'Schitt's Creek' And 'Home Alone' Star, Catherine O'Hara, Dead At 71
Image Source: CNN
Catherine O’Hara, the beloved actress known for her roles in Home Alone, Schitt’s Creek, Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and many more, passed away on January 30th, 2026, at 71. Details around her death are unavailable at this time, but the actress did have a rare genetic condition called dextrocardia with situs inversus, a condition in which the organs in a person’s chest and belly “develop in a reversed position of normal anatomy,” as described by the Cleveland Clinic. It is unknown if this contributed to the “brief illness” that O’Hara was suffering from before her passing.
Born on March 4th, 1954, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, O’Hara was the sixth of seven children and the sister of musician/actress Mary Margaret O’Hara. She began her comedy career in 1974 as a cast member of The Second City, acting as an understudy for Gilda Radner before Radner left to join Saturday Night Live. O’Hara was a regular performer on the troupe’s television show, SCTV. In addition, she did voice-over work for several cartoons in the late 70’s, including Malicious in Witch’s Night Out and Ma Spademinder in Intergalactic Thanksgiving. O’Hara was hired to replace Ann Risley on SNL in 1981, but she left the show when SCTV signed on with NBC.
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Image Source: Cinema Blend
Catherine O’Hara made her feature film debut in the 1980 film Double Negative, where she was featured alongside SCTV co-stars John Candy, Eugene Levy, and Joe Flaherty. Arguably, her true breakout role was Delia Deetz in the 1988 horror-comedy film, Beetlejuice, a role she also reprised in its 2024 sequel, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice. She continued appearing in supporting roles throughout the 80’s and 90’s. A highlight of her 90’s filmography, however, would have to be Kate McCallister, Kevin’s mom, in Home Alone and its sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.
O’Hara continued her voice-over career as well during this time, including voicing Sally in The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ludmila in Bartok the Magnificent, Kata in Brother Bear 2, and Mrs. Walters in Monster House. She continued to appear in various films throughout the mid-90s to the early part of the 21st century, including starring alongside Jim Carrey in the 2004 film Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, and she was the only cast member to appear in the 2017 Netflix series A Series of Unfortunate Events, also based on Lemony Snicket’s book series.
Image Source: IGN
However, she experienced a career resurgence when she co-starred as Moira Rose in the sitcom Schitt’s Creek. Her performance earned her six Canadian Screen Awards for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, and during the show’s sixth and final season, she swept the five major TV awards, winning a TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy, a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, a Critics’ Choice Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series. Her most recent series regular role was Patty Leigh in the Apple TV+ series, The Studio, but she also guest-starred as Gail Lynden in the second series of the HBO TV adaptation of The Last of Us.
On the day of her death, the actress was hospitalized at 5am in “serious condition,” after a 911 call was made for an “approximately 70-year-old” woman at O’Hara’s residence who wasn’t breathing. She died at that hospital later that day.
Several of her co-stars paid tribute to O’Hara, including her onscreen son, Macaulay Culkin, who posted a tribute to the late actress on his Instagram:
"Mama. I thought we had time,” The post reads, “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."
Michael Keaton, who starred as the “ghost with the most” in Beetlejuice and its sequel, also paid tribute to O’Hara, saying that they “go back before the first Beetlejuice. She’s been my pretend wife, my pretend nemesis and my real life, true friend. This one hurts. Man am I gonna miss her. Thinking about Beau as well."
Her other onscreen son, Dan Levy (who played David Rose alongside his father, Eugene Levy, who played O’Hara’s onscreen husband, Johnny Rose), had this to say regarding O’Hara’s passing:
"What a gift to have gotten to dance in the warm glow of Catherine O’Hara’s brilliance for all those years. Having spent over fifty years collaborating with my Dad, Catherine was extended family before she ever played my family. It’s hard to imagine a world without her in it. I will cherish every funny memory I was fortunate enough to make with her. My heart goes out to Bo, Matthew, Luke and every member of her big, beautiful family."
Catherine is survived by her husband, Bo Welch, and their sons Matthew, 31, and Luke, 29. She was a legend in film and television, but the role she wanted to be most remembered for was being the “mother of my children.” For O’Hara, her family was her proudest achievement, above any role she played or any award she won. May she rest in peace, and may her memory live on for generations to come.
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