Is child star Macaulay Culkin dying? Well, if you believe the National Enquirer, he just may be.
Culkin is best known as the cute child star from the Home Alone movie series. From an acting family, Culkin somewhat fell prey to things that happen to a lot of child stars. He started acting at age four and reached his peak at age 10 when he starred as Kevin McCallister in Home Alone. He appeared in the second movie in that series in 1992. He even hosted “Saturday Night Live” at the age of 11.
But, by the mid-‘90s, his career was on the skids. He made somewhat of a comeback in 2003 when he did a guest stint on “Will and Grace,” and won critical acclaim for his role in Party Monster in 2003.
His personal life wasn’t going much better. Between 1995 and 1997, Culkin’s parents fought for custody of the children. He became estranged from his father and in 1998 at the age of 17, Culkin married actress Rachel Miner. He then got into a relationship with actress Mila Kunis that lasted almost 9 years before the two broke up.
In 2004, Culkin was arrested for marijuana possession in Oklahoma. He ended up paying a $540 fine and had three one-year suspended prison terms. In 2008, his sister Dakota was struck by a car in Los Angeles and died the next day.
Recently, photos showing Culkin appearing gaunt have surfaced. The National Enquirer stated that Culkin was using drugs, specifically heroin, and if he didn’t stop, might be dead within six months. Culkin’s reps deny the charge, saying it is “impossibly and ridiculously fictitious.”
After that, I saw that the National Enquirer issued a statement. I was thinking they had retracted the news, but they stood by their story, even asking Culkin to submit to a drug test and suggesting he enter rehab. They cited their many years of reporting on Whitney Houston’s drug problem as proof of their news record.
Culkin has looked bad in all the photos I’ve seen lately, but he did make an appearance at Natalie Portman’s recent wedding. If he is using drugs, I hope he gets the help he needs and doesn’t become another child star tragedy.