LOS ANGELES — Emmy-winning Canadian actress Catherine O’Hara, known for her roles in Schitt’s Creek and Home Alone, has died at the age of 71, her management agency confirmed Friday.
O’Hara, who also starred in Beetlejuice and Apple TV’s Hollywood satire The Studio, was a beloved figure in both film and television. A representative at her manager Marc Gurvitz’s office confirmed her death to AFP but did not provide further details.
According to Page Six, citing a fire department spokesman, O’Hara was rushed to a hospital in Los Angeles before dawn from her Brentwood home. AFP was not immediately able to confirm this report.
Born in Toronto in 1954, O’Hara began her career at the legendary comedy theater Second City, performing alongside Eugene Levy. She later collaborated with Levy throughout her career, including on the hit TV series Schitt’s Creek.
Her film career began in 1980 with Double Negative, also starring Levy and John Candy. She appeared in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice (1988), where she played Winona Ryder’s stepmother, and she later married the film’s production designer, Bo Welch. The couple had two sons, Matthew and Luke.
O’Hara gained international fame in 1990 as Kevin McCallister’s mother in Home Alone, a role she reprised in the 1992 sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, which featured a cameo from Donald Trump. She also worked with Burton on The Nightmare Before Christmas in 1993.
In recent years, she became best known for her Emmy-winning portrayal of Moira Rose in Schitt’s Creek, created by Dan Levy, Eugene Levy’s son. In 2020, the role earned her an Emmy for Best Lead Actress, along with a Golden Globe and a SAG Award.
Reflecting on her career, O’Hara told People in 2024, “It’s a perfect movie, isn’t it? You want to be part of something good, and that’s how you go.” She also joked about her iconic Home Alone line, saying, “I used to mostly get people named Kevin who’d come up to me and ask me to yell ‘Kevin!’ in their faces. Now it’s mostly about Moira and Schitt’s Creek.”
Tributes poured in from colleagues and fans alike. Macaulay Culkin shared an Instagram post saying, “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.”