sour pretty fast again," he said.

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Macaulay Culkin has since welcomed two children of his own with fellow former child star Brenda Song. The two have been dating since 2018, and in 2021, they welcomed a son, Dakota. By December 2022, they welcomed a second child, Carson.