‘Home Alone' and ‘Schitt's Creek' actor Catherine O'Hara dies at 71

Actor Catherine O'Hara, best-known for roles in "Schitt's Creek," "Home Alone," "Beetlejuice" and other TV and film productions, has died at age 71.

Emmy Award-winning actor Catherine O'Hara, best-known for legendary comedy roles in "Schitt's Creek," "Home Alone," "SCTV" and other TV and film productions, has died at age 71, according to her representative.

O'Hara died at her home in Los Angeles's Bentwood area “following a brief illness,” according to a statement from her agency, CAA. More details were not immediately available.

The Canadian actor, writer and comedian rose to fame as one of the original cast members on the comedy sketch show SCTV. She starred in several Tim Burton-directed films, Beetlejuice (1988), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and Frankenweenie (2012).

In an Instagram post, actor Macaulay Culkin shared a then-and-now image with O'Hara, who played mom Kate McCallister alongside Culkin as son Kevin in "Home Alone."

"Mama. I thought we had time," Culkin said in his post. "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."

O'Hara spoke at the ceremony when Culkin received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2023.

O'Hara also delivered laughs in mockumentaries like "Best in Show" (2000) and "A Mighty Wind" (2003).

More recently, she earned two Canadian Screen Awards for Best Lead Actress for her work on "Schitt's Creek." Her role as eccentric former soap opera actor and family matriarch Moira Rose earned O'Hara an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Comedy Television Series.

O'Hara also portrayed a psychotherapist in the second season of HBO's "The Last of Us" and a producer in "The Studio" alongside Seth Rogen.

"Oh, genius to be near you. Eternally grateful," "The Last of Us" co-star Pedro Pascal said on Instagram. "There is less light in my world. This lucky world that had you will keep you, always."

O'Hara grew up in the Toronto area and took a job at the improvisational comedy club Second City Theatre. She became a member of the company in the mid-1970s when the group launched what would become the hit comedy TV show "SCTV." The show was picked up for late-night viewing in 1981 in the United States.

The series featured a who's-who list of comedic stars, including O'Hara, John Candy, Eugene Levy, Martin Short, Rick Moranis and more. O’Hara won an Emmy Award and earned four Emmy nominations for her writing on the show.

She was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2017.

O’Hara supported several charities, including Upward Bound House, a Los Angeles nonprofit working to end homelessness. O'Hara also was a staunch advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.

"We are deeply saddened by the passing of the incomparable Catherine O’Hara, whose brilliance and fearless humor helped create space for queer joy long before allyship was widely named, let alone celebrated," the Los Angeles LGBT Center said. "Through unforgettable roles—from Schitt’s Creek to Home Alone, she modeled chosen family, tenderness, and self-expression with such warmth and dignity that invited audiences to see authentic self-expression as something to embrace. For generations of LGBTQ+ people, her work offered permission to be fully ourselves, often when the world was far less welcoming. Her presence became part of our traditions, especially during the holidays, and her legacy will forever remind us that allyship, when done with love, can change culture."

O'Hara is survived by her husband, Bo Welch, and sons Matthew and Luke.

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