Veteran actress Catherine O’Hara, best known for her iconic performances in Home Alone, Best in Show, and her Emmy-winning role in Schitt’s Creek, has passed away at the age of 71. Her manager confirmed the news to Variety.
According to talent agency CAA, O’Hara died on Friday at her Los Angeles home after a short illness.
O’Hara’s career stretched across more than five decades and began with the groundbreaking Canadian sketch series Second City Television, which she co-created alongside longtime collaborator Eugene Levy. Her work on the show earned her an Emmy Award and several additional nominations, setting the stage for a remarkable career in film and television.
She went on to appear in a wide range of memorable movies, including After Hours, Beetlejuice, and the first two Home Alone films, where she portrayed Kate McCallister, the frantic mother of Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin. O’Hara remained close to Culkin over the years and paid tribute to him during his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2023.
In a 2025 while promoting The Studio, O’Hara spoke candidly about how the entertainment industry had evolved. She noted that Hollywood now feels far more anxious than it once did, pointing to the rise of streaming and the internet as forces that created both opportunity and uncertainty. Despite The Studio’s sharp satire of executive culture, she emphasized that most people in the business genuinely want to create meaningful work and entertain audiences.
Born in Toronto, O’Hara eventually became a beloved figure in Los Angeles. In 2021, she was honored as the honorary mayor of Brentwood, reflecting her deep ties to the community.
She is survived by her husband, production designer Bo Welch, their sons Matthew and Luke, and her siblings Michael O’Hara, Mary Margaret O’Hara, Maureen Jolley, Marcus O’Hara, Tom O’Hara, and Patricia Wallice.
O’Hara was a frequent collaborator of filmmaker Christopher Guest, appearing in several of his mockumentaries, including Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration. Her voice work was also widely recognized, with roles in animated favorites such as The Nightmare Before Christmas and Chicken Little.
In recent years, she reprised her role as Delia Deetz in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and appeared in the Apple action film Argylle.
O’Hara enjoyed a major career resurgence in her 60s after taking on the role of Moira Rose in the CBC comedy Schitt’s Creek, starring alongside Eugene Levy, Dan Levy, and Annie Murphy. The performance earned her a second Emmy Award and introduced her to a new generation of fans. That success led to high-profile television roles, including HBO’s The Last of Us and Apple TV’s The Studio, where she played a powerful Hollywood executive pushed out by her own studio. The second season of the Seth Rogen–led satire has recently entered production.