Kieran Culkin has opened up about the death of his sister, Dakota Culkin, who tragically lost her life in 2008. Dakota was out in Los Angeles when a car accidentally struck her, ultimately causing fatal injuries, per ABC News. “She was taken to UCLA hospital with massive head trauma and passed away on Dec. 10th at 12:45 PM,” read a partial statement from the LAPD. “The driver stopped, rendered aid, and identified himself as required by law. Detectives have determined that the driver was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, so no crime was committed,” the statement continued.
Around that time, the Culkin family’s manager, Emily Gerson Saines, revealed that brothers Kieran, Macaulay Culkin, and Rory Culkin had decided to postpone their then-current filming schedule in honor of Dakota’s life. “They’re heartbroken,” she shared in a statement to People magazine (via UPI). “That I can tell you. They’re just absolutely heartbroken.”
Kieran has expanded on that heartbreak and the enduring memories he has of his late sister, proving the one universal truth about loss.
Dakota’s death hasn’t gotten easier for Kieran Culkin
Dakota Culkin’s death cast a heavy cloud over the entire Culkin family, including Kieran Culkin’s brother, “Home Alone” star Macaulay Culkin. However, Kieran’s admiration for his siblings made Dakota’s untimely death especially hard for him. “I only knew who I was because of who my siblings are,” he shared on “CBS Sunday Morning.” While continuing to speak about his personal loss, Kieran also touched on the heartbreaking reality of losing a loved one. “So, to lose one was losing a big piece of myself. But losing one of my favorite people in the world, it doesn’t get better; it doesn’t get easier. Just, you get used to it.”
This is far from the first time that Kieran has tackled the sensitive topic of losing his beloved sibling. In 2009, he sat down with Interview magazine and addressed the state of his famous family after Dakota’s death. “It’s been a rough couple of months,” said the actor. “I won’t speak for anyone else, but I’m doing okay. That’s the point of doing this interview and stuff.” He continued, “For a little while there, I wasn’t going to do any press.”
Fortunately, Kieran found a way to keep Dakota alive in his character, Roman Roy, on “Succession.” “After a couple of seasons on ‘Succession,’ I realized there was some stuff that Roman did that I was like, ‘Oh, that’s my sister,'” he shared on “CBS Sunday Morning.” He continued, “That was her sense of humor. She could find exactly what the right thing to make fun of you was that would get to you, but be really funny and make the room laugh.”
