What did Kevin’s parents from “Home Alone” do for a living? The director has spoken on the topic

Home Alone draws viewers to their TVs every year, and online discussions frequently delve into how the protagonist’s parents can afford to maintain such a large house in Chicago, as well as pay for family vacations. (The New York Times once noted that only 1% of the city’s residents at the time could afford such a property.) Director Chris Columbus has weighed in on the subject.

The creator explains. To quote THR‘s artile:

“Back then, John and I had a conversation about it, and we decided on what the jobs were,” Columbus said. Catherine O’Hara’s Kate McCallister “was a very successful fashion designer,” as suggested by the mannequins in the family’s basement. As for John Heard’s Peter McCallister, he can’t say for sure. “The father could have, based on John Hughes own experience, worked in advertising, but I don’t remember what the father did.” He was able to rule out one profession, though, which people online speculated might have drawn criminals Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern) to the McCallister home in the first place: “Not organized crime — even though there was, at the time, a lot of organized crime in Chicago.”

In the final sentence, Columbus refers to an online theory suggesting that Kevin’s father was a criminal, which is why his house was of particular interest to the thieves Kevin has to deal with.