﻿Kieran Culkin has been acting since he was a kid, along with his older brother Macaulay
Culkin. While Kieran's career garnered a lot of attention following the hit series
'Succession,' the actor prefers to keep his personal life out of the spotlight.
He's been happily married for a decade to Jazz Charton, and the pair live a remarkably low-key
life. From the moment he laid eyes on her, Kieran knew she was the one and he didn’t want to miss
out on the chance of making her a part of his life. While they like to keep their lives simple,
their love story will have you swooning. It was 2012 when Kieran Culkin first crossed
paths with his future wife, Jazz Charton, at a bar in New York City. Jazz was working in
the music department of an ad agency at the time, while Kieran was already established as an actor.
Since Charton grew up in London, Culkin was immediately drawn in by
her accent and decided to introduce himself. He recalled their first conversation, "I said,
'I'm Kieran. You have an English accent. What's your name?' She said, 'Jazz.' I said, 'J-A-Z-Z,
like the music?' And she said, 'Yeah.' And I said, 'Well, that's fucking stupid.'"
Kieran thought she was the "most beautiful girl," but Jazz was, in fact, with another man at the bar
that night. The actor knew he had to be smart about his approach and waited for the man to
go to the bathroom before he made his big move. As soon as he left, Culkin went to sit by Charton
and took his shot. He shared, "I asked if he was her boyfriend, and when she said no,
I asked if I could be her boyfriend. We've been together ever since."
In 2013, the couple decided to go on a road trip that took a very exciting turn. What was supposed
to be a six-week road trip ended up taking three and a half months. Spending so much time on the
road together made them realize how much they loved each other, and they figured there was no
point in waiting to take the next big step. So, while they were driving through a storm in
Iowa, Kieran and Jazz decided to pull over on the side of the road and elope. In a 2018 interview,
Culkin shared that kids weren't in the cards for the couple just yet.
According to the actor, he and Jazz were a little apprehensive about having children. He explained,
"It just seems like a lot to take on. I suppose if she gets pregnant, that would be fine,
but it's really not on our horizon." But their cat Django, was their first baby.
"My wife loves Django so much. She won't even travel because she doesn't want to leave him."
About a year later, Charton announced that she was pregnant with their first child,
and she left little to the imagination as to how she was conceived.
In the Instagram post, she captioned "#theglobeswerefun," referring to the
Golden Globe Awards that year where Culkin had been nominated for best-supporting actor for
his role as Roman Roy on the hit TV series, Succession. While he didn't win the award,
just a few months later, he got an even bigger prize when their daughter, Kinsey, was born.
The couple said that they named their daughter after "a girl named Kinsey,"
who had helped them get their marriage license during their road trip.
Just a few days after she gave birth, Jazz shared some details about the day
Kinsey was born in a post on Instagram. She wrote, "After 25 hours of laboring at home,
we arrived at the hospital too late for any pain meds as I was already dilated and ready to push,
and she was out within the hour during a full moon on Friday the 13th … it's all so
worth it. I've never been more in love, and we've never felt more complete."
For Father's Day, Charton thanked Culkin for "accidentally knocking me up," adding that
it was the "Best thing to ever happen to me." When the actor was nominated for a Golden Globe
the following year and lost again, Jazz shared a playful post poking fun at her husband. She
wrote alongside a photo of her husband holding an imaginary trophy, "My three-time Golden Globe
loser. I got pregnant the last time he lost, so I'm out of consolation prize ideas…."
Kieran confessed to feeling 'dad guilt' for managing to sleep while working out
of town after Kinsey was born. After their daughter was born,
Kieran admitted to feeling "dad guilt" while he was working out of town, knowing
his wife was at home with their newborn. He shared, "When we had a kid the first time,
I actually left town to do a talk show and was out of town those first few days, and
I was getting a lot of sleep and felt guilty." The actor also prefers to be a hands-on dad, and
even said, "'I actually love the diaper changing," because he sees it as a "connected moment" and a
"bonding thing" between him and his baby. Kieran and Jazz welcomed their second child
in 2021, not long after she had announced her pregnancy. This time, the couple struggled
to agree on a name for their newborn son and didn't name him until weeks after he was born.
Eventually, they agreed on the name Wilder Wolf. During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
later that year, the actor explained why it took the pair so long to settle on a name for their
son. Initially, it was because they didn't know if they were going to be having a boy or a girl.
"My wife wanted Wolf. She was fighting hard for Wolf. We found the name in the
hospital the day that he was born, and we thought, 'That's great.' But instead of
pulling the trigger on it, we thought, 'Let's torture ourselves for about seven weeks.'"
Kieran admitted that they waited until right before Jazz gave birth to brainstorm names.
They were able to "narrow it down to two girl names" that they really liked and agreed it would
be one of those names if they had a girl. Culkin added, "If it's a boy, we're screwed. And we had a
boy and spent seven weeks arguing about names." In 2022, Charton turned a drawing by her "little
lady" Kinsey into a tattoo. The mother of two has shared plenty of other glimpses
into her family life on social media, though she never shows her children's full faces.
For their seventh wedding anniversary, Jazz shared a photo from their wedding
day on social media and wrote, "7 years ago, we went on what was supposed to be a six-week road
trip but ended up taking 3 1/2 months. Seven years ago, we fell in love with Iowa. Seven years ago,
we met a girl named Kinsey who helped us get our marriage license, and seven years ago today;
we said I do in the rain with three strangers." The actor isn't on social media himself,
so his wife takes it upon herself to shower him with endless words of support online. The
day after the actor hosted Saturday Night Live in 2021, Charton dedicated an Instagram post to him,
writing, "Proud would be an understatement. So lucky to see this impressive man achieve
his dreams - even while our kids deprive me of sleep and just general quality of life."
Culkin is used to flying under the radar. Even though the actor grew
up in a showbiz family of sorts, his career didn't reach the heights of his brother and
"Home Alone" star Macaulay Culkin until he landed on the hit HBO drama "Succession."
The show instantly launched the careers of its ensemble cast, and Culkin emerged as a
total fan favorite. Despite the immense popularity of the series, Kieran isn't
terribly comfortable with the whole idea of fame. During an interview with Vanity Fair, he described
being a celebrity as "not a nice thing." He explained, "I think well-adjusted,
smart people that experience it first- or secondhand would not pursue it. I'll totally
take personal happiness over success, absolutely. If I'm miserable, then what's the fucking point?"
As a result, the actor keeps his personal life under wraps, too. While Jazz shares
little snippets of their private life at home, they like to keep the more intimate details to
themselves. But from what we can tell, there is no denying that they have an adorable marriage.
Culkin shared that he and Charton want to have more kids, especially now that
they're moving into a bigger apartment. Up until their son was born, the couple
had been living in the same New York apartment that Kieran had moved into when he was 19.
The actor joked, "We're on our way up. The last place was a rental, so that
money's all gone. I know. I'm not smart." Kieran even admitted that he and Jazz had
been sleeping on a floor mattress while their toddler would sleep in their bed. Eventually,
it came to a point when the couple knew they couldn't live like that anymore.
He recalled, "There was a day in particular when I came home … and the place was a mess
because I left it a mess, and I said, 'Honey, I'm so sorry for how we live.' And she goes,
'You know you're on a hit TV show, right? We don't have to live like this.' I'm like, 'Yeah,
alright, we'll move, we'll move!'" Since then, the couple has bought a
beautiful three-bedroom home and had it renovated. Now that they have more space,
they're looking forward to expanding their family and making more happy memories together. We're so
happy for Kieran and Jazz, and we wish them only the best for their future together!