Photo: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
On Friday, comedy legend Catherine O’Hara died at 71. The actress is survived by her husband, production designer Bo Welch, and their two sons, Matthew and Luke.
Throughout her five-decade career, O’Hara gave some of the most iconic and beloved comedic performances of all time. Perhaps most famous for her role as Kevin McCallister’s mom in Home Alone, she saw a career resurgence in the past decade thanks to her off-the-wall performance as Moira Rose on Schitt’s Creek. In between those two roles, O’Hara was a permanent fixture in Christopher Guest’s mockumentaries, turning in some of the funniest performances ever committed to film.
In the wake of her death, friends, collaborators, and admirers from all corners of the entertainment industry shared tributes to O’Hara across social media. Here, how she’s being remembered.
The Home Alone star shared two photos of him with his movie mom, the first a still from the 1990 film and the second a picture from two years ago when she spoke at his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony. “Mama. I thought we had time,” Culkin 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. I’ll see you later.”
“Oh, genius to be near you. Eternally grateful,” Pascal wrote of his Last of Us co-star in an Instagram post. “There is less light in my world, this lucky world that had you, will keep you, always. Always ♥️.”
This is shattering news. What a wonderful person, artist and collaborator. I was lucky enough to direct, produce and act in projects with her and she was simply growing more brilliant with each year. My heart goes out to Bo & family. #RIPCatherineO’Hara https://t.co/7pWcpYARai
— Ron Howard (@RealRonHoward) January 30, 2026
Howard directed O’Hara in 1994’s The Paper and most recently acted alongside her in a particularly memorable episode of The Studio. The director shared that O’Hara was “a wonderful person, artist and collaborator” and that she was “simply growing more brilliant with each year.”
“Catherine O’Hara — a woman who was authentic and truthful in all she did,” Wilson wrote. “You saw it in her work, if you knew her you saw it in her life, and you saw it in her family.”
Theroux and O’Hara worked together on Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. The actor shared a photo of her chair from the set and wrote, “Oh Catherine. You will be so so missed.”
The Home Alone director shared a recent photo of himself with O’Hara and Culkin and penned a heartfelt tribute to the actress. “I’m stunned and heartbroken, along with the rest of the world,” Columbus wrote. “I was an obsessive fan of Catherine’s brilliant comedic work on SCTV and was thrilled when she agreed to play Kevin’s Mom in Home Alone. What most people don’t realize is that Catherine carries the weight of 50% of that film. The movie simply would not work without her extraordinary performance. Catherine grounds the picture with a profound emotional depth. I will miss her greatly.”
“I am devastated. We have lost one of the comic giants of our age,” Guest, one of O’Hara’s most frequent collaborators, said in a statement to Variety. “I send my love to her family.”
Only one Catherine O’Hara, and now none. Heartbreaking.
— Michael McKean (@MJMcKean) January 30, 2026
McKean, another Christopher Guest regular, kept his tribute short and sweet.
Curtis, Guest’s wife, shared a clip from Waiting for Guffman and wrote, “BEST OF THE BEST IN SHOW!”
“Truly heart broken. Devastating. Catherine O’Hara was such an inspiration to me. I was obsessed with her and SCTV. She could do anything. So so funny. So so original. Very very sad news. 💫💫 spirit in the sky,” Sedaris wrote alongside a different Waiting for Guffman clip.
“I never in a million years thought I would get to work with Catherine O’Hara let alone become friends with her,” her The Studio co-star wrote. “So profoundly sad she’s somewhere else now. So incredibly grateful I got to spend the time I did with her. Thank you Catherine I love you ❤️”
The former Canadian prime minister celebrated his countrywoman on Instagram, writing that she was “a beloved Canadian icon with a rare gift for comedy and heart.”
Sarah Paulson via Insta Stories: “How lucky was I…”
RIP to Catherine O’Hara, she was so beloved 🥺❤️🕊️ pic.twitter.com/BO5naQ9hNC
— sarah paulson’s pr (@sarahpaulsbean) January 30, 2026
On her Instagram Story, Paulson shared a video of her and O’Hara dancing together at a Vanity Fair party. “How lucky was I…” she captioned the video.
This post has been updated.
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