The Canadian actress and comedian Catherine O’Hara, best known for her roles in Schitt’s Creek, Home Alone and Best in Show, has died at the age of 71, according to US media reports.
Celebrity news website TMZ reported that O’Hara died on Friday, citing two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. The cause of death has not been disclosed.
O’Hara rose to international fame playing Kate McCallister, the mother of Macaulay Culkin’s character, in the first two Home Alone films. She later earned widespread critical acclaim for her portrayal of Moira Rose in the award-winning television comedy Schitt’s Creek, appearing in all six seasons of the show.
Her film career included roles in mockumentaries directed by Christopher Guest, such as Best in Show (2000) and A Mighty Wind (2003), as well as appearances in Beetlejuice and its recent sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
O’Hara’s most recent screen work was in the Apple TV+ series The Studio, in which she starred alongside Seth Rogen. The role earned her an Emmy nomination.
She won an Emmy Award in 2020 for Schitt’s Creek, nearly four decades after her first Emmy win in 1982 for writing on the sketch comedy series SCTV Network 90.
Born and raised in Toronto, O’Hara was the sixth of seven children. She met her husband, production designer Bo Welch, on the set of Beetlejuice in 1988. The couple married in 1992 and had two sons, Matthew and Luke.
Tributes from fans and fellow performers have begun to circulate online, as the entertainment industry reacts to reports of her death.
About The Author
