Comedy legend Catherine O'Hara dies at 71
A statement from O’Hara's agency CAA said the actress died Friday "at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness."
Catherine O’Hara, the radiant actress whose singular comedic delivery helped elevate movies and TV shows like Beetlejuice, Home Alone and Schitt’s Creek to cult classic status, has died. She was 71.
A statement from CAA, the agency that represented O’Hara, said the actress died Friday “at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness.”
O’Hara got her start at Second City in her native Canada, before turning to film, where she brought to life two of cinema’s most memorable mothers.
In 1988’s Beetlejuice, she played Delia Deetz, a devilish mom who made no secret of her love for “Prince Valium” and turned lip syncing into an art form. She reprised the role in 2024’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
In 1990’s Home Alone, O’Hara turned a one-word movie line (“KEVIN!”) into pop culture history. As a frazzled mom of five who left one of her brood (Macaulay Culkin) at home during their holiday trip to France, O’Hara brought heart and humour to the now classic Christmas movie.
Just two years ago, O’Hara showed up to the Walk of Fame ceremony as her on-screen son Culkin, received his star.
Honoree Catherine O'Hara (R) accepts the TIFF Norman Jewison Career Achievement Award from Eugene Levy (L) onstage at the TIFF Tribute Awards during the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival at The Fairmont Royal York Hotel on September 07, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario.
Jemal Countess/Getty Images
“Thank you for including me, your fake mom who left you home alone not once, but twice, to share in this happy occasion,” O’Hara told him. “I’m so proud of you.”
On Friday Saturday NZT), Culkin paid tribute to O’Hara on social media, addressing her as “mama”. “I thought we had time,” he wrote. “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.”
After the success of Home Alone, she turned to collaborating with director Christopher Guest, starring in many of his iconic mockumentaries, including Waiting for Guffman (1996) and Best in Show (2000).
In those films, O’Hara often worked alongside Eugene Levy, becoming a signature duo who went on to co-star in the acclaimed Schitt’s Creek together. As wayward posh actress Moira Rose, O’Hara’s one-liners were meme gold and earned her critical praise.
AUSTIN, TEXAS - MARCH 08: Catherine O'Hara poses in the Getty Images Portrait Studio Presented by IMDb and IMDbPro at SXSW 2025 on March 08, 2025 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Robby Klein/Getty Images for IMDb)
Robby Klein/Getty Images for IMDb
O’Hara won an Emmy in 2020 during a Covid-era ceremony that saw stars masked up and celebrating while scattered across the globe, with the action captured on 130 dispatched cameras.
In her speech, O’Hara thanked creators Eugene and Dan Levy for “bestowing me the opportunity to play a woman of a certain age, my age, who gets to fully be her ridiculous self".
O’Hara also won a Golden Globe for her performance on the show in 2021.
Most recently, she played a fallen executive in The Studio, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award. She also appeared in a critical role in season two of HBO Max’s The Last of Us, for which she was also nominated for an Emmy.
Catherine O'Hara attends the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards at Peacock Theater on September 15, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
Amy Sussman / Getty Images / AFP
Star Pedro Pascal called O’Hara a “genius” on a tribute posted to his Instagram page.
“There is less light in my world, this lucky world that had you, will keep you, always,” he wrote.
O’Hara is survived by her husband Bo Welch and sons Matthew and Luke.
A private celebration of life will be held by the family, according to her agency.
