ALBAWABA - Emmy-winning legend Catherine O'Hara dies at 71, leaving lasting legacy.
The actor Catherine O'Hara, who won two Emmys and featured in "Home Alone" and "Best in Show" and had a terrific comeback in "Schitt's Creek," has died, her manager confirmed at 71.
Her agent, CAA, says Catherine O'Hara died Friday at her Los Angeles home after being sick for a short time.
In the 1960s, O'Hara started her Hollywood career with the sketch comedy show "Second City Television," which she created with Eugene Levy and for which she won her first Emmy and was nominated four times. After that, O'Hara starred in movies like "After Hours," "Beetlejuice," and the first two "Home Alone" movies, where she played Kevin's mother, played by Macaulay Culkin. O'Hara stayed close with Culkin and celebrated him at the ceremony for his Walk of Fame in 2023.
Christopher Guest worked with her a lot. She was in his fake documentary movies "Best in Show," "For Your Consideration," "Waiting for Guffman," and "A Mighty Wind." She also did voice work for well-known cartoon movies like "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Chicken Little." In recent movies, O'Hara has also played Delia Deetz again in the legacy sequel "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" and in the action movie "Argylle" for Apple.
In her 60s, Catherine O'Hara's career took off again. It all began with her part as the rich-to-poor housewife Moira Rose on the CBC sitcom "Schitt's Creek," where she played roles opposite Eugene and Dan Levy and Annie Murphy. For "Schitt's Creek," she got her second Emmy. This led to other big TV roles in "The Last of Us" on HBO and "The Studio" on Apple TV. O'Hara played a famous Hollywood executive who was pushed away by her studio in the second one. Seth Rogen's spoof on show business just started filming its second season.
When O'Hara talked to Variety in 2025 about "The Studio," she talked about how Hollywood has changed during her work. She said, "It must be a lot more nerve-wracking now than it was before." "The internet and streaming must have given people a lot of new options, both good and bad." Even though "The Studio" was very critical of the way Hollywood executives work, O'Hara said, "Most people are trying to do good work and want to do it." “And most people want to have fun.”
Catherine O'Hara was born in Toronto, but Los Angeles is where she became famous. To honor her, she was made mayor of Brentwood in 2021.
Bo Welch, her husband, and their two boys, Matthew and Luke, survive her. So do her siblings Michael O'Hara, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Maureen Jolley, Marcus O'Hara, Tom O'Hara, and Patricia Wallice.
