Catherine O'Hara, Emmy-winning 'Schitt’s Creek' star and 'Home Alone' actor, dies at 71

O’Hara’s career reached a late-career peak with Schitt’s Creek, where her portrayal of eccentric socialite Moira Rose earned her an Emmy Award in 2020 and a Golden Globe in 2021.

• Catherine O’Hara, Emmy-winning actor, has died at 71 after a brief illness
• O’Hara was known for Schitt’s Creek, Home Alone, Beetlejuice, and SCTV
• Tributes poured in from colleagues and fans; family to hold private memorial

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Catherine O’Hara, the Emmy-winning Canadian-born actor celebrated for her work in Schitt’s Creek, Home Alone and Beetlejuice, has died at the age of 71.

O’Hara died at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness, her agency Creative Artists Agency said in a statement. Further details were not disclosed.

Born in Toronto in 1954, O’Hara began her career at the famed Second City comedy troupe, where she forged lifelong creative partnerships with performers such as Eugene Levy, John Candy and Martin Short. She rose to prominence as an original cast member of the cult sketch series SCTV, which became a launchpad for a generation of influential comedians.

Her film career spanned more than four decades.

She appeared in Martin Scorsese’s After Hours and gained wider recognition as Delia Deetz in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice (1988), a role she reprised in the 2024 sequel. She also collaborated again with Burton on The Nightmare Before Christmas.

O’Hara became a global household name as Kate McCallister, the frantic mother in the blockbuster Home Alone films of the early 1990s. Macaulay Culkin, who played her on-screen son, paid tribute on Instagram, writing: “Mama. I thought we had time… I love you.”

Her career reached a celebrated peak with Schitt’s Creek, where her portrayal of eccentric socialite Moira Rose earned her an Emmy Award in 2020, along with a Golden Globe and a SAG Award. The role introduced her to a new generation of fans and cemented her status as one of comedy’s most distinctive performers.

O’Hara also starred in Christopher Guest’s acclaimed mockumentaries, including Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind. Guest called her “one of the comic giants of our age.”

In recent years, she earned Emmy nominations for her dramatic role in HBO’s The Last of Us and for her performance in Apple TV+’s The Studio. Actor Pedro Pascal described her as a “genius,” adding, “There is less light in my world.”

Tributes also poured in from Canada, with Prime Minister Mark Carney calling her “a legend” who earned a place in the canon of Canadian comedy.

O’Hara is survived by her husband, production designer Bo Welch, their sons Matthew and Luke, and several siblings. A private celebration of life will be held by the family.