Catherine O’Hara Death: Catherine O’Hara, known globally for Schitt’s Creek, Home Alone and Best in Show, has died aged 71 after a short illness. The death was confirmed by Catherine O’Hara’s manager to Variety, prompting tributes from collaborators across film and television who highlighted a career spanning five decades in comedy, drama and voice acting.
Audiences in India and worldwide remember Catherine O’Hara most vividly as the anxious parent in Home Alone and as Moira Rose in Schitt’s Creek. The Emmy-winning performer built a reputation for characters who mixed sharp humour with deep feeling, influencing generations of comedians and actors in North America and beyond.
Catherine O’Hara started performing comedy during the 1970s and helped create the influential Canadian sketch series SCTV. Film work followed in the 1980s, including the romantic comedy Nothing Personal with Donald Sutherland and a role in Martin Scorsese’s black comedy After Hours in 1985, which helped establish Catherine O’Hara as a versatile screen actor.
In 1988, Catherine O’Hara joined Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice, a horror comedy that later gained cult status. Catherine O’Hara returned to the same role in the 2024 sequel. During the original production, Catherine O’Hara met production designer Bo Welch. The pair married in 1992, beginning a long partnership alongside Catherine O’Hara’s expanding filmography.
Catherine O’Hara became a household name in 1990 as Macaulay Culkin’s distracted mother in Home Alone, revisiting the role in the 1992 sequel. Speaking to People in 2024 about the film, Catherine O’Hara said: “It’s a perfect movie, isn’t it?” Catherine O’Hara added of working with the young cast: “It was lovely. All those kids that played our children were just lovely.”
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Years later, Catherine O’Hara appeared at Macaulay Culkin’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony, seen wiping away tears while praising Culkin’s work. After Catherine O’Hara’s death, Culkin wrote on Instagram: “Mama. I thought we had time. I wanted more. I wanted to sit in a chair next to you. I heard you but I had so much more to say. I love you. I’ll see you later.”
Catherine O’Hara’s long collaboration with director Christopher Guest began in 1996 with the mockumentary Waiting for Guffman. Catherine O’Hara then appeared in three more Guest films: Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration in 2006. Guest later praised Catherine O’Hara’s range, saying: “Catherine is one of not many actresses that can pull off both sides of this, where she’s incredibly funny but can also shift into an emotional area that surprises people and it’s just amazing, that transition,” he said.
Alongside live-action work such as Heartburn and The Paper, Catherine O’Hara became a regular voice in animation. Credits included Chicken Little, Over the Hedge, Monster House and Frankenweenie, leading up to a recent role in The Wild Robot. These projects broadened Catherine O’Hara’s reach to younger audiences who knew the voice but not always the face.
On television, Catherine O’Hara appeared in The Larry Sanders Show, Six Feet Under, Curb Your Enthusiasm and 30 Rock. Catherine O’Hara later reunited with Eugene Levy for Schitt’s Creek, playing eccentric former soap star Moira Rose in the story of a rich family forced to adjust to life in a small town, a role that earned Catherine O’Hara an Emmy.
Speaking to the Guardian in 2021 about working with long-time collaborators like Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara said: “It’s always more fun working with someone you know,” and added, “I get too nervous doing solo bits – it’s too much pressure and it feels like showing off. With someone else, you can share the showing off.” Catherine O’Hara later appeared in A Series of Unfortunate Events and The Last of Us, gaining another Emmy nomination.
Catherine O’Hara’s more recent screen work included the award-winning comedy series The Studio with Seth Rogen, which earned Catherine O’Hara both Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. In The Last of Us, Catherine O’Hara acted alongside Pedro Pascal, who later wrote on Instagram: “Oh, genius to be near you,” and, “Eternally grateful. There is less light in my world, this lucky world that had you, will keep you, always.”
Tributes arrived from across Hollywood after Catherine O’Hara’s death. Director Ron Howard, who worked with Catherine O’Hara on the 1992 comedy drama The Paper, wrote: “This is shattering news,” and added, “What a wonderful person, artist and collaborator. I was lucky enough to direct, produce and act in projects with her and she was simply growing more brilliant with each year.”
Meryl Streep, Catherine O’Hara’s co-star in Heartburn, said: “Catherine O’Hara brought love and light to our world, through whipsmart compassion for the collection of eccentrics she portrayed… such a loss for her family and friends, and the audience she graced as friends.” Rita Wilson remembered Catherine O’Hara as “authentic and truthful in all she did” while Lily Tomlin described Catherine O’Hara as “bright, beautiful, and full of joy that touched so many.”
Canadian comedian Mike Myers told the Hollywood Reporter: “It is a very sad day for comedy and for Canada. She was one of the greatest comedy artists in history, an inspiration for millions and above all a very elegant lady. Sending much love and condolences to her family.” The comments underlined how Catherine O’Hara’s work on Schitt’s Creek, Home Alone and many other projects shaped comedy in Canada and worldwide.
Reflecting on character work in 2021, Catherine O’Hara said: “I’m always drawn to characters who have no idea of the impression they’re making on other people,” before adding: “We’re all delusional, really, and I love that about us humans and I love playing it.” That approach defined Catherine O’Hara’s roles from SCTV to Schitt’s Creek and Home Alone, leaving a legacy that colleagues and audiences continue to celebrate.