Golden Globe-Winning Actress And Comedy Legend, Catherine O’Hara, Dead At 71
Catherine O’Hara, the multiple award-winning actress who charmed generations of viewers with her performances in movies such as Beetlejuice, Home Alone, and The Nightmare Before Christmas passed away in her Los Angeles home last Friday from a brief, undisclosed illness. She was 71 years old.
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According to People, the Los Angeles Fire Department received a call at 4:48 am on Friday, Jan. 30 from her home address. From there she was transported to a hospital in serious condition, and the report states that she was having difficulty breathing. O’Hara died just hours later.
Catherine Anne O’Hara was born March 4th, 1954, on the icy banks of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The second youngest of seven children, her father worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway, and her mother was a real estate agent. She credited growing up in that household to her cultivation as a comedic performer.
“There’s no better survival instinct,” O’Hara said (via Parade). “You’re so lucky if you’re raised with it. It’s one of God’s greatest gifts, because life is full of the dark and the light. You gotta look for the light. My parents were both really funny, and a sense of humor was always appreciated. Laughing and being funny was highly encouraged at our table.”
After graduating high school, O’Hara landed a job as a waitress at the legendary Second City Theater comedy club in Toronto. She studied under the late/great comedy icon, Gilda Radner, and then took her place on stage after Gilda went to go work on the brand new series, Saturday Night Live.
The theater began its own TV show called Second City Television (or just SCTV) in 1976, and she became a sketch staple, along with creating one of comedy’s greatest duos with Eugene Levy (Heavy Metal, American Pie franchise, Schitt’s Creek). She stayed with SCTV as a writer (where she won her first Emmy in 1982), and occasional performer until it was cancelled in 1984.
She made her film debut in Double Negative (1980) which featured SCTV’s John Candy, Joe Flaherty, and the aforementioned Levy. This led to her being cast in Martin Scorsese’s underrated 1985 black comedy, After Hours, and the highly-forgettable Heartburn from 1986.
However, it was O’Hara’s unforgettable role as eccentric, narcissistic stepmother, Delia Deetz, in Tim Burton’s 1988 Horror-Comedy classic, Beetlejuice, that began her trajectory towards greatness. Then her breakthrough came in 1990 as Kevin’s mom, Kate McCallister, in the celebrated holiday comedy Home Alone.
Her frantic portrayal of a mother who accidentally abandons her child was a perfect balance of chaotic humor, and genuine maternal worry. The film was a major success, and her performance was praised by critics.
Catherine returned to the role for its sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) before going on to star in The Paper, Wyatt Earp, Waiting For Guffman, Orange County, Monster House, and Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! She also provided the voice for Sally in Tim Burton’s 1993 animated masterwork, The Nightmare Before Christmas, but that’s just movies.
She made small screen guest appearances on Martin Short’s The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley, The Outer Limits (1997), The Larry Sanders Show, Mad TV, Six Feet Under, Curb Your Enthusiasm, 30 Rock, Modern Family, The Last of Us, and a particularly good episode of Tales From the Crypt.
She plays an obnoxious lawyer who’s stuck in purgatory, but then her fading career experienced a resurgence that surpassed all previous accomplishments when she stepped into the role of overly-dramatic former Soap Opera star, Moira Rose, in the acclaimed series, Schitt’s Creek.
The performance earned O’Hara an Emmy in 2020, a Golden Globe in 2021, two SAG Awards in 2021, and the Canadian Screen Award for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series six years in a row. Her last appearance was when she accepted the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series for her role in The Studio (2025).
It has been a constant, and well-deserved, deluge of tributes since her passing. Fans, former coworkers, and friends (many of which aren’t mutually exclusive) have been sharing memories the comedy legend, and expressing their sorrow from the loss. One of them being her former sidekick, Schitt’s Creek co-creator, and her husband on the series, Eugene Levy.
“From our beginnings on the Second City stage, to SCTV, to the movies we did with Chris Guest, to our six glorious years on Schitt’s Creek, I cherished our working relationship, but most of all our friendship,” he told People. “And I will miss her. My heart goes out to Bo, Matthew, Luke, and the entire O’Hara family.”
Danny Elfman, who composed the music for her films Beetlejuice, its sequel, and The Nightmare Before Christmas expressed his feelings about the loss on his X account:
I’m still in shock,” the post reads. “Friend, colleague, comrade in mischief, for nearly 40 years. Her talent was truly remarkable. She will be deeply missed.
The last (and most painful) comes from Macaulay Culkin. Her fictional son from the Home Alone movies went to Instagram to pay tribute to the matriarch of the McCallister household:
“Mama,” Culkin said. “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 is survived by her husband of thirty-four years, production designer Bo Welch, and their two sons Matthew (32) and Luke (29). Below is a sketch from SCTV where she plays Katharine Hepburn, and it’s a personal favorite:
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