Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) in the 1990 Christmas film Home Alone. Photo: 20th Century Fox
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https://scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3159825/where-are-child-stars-best-christmas-movies-today-home Celebrities
Where are the child stars of the best Christmas movies today? From Home Alone’s Macaulay Culkin to Love Actually’s Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Mara Wilson from Miracle on 34th Street
- Fame in a Christmas film means fame for life – as the classics get wheeled out every year without fail – but not all young stars go on to pursue a Hollywood life
- After starring in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Taylor Momsen starred in Gossip Girl and formed the band The Pretty Reckless – fellow rocker Culkin now models for Gucci
Where are Macaulay Culkin and Thomas Brodie-Sangster after classic Christmas films, Home Alone and Love Actually? Photos: 20th Century Fox, Getty Images for Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, Universal Pictures, Dave Benett/Getty Images for Omega
Finding fame early can do strange things to a developing mind, and no young actors are more affected by the spotlight than those who star in holiday movies – wheeled out year after year without fail, guaranteeing a lifetime of some notoriety whatever path you choose to later pursue.
So where are they now? Many child actors from famous festive films quietly step away from Hollywood seeking a dose of normalcy. Others, like Thomas Brodie-Sangster of Love Actually, have continued to land starring roles. A third path? Peter Billingsley from A Christmas Story now works behind the scenes as a producer.
Macaulay Culkin is best known as the mischief-making protagonist in the Home Alone films
The Home Alone films, which came out in the 1990s, are holiday classics. Culkin was 10 when the first movie premiered. He starred in other 90s films, such as My Girl and Richie Rich.
He took a break from acting in 1994, but he returned to the screen sporadically from 2003. This year, he appeared in American Horror Story and became a dad.
Macaulay Culkin walks the runway for Gucci Love Parade on November 2. Photo: Getty Images/AFP
Culkin also wrote an autobiography, co-founded a pizza-themed Velvet Underground tribute band called The Pizza Underground with which he toured before they split up in 2018, and hosted a podcast called Bunny Ears.
He has continued acting as well – among his roles, he played Michael Alig in Party Monster in 2003, and he did voice-over work for Robot Chicken. He also appeared in American Horror Story in August.
He welcomed a son, Dakota Song Culkin, in April with Brenda Song. In November, Culkin made a surprise catwalk appearance at the Gucci Love Parade show on Hollywood Boulevard.
Mara Wilson starred in the 1994 remake of the holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street
Mara Wilson in Miracle on 34th Street. Photo: 20th Century Studios
Wilson was just six years old when she made her on-screen debut in Mrs. Doubtfire in 1993. She went on to play the titular character in Matilda in 1996.
Wilson took a break from acting to focus on a career as an author and journalist, but she continues to do voice-over work and make small cameos.
Mara Wilson has moved on since Matilda. Photo: @marawilson/Instagram
Wilson published a memoir called Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame, wrote a play called Sheeple, and has had bylines in various publications.
Earlier this year, she wrote an essay for The New York Times about the dangers of being a child star, including her experiences of being sexualised by the media as a child, and she voiced her support for Britney Spears following FX’s popular Framing Britney Spears documentary.
She has also lent her voice to characters in BoJack Horseman and Big Hero 6: The Series.
Peter Billingsley played Ralphie Parker in the holiday classic A Christmas Story in 1983
Peter Billingsley sits on Santa’s lap in a scene from A Christmas Story. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Getty Images
Young Ralphie asked Santa for an “official Red Ryder carbine action, 200-shot, range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time”. Billingsley was just 12 years old when he played the role.
He now works behind the scenes as a producer.
Peter Billingsley, in his capacity as an executive producer on An Evening With Bill Burr’s F is for Family, at The Paley Center for Media in November 2018. Photo: Getty Images
He’s worked as a producer on Iron Man, Four Christmases and The Break-Up, and directed the romantic comedy Couples Retreat. He also produced the Broadway adaptation of A Christmas Story in 2012.
More recently, between 2015 and 2021, he’s executive produced the Netflix animated series F is for Family.
In Love Actually, Thomas Brodie-Sangster played Liam Neeson’s young stepson, Sam, who was madly in love with a girl at school
Lovestruck Thomas Brodie-Sangster in Love Actually. Photo: Universal Pictures
Brodie-Sangster reprised the role for charity in the mini-sequel Red Nose Day Actually in 2017.
Fans may recognise him now from Game of Thrones, the Maze Runner films, or The Queen’s Gambit.
Thomas Brodie-Sangster in London in 2021. Photo: Getty Images
Brodie-Sangster also voiced Ferb Fletcher in Disney’s Phineas and Ferb, played Jojen Reed in seasons three and four of Game of Thrones, and played Newt in the Maze Runner films.
He most recently starred as chess prodigy Benny Watts in The Queen’s Gambit miniseries on Netflix, and he is slated to appear in the audio series Unsinkable alongside John Malkovich and Brian Cox.
Taylor Momsen played Cindy Lou Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Taylor Momsen in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Photo: Universal Pictures
Momsen was seven years old when she held the role. She went on to star in Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams, Hansel & Gretel and Saving Shiloh.
After rising to fame as Jenny Humphrey in Gossip Girl, she pivoted to focus on music with her rock band, The Pretty Reckless.
Taylor Momsen is part of The Pretty Reckless. Photo: @plvtoisaplanet/Twitter
The Pretty Reckless has released three studio albums, and Momsen hasn’t acted since Gossip Girl ended in 2012.
Johnny Galecki starred in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation in 1989
Johnny Galecki in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Photo: Warner Bros.
When he was 14, he starred in the movie as Rusty, the son of Clark and Ellen Griswold, played by Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo. A few years later, Galecki became known as David Healy on Roseanne, a role he held from 1992 to 1997.
Johnny Galecki all grown up. Photo: @sanctionedjohnnygalecki/Instagram
He has since enjoyed a successful TV career. He reprised his Roseanne role in the series reboot and eventual spin-off The Conners.
He also starred as Leonard Hofstadter in The Big Bang Theory from 2006 to 2019. For his work on the show, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy in 2011 and a Golden Globe in 2012, among other awards. He played Henry in the 2019 movie A Dog’s Journey.
Karolyn Grimes played Zuzu Bailey in the holiday classic It’s A Wonderful Life in 1946
American actors James Stewart, as George Bailey, and Karolyn Grimes as his daughter Zuzu, in a scene from It’s a Wonderful Life, directed by Frank Capra, from 1946. Photo: Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
Grimes played actor James Stewart’s daughter. She was six years old when she held the role. Grimes quit acting in the 1950s, but she still makes appearances at It’s A Wonderful Life screenings.
Karoyln Grimes today. Photo: @ClassicMovieHub/Twitter
Grimes published Zuzu Bailey’s It’s A Wonderful Life Cookbook: Recipes and Anecdotes Inspired by America’s Favorite Movie in 2000.
Daniel Tay starred alongside Will Ferrell in the 2003 holiday classic Elf
Daniel Tay as Michael in Elf. Photo: New Line Cinema
Tay played Buddy the Elf’s brother, Michael. He was 12 years old when he starred in the film.
After a few other movie roles and some voice-over work, Tay left acting and earned a degree in economics from Yale.
Daniel Tay in 2009. Photo: Getty Images
According to his LinkedIn page, Tay now works as a tutor and a research associate at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. His last acting job was voice-over work for an episode of the web series AniMat’s Classic Reviews in 2017.
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