Emily Mack
Two of our favorite child actors, Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song, have found love with each other. And now, they are parents to their first child: a healthy baby boy named honor of Culkin’s late sister Dakota. Learn more about their charming relationship.
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Macaulay Culkin
40-year-old Macaulay “Mack” Culkinbecame the ultimate child star after his prominent performance in Home Alone. After his earlier appearance in Uncle Buck alongside comedic powerhouse John Candy, Culkin was the natural choice to play the demanding role of Kevin McCallister. As we all know, Culkin did more than rising to the challenge. His facial expressions have inspired countless imitations, and his handle on the protagonist demonstrated true artistic understanding. A movie like Home Alone could easily have floundered with a boy lead who was too exaggerated. But Culkin carefully depicted Kevin as lonely, sweet, and only occasionally cocky.
Macaulay Culkin would go on to star in the respectable sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, the tear-jerker My Girl, and more. And though he’s no longer a prolific actor, Culkin boasts other creative pursuits. He fronted a pizza-themed comedy rock band for some time, the Pizza Underground, and publishes his own pop-culture satire site, Bunny Ears. Away from Hollywood, he’s always shown off a naturally playful side. Since Culkin officially retired from acting at the age of fourteen, many fans were shocked at the recent announcement that he would be featured in the upcoming tenth season of Ryan Murphy‘s American Horror Story.
Fans were also shocked in 2017 when Culkin was spotted getting cozy with another early-aughts favorite: former Disney kid Brenda Song.
Brenda Song
Brenda Song, now 33, found widespread fame portraying hotel heiress London Tipton on Disney Channel’s The Suite Life of Zack & Cody in 2005. Song played the ditzy character with comedic gravitas and adorable spunk. At the time, Song’s casting was one of the few moments of Asian representation on the popular kids’ network. Post-Disney, Song appeared in the film The Social Network and completed various TV arcs on shows like New Girl, Scandal, and Dads. She currently stars on Hulu’s Dollface.
In 2019, she appeared in Netflix’s Secret Obsession and Seth Green’s comedy-drama Changeland… the latter co-starred none other than Macaulay Culkin. They met on set in Thailand and quickly fell in love.
Culkin and Song’s Unique Relationship
Last year, Esquire focused on Macauley Culkin for the cover story, “Macaulay Culkin Is Not Like You.” While reporting, journalist Ryan D’Agostino collected some excellent tidbits about the intimate relationship that Culkin and Brenda Song share. He wrote yesterday:
” ‘You can’t be around him and not be happy,’ [Song said.] That’s how they talk about each other: with a kind of disbelief that it can feel this good to be with another person… When they first started dating, Culkin told me, ‘I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.’ After a while, he realized, ‘No—sometimes it’s just good.’ “
The couple resides in Los Angeles, California, in a house filled with pets: a parrot, three cats, some fish, and a Shiba Inu. But now, there is a baby too! Dakota Song Culkin was on Monday, April 5, and named for Culkin’s sister who died in 2008. (Culkin was the fourth of eight siblings in an unconventional acting family.) He is healthy, weighing six pounds and 14 ounces.
To Esquire, the couple released the simple statement: “We’re overjoyed!”
Congrats to the new parents!
