Comedy Icon Catherine O’Hara, ‘Home Alone’ Star, Dies at 71
Catherine O’Hara, Home Alone and Schitt’s Creek legend, dies at 71. Remember her iconic roles and unforgettable legacy in comedy and TV history.
Catherine O'Hara, the brilliant actress whose unique comedic timing helped elevate films and TV shows like "Beetlejuice," "Home Alone," and "Schitt's Creek" to cult classic status, has died. She was 71.
A statement from CAA, the agency that represented O'Hara, said the actress died Friday "at her home in Los Angeles after a brief illness."
O'Hara got her start at Second City in her hometown of Canada before moving into film, where she brought to life two of cinema's most memorable mothers.
In 1988's "Beetlejuice," she played Delia Deetz, a flamboyant mother who made no secret of her love for "Prince Valium" and elevated lip-syncing to an art form. She reprised the role in 2024's "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice."
In 1990's "Home Alone," O'Hara turned a single movie line ("Kevin!") into a pop culture phenomenon. As the harried mother of five who accidentally leaves one of her children (Macaulay Culkin) behind during a family vacation to France, O'Hara brought both heart and humor to the now-classic Christmas film. A sequel followed in 1992.
Just two years ago, O'Hara attended the Walk of Fame ceremony when her on-screen son Culkin received his star.
"Thank you for including me on this happy occasion, your fake mom who left you home alone not once, but twice," O'Hara told him. "I'm so proud of you."
On Friday, Culkin paid tribute to O'Hara on social media, referring to her as "Mom." He wrote, "I thought we had time. I wanted more. I wanted to sit in the chair next to you. I heard you, but I had so much more to say. I love you."
"Home Alone" director Chris Columbus said he was "shocked and saddened" by O'Hara's death and praised the "profound emotional depth" she brought to the film. "Most people don't realize that Catherine carried 50% of the weight of that film," he said in a statement. "Without her brilliant performance, the film simply wouldn't have worked."
He continued: "I will miss her dearly. However, there is some comfort in knowing that two of the greatest people I've ever known, Catherine and John Candy, are together again, brilliantly improvising, and making each other laugh."
Candy played a traveling musician in the film, whose band helps O'Hara's character get home to her child.
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Following the success of "Home Alone," she began working with director Christopher Guest, appearing in several of his acclaimed mockumentaries, including "Waiting for Guffman" (1996) and "Best in Show" (2000).
Guest said in a statement, "I am heartbroken. We have lost one of the great comedians of our time."
In those films, O'Hara often worked alongside Eugene Levy, forming a celebrated comedic duo who also starred together in the hit series "Schitt's Creek." As the eccentric, wealthy actress Moira Rose, O'Hara's one-liners were meme gold and earned her widespread acclaim. O'Hara won an Emmy Award in 2020 at a COVID-era ceremony where stars celebrated wearing masks and scattered across the globe, all filmed by 130 cameras.
In her acceptance speech, O'Hara thanked creators Eugene and Dan Levy for “giving me the opportunity to play a woman of a certain age, my age, who could be completely and utterly her eccentric self.”
O'Hara also won a Golden Globe in 2021 for her performance on the show.
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“Moira is so much more interesting than I am,” she said, “and the fun thing about her was that she was an actress, so I got to do some performing or accents sometimes. When you have all that in your life, it’s very hard to let go of it.”
More recently, O'Hara played a struggling executive in “The Studio,” for which she received Golden Globe and Emmy nominations. She also appeared in a key role in season two of HBO Max’s “The Last of Us,” for which she also received an Emmy nomination.
Star Pedro Pascal called O'Hara a “genius” in a tribute post on his Instagram page.
“There is less light in my world now, this fortunate world that you were in, and you will be forever missed,” he wrote.
O'Hara is survived by her husband, Bo Welch, and sons Matthew and Luke.
According to her agency, the family will celebrate her life in a private ceremony.
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