Catherine O’Hara, the two-time Emmy-winning actor who starred in “Home Alone” and “Best in Show” and had an impressive late-career renaissance in “Schitt’s Creek,” has died, her manager confirmed to Variety. She was 71.
According to her agency CAA, O’Hara died Friday at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness.
O’Hara’s Hollywood career spanned five decades, beginning with the Canadian sketch comedy series “Second City Television,” which she created with Eugene Levy, and for which she earned her first Emmy and earned four nominations. O’Hara went on to star in films such as “After Hours,” “Beetlejuice” and the first two “Home Alone” movies, in which she played the mother of Macaulay Culkin’s character, Kevin. O’Hara maintained a close friendship with Culkin and honored him at his Walk of Fame ceremony in 2023.
She was a frequent collaborator of Christopher Guest’s, appearing in his mockumentary films “Best in Show,” “For Your Consideration,” “Waiting for Guffman” and “A Mighty Wind.” And she had voice roles in beloved animated features including “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Chicken Little.” O’Hara’s recent roles also included the legacy sequel “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” in which she reprised her role as Delia Deetz, and the Apple action film “Argylle.”
O’Hara experienced a career renaissance in her 60s, starting with her role as riches-to-rags housewife Moira Rose in the CBC sitcom “Schitt’s Creek,” in which she starred opposite Eugene and Dan Levy and Annie Murphy. She won her second Emmy for “Schitt’s Creek,” which propelled her into other major TV roles in HBO’s “The Last of Us” and Apple TV’s “The Studio.” In the latter, O’Hara played a storied Hollywood executive who was shoved aside by her studio. The second season of the Seth Rogen showbiz satire recently began filming.
In an interview with Variety about “The Studio” in 2025, O’Hara reflected on how Hollywood has changed over the course of her career. “It must be a much more nervous business now, than in the past,” she said. “The internet and streaming must have opened up a world of good and horrific possibilities for people.” And despite “The Studio’s” scathing takedown of Hollywood executive culture, O’Hara said, “Most people are trying to do and want to do good work. And most people want to be entertained.”
O’Hara was born in Toronto, but she became a beloved figure in Los Angeles. She was named the honorary mayor of Brentwood in 2021.
She is survived by her husband, production designer Bo Welch, and sons Matthew and Luke, along with siblings Michael O’Hara, Mary Margaret O’Hara, Maureen Jolley, Marcus O‘Hara, Tom O’Hara and Patricia Wallice.