The legendary comedic actress most recently appeared on the Apple TV series “The Studio.”

Catherine O’Hara, Home Alone and Schitt’s Creek star, dies at 71

The legendary comedic actress most recently appeared on the Apple TV series "The Studio."

By Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on *Entertainment Tonight* and Popsugar.

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January 30, 2026 1:33 p.m. ET

Catherine O'Hara in 2024. Credit:

KC Armstrong/Deadline via Getty

Catherine O'Hara, the beloved veteran star who became a household name with her roles in *Home Alone*, *Schitt's Creek,* *Beetlejuice*, and *Best in Show*, has died. She was 71.

The legendary actress died Friday at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness, her manager confirmed to **. A private celebration of life will be held by the family at a later date.

O'Hara was was born on March 4, 1954, in Toronto as the sixth of seven children. Her first acting gig was portraying the Virgin Mary in a Nativity play. After graduating from high school, she got a job as a waitress at the Second City Theater in Toronto before joining the company as a member in 1974.

Catherine O'Hara and Macaulay Culkin in 'Home Alone'.

20th Century Fox

The actress starred on the theater's sketch series *Second City Television* (*SCTV*), which aired on NBC in the 1980s. In 1981, she was hired to replace Ann Risley on *Saturday Night Live* when the sketch series was being retooled, but she quit the show without ever appearing on air, choosing to stick with *SCTV* until it ended in 1984. She won an Emmy Award and earned four nominations for her writing on the show.

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O'Hara made her film debut in the 1980 Canadian thriller film *Double Negative*, based on the novel *The Three Roads* by Ross Macdonald, which also starred her *SCTV* costars John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, and Dave Thomas.

Although a small part, her debut led to O'Hara working with a number of acclaimed filmmakers, including Mike Nichols (*Heartburn*), Martin Scorsese (*After Hours*), and Warren Beatty (*Dick Tracy*). She became a regular in Christopher Guest comedies, including *Waiting for Guffman *(1996), *Best in Show *(2000), and *A Mighty Wind *(2003).

Tim Burton and Catherine speak on stage during CinemaCon 2024.

David Becker/Getty

Her roles in Tim Burton's 1988 film* Beetlejuice* as Delia Deetz and Chris Columbus' 1990 hit *Home Alone* as Kate McCallister catapulted her to the A-list. She reprised her role as Kate, the beleaguered mother of Kevin (Macaulay Culkin), in the 1992 sequel *Home Alone 2: Lost in New York*. In 2024, she returned as Delia, the stepmother of Winona Ryder's Lydia, in the long-awaited sequel *Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice*.

Other major roles for O'Hara in the '90s included Burton's 1993's *The* *Nightmare Before Christmas* — in which she voiced Sally, the ragdoll psychic who longs for Jack's affection — and 1994's *Wyatt Earp*. Her many other voice performances include *Where the Wild Things Are* (2009), Burton's *Frankenweenie* (2012), and *The Wild Robot* (2024).

"I like voicing characters for films and television. It doesn't compare to acting on camera. It's just a different art form and/or skill. You're usually alone in the booth, though it's more fun working with another actor, and all focus is on your voice," O'Hara told Live for Films in 2018. "It's challenging but fun. Recording 'Sally's Song' was intimidating -- that song is beautiful and difficult to sing."

Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Annie Murphy, and Dan Levy on 'Schitt's Creek'.

The veteran actress' career enjoyed a second wind when she starred as the once-wealthy matriarch and actress Moira Rose on *Schitt's Creek* (2015–20), for which she won Emmy, Golden Globe, and Actor Awards. Her performance on HBO's *Temple Grandin* earned her Primetime Emmy and Actor Awards nominations.

Bryan Cranston took mushrooms with Catherine O'Hara and then went to a Grateful Dead concert

Catherine O'Hara unpacks her 'The Last of Us' debut, teases Eugene episode (exclusive)

Last year, O'Hara appeared on a pair of buzzy series: HBO's *The Last of Us *and Apple TV's *The Studio. *She received Emmy nominations for Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series for the former and Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series for the latter. Her work on *The Studio* also earned her a Golden Globes nomination for Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Television Series.

O'Hara is survived by her husband, production designer Bo Welch, whom she met on the set of *Beetlejuice,* 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.**

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