What is Macaulay Culkin’s Net Worth, Salary and Career Earnings?
Macaulay Culkin, a retired actor born in New York, has a net worth of $18 million. He gained fame in the early 90s for his roles in hit films like “Home Alone,” “My Girl,” and “Richie Rich.” He was one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood and took a break from acting in the late 90s and early 2000s. Culkin has recently returned to acting in television and film roles. Despite being the subject of numerous tabloid stories, Culkin prefers to live his life privately away from Hollywood. Fellow actor and childhood friend Seth Green has defended Culkin, stating that he does not let the media’s opinions affect him.
Macaulay Culkin’s Early Movie Career Earnings
For his first major movie, 1989’s “Uncle Buck,” Culkin made $40,000. One year later he received $100,000 for his role in “Home Alone,” which launched him to stardom. From 1990 to 1994, Culkin was a seven figure movie star, earning $1 million for “My Girl” and $4.5 million for “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.” He even accepted a pay cut down to $1.5 million for “The Good Son.” In 1994, he earned $8 million each for “Getting Even with Dad” and “Richie Rich.” In total, these seven films earned Culkin $23.5 million, which adjusted for inflation is equivalent to $40 million today.
Early Life and Education
Macaulay Carson Culkin was born on August 26, 1980 in Manhattan, New York City. His father, Christopher Culkin, is a former Broadway actor. His mother, Patricia Brentrup, and his father never married.
Culkin is one of seven children and a few of his siblings are also actors. He attended St. Joseph’s School of Yorkville, a Catholic school, for five years before attending the Professional Children’s School.
Macaulay Culkin’s Early Career and Breakthrough
Macaulay Culkin started working in entertainment at age four, with small roles in theatre productions, made-for-TV movies, and television shows. He starred alongside John Candy in John Hughes’ film Uncle Buck in 1989. In 1990, Culkin’s breakthrough came when he was cast as Kevin McCallister in John Hughes’ Home Alone, earning him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor and winning American Comedy and Young Artist awards. He also starred in a Saturday morning cartoon series, hosted Saturday Night Live, and appeared in Michael Jackson’s music video for Black or White. Culkin’s darker role in the 1993 drama-thriller The Good Son earned him an MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Villain. He took a hiatus from acting in 1994 to attend a private high school in NYC after poor box office performances with Getting Even with Dad, The Pagemaster, and Richie Rich.
Macaulay Culkin’s Career Highlights
In 1998, Culkin returned to acting in a music video for Sonic Youth’s “Sunday.” He later appeared in the play Madame Melville in London’s West End and returned to films in 2003 with a dark role in Party Monster. Culkin also had a supporting role in the sleeper hit Saved! and did voice work for Robot Chicken.
He published a semi-autobiographical novel, Junior, in 2006 and starred in the dark comedy Sex and Breakfast in 2007. Culkin also starred in the NBC series Kings and was featured in the experimental film The Wrong Ferarri.
In 2013, Culkin co-produced and directed a viral video of himself eating a cheese pizza to promote his pizza-themed comedy rock band, The Pizza Underground. However, the band split up in 2016.
Culkin had a part in Seth Green’s film Changeland in 2019 and was announced to be part of the cast of the upcoming tenth season of American Horror Story in 2020. He is also the publisher and CEO of the satirical pop culture website and podcast, Bunny Ears.
Macaulay Culkin’s TV Ads
After the break up with his band, Macaulay Culkin turned to producing web content and a podcast. He also appeared in various TV ads, including one for Google Assistant in 2018.
In the Google Assistant ad, Macaulay reprised his role of Kevin from Home Alone and recreated scenes from the movie. Despite being 28 years older than he was in the first film, Macaulay played the role of Kevin with ease.
Macaulay was reportedly paid $1 million to appear in this commercial, adding to his already impressive net worth.
Macaulay Culkin’s Personal Life
Macaulay Culkin was previously engaged to Mila Kunis but they broke it off. He was married to actress Rachel Miner from 1998 – 2002.
Since 2017, Culkin has been in a relationship with Changeland co-star Brenda Song. They welcomed son Dakota on April 5, 2021. The couple named their son after Macaulay’s sister Dakota, who died in 2008 after being hit by a car.
Macaulay Culkin’s Real Estate Holdings
Macaulay Culkin owns several properties, including a home in Los Angeles worth $2.5 million. He also owns apartments in New York City and Paris, with the New York City apartment being owned since the early 2000s.
In August 2022, Culkin and his partner, Brenda Song, purchased Kiefer Sutherland’s home in the Toluca Lake area of Los Angeles for $8 million. The 4,879 square foot home features five bedrooms and six bathrooms, along with a swimming pool, putting green, and terrace with a fireplace and pergola. The property sits on a .6-acre lot.
