Biography
Early life
Culkin was born in New York City to Christopher "Kit" Culkin and Patricia Brentup; his aunt is actress Bonnie Bedelia and his siblings are Christian, Kieran, Rory, Shane, Dakota and Quinn Culkin. During his early years, the family lived in a small apartment; his mother was a telephone operator and his Irish American father worked as a sacristan at a local Catholic church. Culkin was raised a Catholic and attended Catholic schools, but was later removed by his parents, who had left the religion.
Culkin began acting at the age of 4, appearing in a stage production of Bach Babies at the New York Symphony. He continued appearing in stage, television and film roles throughout the 1980s.
Career
Culkin's rise to fame was kickstarted thanks to his lead role as Kevin in the blockbuster film Home Alone (1990). He reprised the role of Kevin in the 1992 sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, which was also a success. Around this time, Culkin struck a friendship with pop legend Michael Jackson and starred in a Saturday morning cartoon entitled, "Wish Kid Starring Macaulay Culkin."
Despite the mega success of these two films and Culkin's outstanding star power, other films he did such as The Good Son (which costarred Elijah Wood) and My Girl only did reasonably well, while Getting Even with Dad and Richie Rich bombed at the box office but provided Culkin with the bulk of his personal fortune.
After a period of inactivity, Culkin returned to acting in 2000 with a starring role in the play Madame Melville. In the spring of 2003, he made a guest appearance on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace. His role as Karen Walker's immature divorce lawyer won him positive reviews.
Culkin headed back into motion pictures in 2003 with Party Monster, where he played fallen party promoter Michael Alig. His role in the film received much publicity thanks to the real-life Alig's homosexuality and drug addiction. Though not a huge hit, Party Monster developed a cult following, as well as showing that Culkin had grown into a mature actor outside his past success.
In 2004 Culkin starred in Saved!, opposite Mandy Moore. In the film, he played a wheel chair-bound Christian school student. Though Saved! only had modest success at the box office, Culkin received many positive reviews for his role in the film.
Private life
When he was 14 years old, Culkin's career was cut short due to a custody battle between his mother and father. His father had been Culkin's manager and was widely known for being the stereotypically aggressive "showbiz parent".
Culkin married actress Rachel Miner on June 21, 1998. They were divorced on August 5, 2000. Culkin is currently dating actress Mila Kunis. In a recent interview on CNN's "Larry King Live," Culkin denied any plans to marry Kunis in the near future, discrediting numerous reports in tabloid magazines saying the couple was engaged.
Culkin caught headlines once again in 2005 when he was arrested in Oklahoma after police discovered marijuana and prescription Xanax pills inside his vehicle during a routine traffic stop on Interstate 44. He received a suspended sentence.
In 2005, around the time of the judge's decision, Culkin was once again in the news when he testified on behalf of Michael Jackson's defense during his child molestation trial. On the stand, he denied that he had ever been molested by Jackson and said that he felt that the charges against Jackson were outrageous. Many credit Culkin's testimony with Jackson's eventual acquittal.
Filmography
1989 -- Uncle Buck
1990 -- Home Alone
1990 -- Jacob's Ladder
1991 -- My Girl
1992 -- Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
1993 -- The Good Son
1994 -- Richie Rich
1994 -- Getting Even with Dad
1994 -- The Pagemaster
2003 -- Party Monster
2004 -- Saved!
