Macaulay Culkin: how did the "Home Alone" star rebuild his life on his 42nd birthday?

This Friday, actor Macaulay Culkin celebrates his 42nd birthday, practically retired from fame, when he was one of the most iconic figures of the 90's, a tender child who found fame with a movie that is already traditional in the Christmas season: "Home Alone".

However, he was also one of many victims of show business who rise to stardom in childhood and are literally exploited by their parents, who are unprepared to care for their children from a strange and brutal environment for their development.

While the world loved him, his father gave him no respite and took advantage of his moment at the top to harass him with contracts, to the point of forcing him to film eight movies in five years, until he refused to continue and decided to emancipate himself from his family. He then entered a slide of excesses, moved away from the spotlight and finally found the love to rebuild his rise, culminating in the arrival of his first daughter, Dakota.

The change of fortune for this child from a humble Manhattan family came when a neighbor who ran the Light Opera of Manhattan told his father that they needed kids for a casting call.

Two years ago Macaulay Culkin posted a tweet where he sent a message with great irony to the children of his generation:

"Hey guys, wanna feel old? I'm 40. That's my gift to the world: making people feel old. You're welcome", dijo Macaulay Culkin

The post became the 10th most "liked" post of all time at the time. Even as he continues to appear on TV every Christmas, with his angelic, 8-year-old face, he achieved success with the "Home Alone" saga, set in the cities of Chicago and New York.

Although these two films have not lost their relevance, Culkin could not surpass them so far, since he was 10 years old.

The excesses of fame

Upon reaching his teenage years, Culkin began to suffer from legal disputes with his parents largely caused by the control of the money he had earned from his work. He was later arrested for drug possession. He also lived the scandal where a controversial friendship with Michael Jackson, in which it is said the "King of Pop" would have sexually abused him as a child and later, having married at age 17.

Four years after the premiere of Home Alone, when he was only 14 years old, Macaulay forbade his parents to access his fortune, emancipated himself and retired from filming "Richie Rich" in 1994, another film with limited success. His parents "Kit" Christopher Culkin and Patricia Brentrup separated a year later and a terrible legal battle for the custody of their seven children began.

The family had grown up in a small Manhattan railroad apartment, with no obligation to go to school. The older siblings never finished high school, while with Macaulay's millions they moved into a luxurious mansion in New York's Upper East Side neighborhood.

"My father was jealous of me. He was a bad guy, an abuser. Everything he had tried to get throughout his life, I got before I was 10 years old.", Macaulay Culkin

During this interview in 2018 the actor revealed what a toxic relationship with an exploitative father was like. Something that was confirmed by his brother Kieran, who also participated in some films, but without the fame of Macaulay.

Between 1990 and 1994 the star begged his father to stop signing contracts because he needed to take a vacation for the first time in his life. He made eight movies in five years. But in addition, the father continued to take the rest of his children to castings. In addition to Kieran, he also introduced Rory.

"My father had a giant bed and he made me sleep with my brother on the couch," the actor revealed. So when they were able to decide who they wanted to live with, they chose their mother. Kit, angry, disappeared. The brothers claimed that when their disobliging father wasn't around everything was better.

Macaulay and Kieran saw their father again 17 years later, during a performance at a Broadway theater. The man had suffered a stroke and was badly deteriorated. Macaulay told his brother exactly the same thing, as if he were a total stranger: "fuck him, I don't care".

The reunion with himself

All this scandal and the weight of fame on his shoulders, forced him to withdraw completely from fame and live practically at night, without leaving his apartment and completely neglected. However, at this point he met the also child actress, Brenda Song, with whom he procreated his first daughter, born in April 2021: Dakota Song Culkin.

Macaulay and Brenda met on a set in Thailand while filming the movie "Changeland" in 2017. Both had ended their relationships: she with Trace Cyrus, Miley's older brother. He, since 2011 had broken off his relationship with actress Mila Kunis, after his first divorce with actress, Rachel Miner, between 1998 and 2000.

Brenda is the daughter of Thai immigrants and started working at the age of five in toy commercials. Two years later she made her film debut, appearing in several Disney Channel children's productions. Their connection came when they both shared the difficult experience of growing up in the midst of fame.

"Child actors can't talk about what it was like, we look each other in the eye, nod and just know," said Song, who has a degree in psychology and business from UC Berkeley and a black belt in Taekwondo.

Song and Brenda have been in a relationship for five years, have a daughter together and could be getting married at any moment. A few months ago, a photo of Brenda with a diamond ring circulated while she was walking in Beverly Hills.

However, the couple is very private about their intimacy. Macaulay continues to shy away from public exposure. While Brenda has an Instagram account with 2 million followers, where she posts pictures with amazing dresses, or next to her dogs and cats, but they do not share images of their daughter Dakota, a late aunt of the actor who died at 29, hit by a car.

The emotional balance of his relationship with Brenda also favorably impacted his work life. He was part of the series American Horror Story in 2021 and this year he integrates the cast of other TV series: The Gemstone and Entergalactic.

She also began to talk about her friendship with Michael Jackson, 22 years older, with whom she recorded the video of the song "Black or White" in 1991. In the podcast "Inside of you" he narrated that both identified themselves as having had a similar situation with fame and their families and that the "King of Pop" told him that he wanted to make sure he was not alone.