Schitt's Creek and Home Alone actress Catherine O'Hara has died at the age of 71. Her manager confirmed the news to HELLO! in a short statement.
"Prolific multi-award-winning actress, writer, and comedian Catherine O’Hara died today (Friday, January 30) at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness," it read. A private celebration of life will be held by the family.
Born in 1954 in Toronto, Catherine was the sixth of seven children, and began her career in sketch and improvisational comedy in the series Second City Television in the 1970s.
In the 1980s she broke through in comedies After Hours (1985), Heartburn (1986), Beetlejuice (1988), Home Alone (1990) and the 1992 sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York playing the long-suffering mother of Macaulay Culkin's Kevin. Macaulay and Catherine maintained a close friendship in the decades after the films, and he would call her "mom".
The actor took to Instagram following the news of her death to pay tribute, writing: "Mama. 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 became a frequent collaborator of Christopher Guest’s, appearing in four of his movies: Best in Show, For Your Consideration, Waiting for Guffman, and A Mighty Wind.
She has won two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Her career saw a resurgence in her 60s when she joined the CBC sitcom Schitt's Creek (2015–2020), earning an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for the iconic character of Moira Rose opposite Eugene and Dan Levy, and Annie Murphy.
She also appeared in the Netflix series A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017–2018), the Apple TV+ comedy series The Studio (2025), which is currently filming its second season, and the HBO post-apocalyptic drama series The Last of Us (2025). She aso reprised her role as Delia Deetz in the Beetlejuice sequel.
On the set of Beetlejuice, Catherine met production designer Bo Welch, and they fell in love, tying the knot in 1992. They welcomed two sons: Matthew (b. 1994) and Luke (b. 1997).
Bo made a name for himself with the often surrealist blend of horror and camp in his creations, most notably with Tim Burton and Barry Sonnenfeld, including credits on the Men in Black franchise,Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns, and many more.
He has been nominated for four Oscars for his production design work on for The Color Purple, A Little Princess, The Birdcage, and Men in Black.
Their sons are incredibly private but have taken after their father, with both working below-the-line in Hollywood in set design. During an interview with Vanity Fair in 2020, Catherine revealed that both of her sons worked on Schitt's Creek, with one working as a set designer and another on set construction. In 2024 Catherine confirmed that her son was "a set dresser on" The Last of Us.