Brenda Song: her path to maturity and parenthood with Macaulay Culkin
Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song recently made the news for their wonderful appearance on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, where Macaulay devoted his new star to their little family. But even if Macaulay got the star, Brenda Song is famous, too. Do you remember her from TV?
Brenda and Macaulay were both child stars in Hollywood, which does not make for an easy childhood. "We child actors can't talk about what our childhood was like, we look each other in the eye, we nod and we just know," Brenda Song told 'Entertainment Tonight' in April 2019.
Macaulay Culkin is still referred to as Kevin McCallister, the boy from 'Home Alone', despite more than 30 years having passed. For Brenda Song, the same goes. She is still reminded of her famous character London Tipton from Disney's 'The Suite Life...' productions that she shot more than a decade ago.
Between 2005 and 2011, Brenda Song was a star who shone brightly in the prolific Disney factory. Her character London was loathsome, but she endeared herself to the public with her charisma and sympathy.
The young actress was 16 when she began playing London Tipton. The character was grotesquely reminiscent of an over-the-top, capricious, and selfish Paris Hilton who, nevertheless, managed to steal the spotlight and gain sympathy from anyone who shared the screen with her.
Not surprisingly, more than a decade after the end of the series, Brenda Song is still friends with almost all of her co-stars and other Disney celebrities of the time: Cole and Dylan Sprouse, Debby Ryan, Miley Cyrus, Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale.
Since leaving the Disney factory, Brenda Song has appeared in well-known series such as 'New Girl', 'Dads', 'Scandal', 'Pure Genius' and films such as 'Secret Obsession'. she's had a lot of roles but few had the impact of London Tipton.
Her role in David Fincher's 'The Social Network' was a (minor) exception. Brenda Song played Christy Lee, a small role that marked her break from the Disney past.
Brenda Song has admitted on social media that she finds it "strange and cute" that she is still remembered as the unbearable London Tipton. At the same time, she has made it clear that she would "never play a rich and spoilt girl again".
But how about the story of her audition for Crazy Rich Asians? According to the movie's director Jon M. Chu, Brenda's London Tipton was the "original Crazy Rich Asian" on Western TV. It was no surprise, therefore, when Song auditioned for a role in the movie. Yet, she didn't get the part and perhaps it was for the best. It would have been a classic case of typecasting.
Meanwhile, Brenda Song has continued to do work for Disney. She was the voice actress for the frog Anne Boonchuy in the animated series 'Amphibia'.
Interestingly, Disney may also have had a definite influence on her current relationship and family status. Brenda Song had an on-again, off-again relationship with Trace Cyrus, brother of Miley Cyrus, between 2010 and 2017. The couple became engaged, then broke off the engagement, and then remained on and off for another five years.
After the definitive break-up, Macaulay Culkin appeared and became Brenda's steady boyfriend in 2017.
They met through Seth Green, a mutual friend who set them to work together on the filming of 'Changeland'. When they met, all it took was a glance, a few words between them, and love was born.
The couple has always been very discreet. It's hard to find any photos of them together on social media. The only one in which they appeared together was a group photo with Seth Green and others in 2017.
An exception to their privacy rule was the 40th birthday of Macaulay Culkin. Yes, the 'Home Alone' kid is now a family man in his forties! On that special day, Brenda and Macaulay did appear together on social media.
"Happy 40th birthday to this magical being," Brenda Song wrote to Macaulay Culkin on Instagram. "I could sit here and write endlessly about how wonderful, kind, loving, genuine, loyal, honest, brilliant and hilarious you are, and how grateful I am that I get to share and do this life thing with you. But firstly, that would take me an eternity and secondly, you won't even see this because you don't ever use instagram. Hahaha."
On that day, although they may not have known it yet, the couple were already expecting the arrival of little Dakota Song Culkin. They had long talked about starting a family. Macaulay said in 'The Joe Rogan Experience' podcast in 2018 that he was going to have "beautiful babies."
"She's Asian, so I'm going to have little Asian babies. It's going to be adorable, a lot of Sean Lennon running around the house, that's what I'm looking for," the actor said, referring to John Lennon and Yoko Ono's son.
On April 5, 2021, Dakota Song Culkin was born. Hearing her name and reading this gallery, you may think of John Lennon's apartment building as an inspiration. But no, 'Dakota' was the name of Macaulay's sister who tragically died in a car accident.
Late in 2022, the couple had their second baby, Carson, and they kept his birth a secret until 2023. They are now a beautiful family of four.
For the moment, Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song already have two babies, and who knows if more will follow. Seeing the level of cuteness and mutual love between this couple, the world will embrace and applaud every little 'Sean Lennon' they have.