Catherine O’Hara, the Emmy-winning actress who starred as Kevin’s mother in Home Alone and the eccentric Moira Rose in Schitt’s Creek, has died.
The Canadian-American star won an Emmy award for lead actress for her role in Schitt’s Creek in 2020.
She died aged 71 on Friday at her home in Los Angeles “following a brief illness”, her agency Creative Artists Agency said in a statement.
She is survived by her husband, Bo Welch, and sons Matthew and Luke – her family will hold a private celebration of her life, the statement said.
This content is provided by Instagram, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Instagram cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Instagram cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Instagram cookies for this session only.
Enable Cookies
Allow Cookies Once
Image:
Catherine O’Hara and her husband Bo Welch at the 2025 Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. Pic: Reuters
In an entertainment career spanning more than 50 years, she gave a memorable turn as Kate McCallister, mother of Kevin, played by Macaulay Culkin, in the first two Home Alone films.
Culkin, who starred as the youngster accidentally left at home when his family leaves for a Christmas holiday in the 1990 classic, posted a heartfelt tribute on Instagram, calling her “Mama” and saying he thought they “had time”.
The pair reprised their roles in the 1992 sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost In New York.
This content is provided by Instagram, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Instagram cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Instagram cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Instagram cookies for this session only.
Enable Cookies
Allow Cookies Once
Michael Keaton, her co-star in the original Beetlejuice film from 1988, said on Instagram O’Hara had been “my pretend wife, my pretend nemesis and my real life, true friend.
“This one hurts. Man am I gonna miss her.”
Meryl Streep, who co-starred with O’Hara in the 1986 comedy drama Heartburn, said in a statement that O’Hara “brought love and light to our world, through whipsmart compassion for the collection of eccentrics she portrayed”.
O’Hara frequently collaborated with mockumentary pioneer Christopher Guest, becoming a key player in his ensemble and starring in Waiting For Guffman, Best In Show and A Mighty Wind.
This content is provided by Instagram, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Instagram cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Instagram cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Instagram cookies for this session only.
Enable Cookies
Allow Cookies Once
Her popularity surged after the success of Schitt’s Creek, which dominated the 2021 Emmys following its sixth and final season, bringing O’Hara a new generation of fans.
She enjoyed a late-career renaissance that led to a serious role in HBO’s post-apocalypse drama, The Last Of Us, for which she was nominated for an Emmy.
Pedro Pascal, her costar, said on Instagram: “There is less light in my world, this lucky world that had you.”
Starring in The Studio as Patty Leigh, O’Hara received both Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
Image:
Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara at the unveiling of his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2024. Pic: Reuters
O’Hara’s career was launched at the Second City theatre in Toronto, where she was born, in the 1970s.
It was there that she first worked with Eugene Levy, who would become a lifelong collaborator – and her Schitt’s Creek costar.
Read more on Sky News:
Melania film premieres
Queen joins stars at memorial
Little Mix star on twins’ illness
While at Second City, she helped create the sketch comedy show SCTV – in which both she and Levy appeared – and which helped launch the careers of other top Canadian comedians, including Andrea Martin and Martin Short.