Macaulay Culkin biography

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Actor. Born Macaulay Carson Culkin on August 26, 1980 in New York City. The third of seven children, Macauley Culkin was drawn to the limelight from a young age. He performed in his first play Off-Broadway at age four. Culkin studied the performing arts extensively as a child, including training at Blanchine's School of the American Ballet, and appeared in numerous television commercials.

Although Macauley Culkin made his feature screen debut in 1988's Rocket Gibraltar, it was his charming turn as John Candy's precocious nephew in 1989's comedic hit Uncle Buck that made him Hollywood's favorite child actor. His stardom hit meteoric proportions the following year when he starred in the wildly successful slapstick comedy Home Alone. The film was the highest-grossing film of the year and spawned a slightly less successful sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York in 1992.

In 1991, Macaulay Culkin impressed audiences and critics with his heartfelt and endearing performance as the best friend of a troubled young girl in the tear-jerker My Girl. Subsequent films, including 1993's The Good Son and 1994's Richie Rich were forgettable, and emphasized Culkin's waning popularity.

Throughout his career, Macaulay Culkin's father, Kit Culkin, was his manager. During the early 1990s rumors began to surface that accused the elder Culkin of mismanagement. In 1995, Macaulay Culkin's parents began a greedy custody battle over their children and Macaulay's fortune. His mother eventually won custody.

In 2003, after a relatively long absence from the public eye, Macaulay Culkin starred in Party Monster, a true story about the rise and fall of a club promoter. Recent films include 2004's Saved! and 2007's Sex and Breakfast.

In September 2004, Culkin was arrested in Oklahoma for possession of 17.3 grams of marijuana and two other controlled substances for which he had no perscription. He was given a one-year deferred sentence on each charge and was assessed $540 in court costs.

In 2005, Culkin defended Michael Jackson at the pop star's molestation trial. He called the allegations against Jackson "absolutely ridiculous." Culkin met Jackson in the early 1990s, after he had reached stardom with Home Alone and spent time at the Neverland Ranch. He is godfather to Jackson's eldest two children Prince Michael Jr. and Paris-Michael Katherine