Catherine O'Hara, Iconic Comedy Actress, Dead at 71

Catherine O'Hara, the iconic comedian known for roles in Schitt's Creek, Beetlejuice, Home Alone, and numerous Christopher Guest films, has died. TMZ and People reported that she passed away Friday; no cause of death was immediately available. She was 71 years old.

O'hara's Career Spanned Over Five Decades

Born in Toronto in 1954, O'Hara first rose to fame as part of the Second CityTelevision sketch comedy series in the 1970s, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for her writing work. She would go on to have iconic roles in the Home Alone series as the mother of Macaulay Culkin's Kevin McCallister, as well as films like Heartburn, After Hours, and the horror-comedy Beetlejuice. Comedy fans would get to know her as a variety of off-the-wall characters in Christopher Guest's mockumentary films like Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, Waiting for Guffman, and For Your Consideration.

She had a career resurgence in recent years thanks to her Emmy-winning performance as Moira Rose in the hit Canadian TV series Schitt's Creek, where she reunited with frequent collaborator and lifelong friend Eugene Levy. The role also earned her a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy. She's since appeared in Seth Rogen's The Studio, HBO's The Last of Us, the recent reboot Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, and more.

"I used to mostly get people named Kevin who'd come up to me and ask me to yell 'Kevin!' in their faces," O'Hara told People n a 2020 interview, referencing her Home Alone role. "Now it's mostly about Moira and Schitt's Creek. I've never gotten this kind of attention in my life. It's crazy." 

During her speech at the 2020 Emmy Awards, O'Hara thanked Levy and his son, Dan, the co-creators of Schitt's Creek. "I will forever be grateful to Eugene and Daniel Levy for the opportunity to play a woman of a certain age, my age, who gets to fully be herself,” she said.

When reflecting on her career and status as an icon of comedy in a recent interview with Variety, she demurred.

“I don’t think of myself like that, but it’s nice that others do,” she said, and attributed her success to growing up around humor.

“There’s no better survival instinct,” she said. “You’re so lucky if you’re raised with it. It’s one of God’s greatest gifts, because life is full of the dark and the light. You gotta look for the light. My parents were both really funny, and a sense of humor was always appreciated. Laughing and being funny was highly encouraged at our table.”

O'Hara is survived by her husband, Bo Welch, and their two sons, Matthew and Luke.