Catherine O’Hara, the Canadian actor best known for her roles in Home Alone, Beetlejuice and the television series Schitt’s Creek, has died at the age of 71, her agent confirmed.
She died on Friday at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness. No further details were released.
O’Hara played Kate McCallister, the mother of Kevin McCallister, in Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992). The films were major commercial successes and remain widely watched more than three decades later.
Her former co-star Macaulay Culkin, now 45, paid tribute on social media, writing: “Mama. I thought we had time. I wanted more. I wanted to sit in a chair next to you… I love you. I’ll see you later.”
Tributes also came from across the film and television industry. Eugene Levy, who worked with O’Hara for more than five decades, said in a statement: “Words seem inadequate to express the loss I feel today. I cherished our working relationship, but most of all our friendship.”
Dan Levy, who played her son on Schitt’s Creek, described her as extended family, adding that he would “cherish every funny memory” they shared. Seth Rogen, who recently worked with her on the Emmy-winning comedy The Studio, said she was one of his earliest inspirations and called working with her “a true honour.”
O’Hara was born in Toronto, Canada, and began her career in the 1970s at the city’s Second City theatre. She rose to prominence on the sketch comedy programme SCTV, alongside performers including Eugene Levy and John Candy. The show became one of Canada’s most influential television comedies.
Her film career included notable roles in Beetlejuice (1988), directed by Tim Burton, and a series of mockumentary films directed by Christopher Guest, including Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration. For the latter, she received the 2006 National Board of Review Award for supporting actress.
O’Hara experienced renewed global recognition with Schitt’s Creek (2015–2020), in which she played Moira Rose. She won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2021 and a Golden Globe the same year. In her acceptance speech, she thanked the show’s creators for allowing her to play “a woman of a certain age” without restraint.
She continued acting until shortly before her death, appearing in HBO’s The Last of Us and in The Studio, for which she received an Actors Award nomination earlier this year.
O’Hara is survived by her husband, Bo Welch, and their sons, Matthew and Luke, as well as several siblings. Funeral and burial arrangements have not yet been announced.
