Catherine O’Hara, Home Alone And Schitt's Creek Star, Dies At 71 After Brief Illness; Macaulay Culkin, Meryl Streep, Pedro Pascal, Other Hollywood Actors Pour In Condolence

Catherine O’Hara, the two-time Emmy-winning actress best known for her roles in Home Alone, Schitt's Creek and Best In Show, died on Friday, January 30. She was 71. According to her agency, she breathed her last at her home in Los Angeles after a brief illness.

Who was Catherine O'Hara?

O'Hara was born on March 4, 1954, and grew up in Toronto. She joined the city's Second City company at age 20, first serving as an understudy to Gilda Radner and later moving up to the main cast when Radner left to join the original Saturday Night Live ensemble.

A native of Toronto, O'Hara was part of the SCTV ensemble that also helped launch the careers of John Candy, Eugene Levy, Rick Moranis and others. She's arguably best known for playing Kevin's (Macaulay Culkin) mother, Kate, in the Home Alone movies and had a career renaissance in the past 10 years with Schitt's Creek.

In a career spanning five decades, she earned numerous accolades, including an Emmy for her role as a faded soap opera actress opposite old friend Levy — and The Studio, for which she earned an Emmy nomination last year. She won an Emmy in 2020 for her portrayal of Moira Rose on Schitt's Creek and previously earned an Emmy in 1982 for her work on SCTV Network.

Over the course of her career, O'Hara has received eight additional nominations for acting and writing. In 2025, she was a double nominee, earning recognition for Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series for HBO's The Last of Us, as well as for her comedic performance in The Studio.

Hollywood mourns the death of veteran actress Catherine O'Hara

Soon after the news about O'Hara's death broke, her industry friends flooded social media, mourning her death and paying tribute to her. Macaulay Culkin, who played O’Hara’s son in two Home Alone movies, took to his Instagram handle and wrote, "Mama. I thought we had time. 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."

Pedro Pascal, who worked with O’Hara on the second season of The Last of Us, shared a photo posing with her on his Instagram handle and wrote, "Oh, genius to be near you. Eternally grateful. There is less light in my world, this lucky world that had you, will keep you, always. Always.”

Meryl Streep, in a statement, said, “Catherine O’Hara brought love and light to our world, through whipsmart compassion for the collection of eccentrics she portrayed...such a loss for her family and friends, and the audience she graced as friends.” — the actor, who co-starred with O'Hara in Heartburn."

Michael Keaton O'Hara's Beetlejuice co-star said, "We go back before the first Beetlejuice. She’s been my pretend wife, my pretend nemesis and my real life, true friend. This one hurts. Ma,n am I gonna miss her."

Catherine O'Hara is survived by her husband, Bo Welch, and sons Matthew and Luke.

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