Catherine O’Hara Dies at 71 After Brief Illness

Catherine O'Hara, the actress known for her roles in Home Alone, Beetlejuice and Schitt's Creek, died Friday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 71. Her manager confirmed the news, saying she passed after a brief illness. The cause was not given.

Background

Catherine O'Hara was born on March 4, 1954, in Toronto, Ontario, as the sixth of seven children. She grew up in Canada and started her career in comedy. Early on, she worked in sketch shows and improv. She joined the cast of SCTV Network 90 in the early 1980s. That work earned her first Emmy Award in 1982 for writing. She got two more nominations for the show.

She turned down a spot on Saturday Night Live to stay with SCTV when it moved to NBC. She said later she just did not like living in New York City. O'Hara stayed with SCTV until 1982 but came back for guest spots until 1984. From there, she moved into films and more TV roles. Over 50 years, she acted in movies that made more than $4.3 billion at the box office worldwide.

In 1988, she met production designer Bo Welch on the set of Beetlejuice. They married in 1992 and had two sons, Matthew in 1994 and Luke in 1997. O'Hara held dual Canadian and American citizenship. In 2017, Canada named her an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2021, she became honorary mayor of Brentwood in Los Angeles. She also had a medical condition called situs inversus, where her organs were reversed from normal positions.

O'Hara stayed friends with many co-stars. She attended Macaulay Culkin's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony. She kept working into her later years, taking on both comedy and drama parts.

Key Details

O'Hara's film roles made her a household name. In 1990 and 1992, she played Kate McCallister, the mother in the first two Home Alone movies with Macaulay Culkin. She brought back Delia Deetz from the 1988 Beetlejuice in the 2024 sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. She starred in mockumentaries directed by Christopher Guest. Those included Best in Show in 2000, A Mighty Wind in 2003, and others like Waiting for Guffman and For Your Consideration.

TV Career Highlights

On television, her role as Moira Rose in Schitt's Creek from 2015 to 2020 stood out. She appeared in 80 episodes as the eccentric mother. For the final season, she won almost every major award. Those were a Primetime Emmy for Lead Actress in a Comedy, a Golden Globe, a Critics' Choice award, a Screen Actors Guild award, and a TCA award.

Her TV work went beyond that. She played Dr. Georgina Orwell in A Series of Unfortunate Events on Netflix in 2017. Her husband Bo Welch directed some episodes and did production design. In 2025, she had a main role in The Studio on Apple TV+ with Seth Rogen. That earned her an Emmy nomination. She also guest-starred as Gail Lynden in season two of The Last of Us on HBO.

Her last public sighting was at LAX airport in February 2024. A photographer asked which role she wanted to be remembered for most.

Hollywood reacted quickly to her death. Stars shared memories online.

"Oh, genius to be near you. Eternally grateful. There is less light in my world, this lucky world that had you, will keep you, always. Always ♥️," – Pedro Pascal

"I thought we had time, I had so much more to say, I love you." – Macaulay Culkin

"She was my Meryl Streep. I could watch her in anything." – Paul Walter Hauser

Justin Theroux, who worked with her on Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, posted a photo of her director's chair on set. Seth Rogen and others from her recent shows also paid respects.

What This Means

O'Hara's death marks the end of a long run in comedy and acting. Fans and peers see her as a force who shaped modern laughs. Her work in Schitt's Creek brought her to new audiences late in her career. That show won big at awards and found fans worldwide.

Her films like Home Alone stay holiday staples. Families watch them every year. Beetlejuice and its sequel keep her ghost world alive. The mockumentaries she did with Christopher Guest built a niche for funny fake docs. They influenced later shows and movies.

On TV, her Emmy wins set a bar for comedy acting. Younger actors like those in The Last of Us and The Studio worked with her right up to the end. Her guest spots showed she could switch from funny to dark roles.

The entertainment world loses a steady presence. She worked across decades, from sketch TV to streaming hits. Her family, including Bo Welch and sons Matthew and Luke, now face this loss at home in Los Angeles. Tributes keep coming as people share clips and stories from her shows. Her legacy sits in the roles that made people laugh and cry over 50 years.