Emmy-winning actress Catherine O’Hara dies at 71, tributes pour in across Hollywood

Renowned actress and comedian Catherine O’Hara, celebrated for her standout roles in Schitt’s Creek, Home Alone and Beetlejuice, has died at the age of 71, her management agency confirmed on Friday.

A person who answered the phone at the office of her manager, Marc Gurvitz, confirmed the death to AFP but did not provide further details.

US celebrity news outlet Page Six, citing a fire department spokesman, reported that O’Hara was rushed to hospital before dawn from her home in the upscale Brentwood neighbourhood of Los Angeles. AFP said it was not immediately able to independently verify that account.

Born in Toronto in 1954, O’Hara began her career in Canada’s famed Second City comedy theatre, where she forged a lifelong creative partnership with actor and writer Eugene Levy. The duo collaborated on numerous projects over the decades, most notably the hit television series Schitt’s Creek.

Her film breakthrough came in 1980 with Double Negative, in which she appeared alongside Levy and the late John Candy. She went on to build an eclectic and enduring career spanning film, television and voice acting.

In 1988, O’Hara starred as Winona Ryder’s eccentric stepmother in Tim Burton’s cult classic Beetlejuice. She later married the film’s production designer, Bo Welch, with whom she had two sons, Matthew and Luke.

Global fame followed in 1990 when she played Kate McCallister, the frantic but loving mother of Macaulay Culkin’s character in the holiday blockbuster Home Alone.

The role cemented her place in popular culture and introduced her to audiences worldwide. She reprised the character in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.

Reflecting on the original film decades later, O’Hara told People magazine 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 reunited with Burton in 1993 for The Nightmare Before Christmas, lending her voice to the animated classic, and continued to appear in a wide range of projects over the years. Most recently, she featured in Apple TV+’s Hollywood satire series The Studio.

For a new generation of viewers, O’Hara became synonymous with the flamboyant and unforgettable Moira Rose in Schitt’s Creek, created by Dan Levy, Eugene Levy’s son.

The role earned her widespread acclaim, including the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2020, as well as a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

“I used to mostly get people named Kevin who’d come up to me and ask me to yell ‘Kevin!’ in their faces,” she once joked. “Now it’s mostly about Moira and Schitt’s Creek. I’ve never gotten this kind of attention in my life.”

News of O’Hara’s death prompted an outpouring of tributes from across the entertainment industry. Macaulay Culkin, who played her son in Home Alone, shared an emotional message on Instagram alongside a still from the film.