Things shifted for Brenda Song when she became a mom.
The actress, 36, spoke with Bustle for a new cover story and shared that her life was forever changed after she became a mom to her two sons – Dakota, 3, and Carson, 2 – whom she shares with fiancé Macaulay Culkin, 44.
“I had two pregnancies in the same calendar year. It was a lot,” Song admits. “Once I stepped into motherhood, it made me question a lot: my place in this industry, my place as a woman, ageism in this industry, society’s pressures of what beauty is, what being young is.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“Things that I’d never questioned before. And also, my priority is my children, so I can’t just uproot my life and go live in Bulgaria for nine months to shoot a movie. I was like, ‘Does acting still fit in my life?'”
Ultimately, Song was able to lean on Culkin and find a balance between her career and motherhood. “Family life is the most important thing,” she affirms, “but I’ve always said to be the best parent, the best partner, I have to be the best me. And a huge part of this is work. I have to be able to honor that.”
Elsewhere in the article, Song shared why she and Culkin try to keep their sons out of the spotlight, referencing the moment they brought their two kids with them when the Home Alone actor received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023.
“That was such a special moment. We couldn’t have them miss that,” Song says of her two sons, but admits that “Dak was scared of all the cameras.”
“That’s one of the reasons why we sort of keep them away,” she continues, referencing the Hollywood spotlight. “They did not understand what was happening.”
A later situation at a soccer game showed Song that she was valid for keeping her kids away from the chaos of the industry.
“My son was like, ‘Why is that man taking pictures of you, mama?’ ” she remembers. “You could take pictures of me all day. I don’t care. But when it’s your kids, it’s different. They didn’t ask for this life.”
Leave a Reply