Actor Catherine O’Hara, known for her roles in “Home Alone,” “Beetlejuice,” and “Schitt’s Creek,” has died at 71, according to a statement from her agency, CAA.
O’Hara died at her Los Angeles home “following a brief illness,” her agency said.
A private celebration of life will be held by her family, the statement said.
O’Hara was born in Canada and started her career at Toronto’s Second City Theater, where she created the sketch comedy show “SCTV.” She won an Emmy Award for her writing on the show and was nominated four other times, according to her agency.
Her star rose with several iconic comedy roles. Her most famous film roles include Delia Deetz in “Beetlejuice” and its sequel, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” and as Kate McAllister in “Home Alone” and “Home Alone II: Lost in New York.” Other films she appeared in included “For Your Consideration” and “After Hours.”
She appeared on multiple television series, including “Six Feet Under,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Temple Grandin.” She received an Emmy Award nomination for her work on “Temple Grandin.”
In 2015, O’Hara joined longtime friend and fellow “SCTV” alum Eugene Levy in the comedy “Schitt’s Creek.” The two met in Toronto in 1970 and went on to share the screen in seven movies, including four mockumentary films with Christopher Guest.
O’Hara told CBS News that she was initially nervous about doing “Schitt’s Creek,” but her “love and respect” for Levy and his son, series writer and star Daniel Levy, won her over. Her Moira Rose quickly became an iconic television character, sparking memes, merchandise and more. She won an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for her performance.
Most recently, O’Hara appeared in the Apple TV comedy “The Studio” and HBO’s “The Last of Us.” O’Hara received Emmy nominations for both roles.
In 1992, O’Hara married production designer Bo Welch, whom she met on the set of “Beetlejuice.” They had two children, Matthew and Luke.
O’Hara is survived by her husband, sons and siblings Michael O’Hara, Mary Margaret O’Hara, Maureen Jolley, Marcus O’Hara, Tom O’Hara and Patricia Wallice.
Former co-stars Macaulay Culkin, Michael Keaton and more honor O’Hara
“Home Alone” star Macaulay Culkin paid tribute to O’Hara on Instagram. The two were close friends. O’Hara joined Culkin when his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled in 2023.
“Mama. I thought we had time,” Culkin wrote alongside a photo of them in the movie and at the Walk of Fame ceremony. “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.”
“We 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,” actor Michael Keaton, who co-starred in “Beetlejuice” with O’Hara, said in a post on Instagram.
Actor Alec Baldwin, who also co-starred in “Beetlejuice” with O’Hara, said in a statement to The Associated Press that she was “one of the greatest comic talents in the movie business.”
“Oh, genius to be near you. Eternally grateful. There is less light in my world, this lucky world that had you, will keep you, always. Always,” actor Pedro Pascal, who worked with O’Hara on the second season of “The Last of Us,” said in an Instagram post.
Filmmaker and actor Ron Howard, who directed O’Hara in the 1994 comedy-drama “The Paper,” called O’Hara’s passing “shattering news.”
“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. My heart goes out to Bo & family,” Howard 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,” Meryl Streep, who co-starred with O’Hara in “Heartburn,” said in a statement to The AP.
“Over 5 decades of work, Catherine earned her place in the canon of Canadian comedy — from SCTV to Schitt’s Creek. Canada has lost a legend. My thoughts are with her family, friends, and all,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in an X post.
Producers and cast of “The Studio” said in a statement that O’Hara was “a hero to all of us.”
“She was somehow classy, warm, and hilarious all at the same time,” they said in the statement. “We’re unbelievably saddened she is gone and send our deepest sympathy to Bo and all her family.”
Seth Rogen, who worked with O’Hara on “The Studio,” described her in an Instagram post as “hysterical, kind, intuitive, generous… she made me want to make our show good enough to be worthy of her presence in it.”
“We’re all lucky we got to live in a world with her in it,” he said.
