Hollywood is mourning a major loss.
Catherine O’Hara, the legendary actress beloved for her unforgettable roles in Schitt’s Creek, Home Alone, and Best in Show, has died at the age of 71, TMZ has learned.
Two sources with direct knowledge confirmed O’Hara passed away Friday. Her cause of death has not yet been made public.
Fans across generations instantly recognize O’Hara as Kevin McCallister’s frantic but loving mom in the first two Home Alone films, a role that cemented her as a holiday movie staple. Decades later, she reinvented herself yet again as the gloriously unhinged Moira Rose on Schitt’s Creek, appearing in all 80 episodes and turning the character into a pop-culture phenomenon.
Her film résumé reads like a comedy hall of fame. O’Hara starred in Christopher Guest mockumentary classics including Best in Show and A Mighty Wind, and appeared in both the original Beetlejuice and the recent sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Even in recent years, O’Hara showed no signs of slowing down. Her latest role came opposite Seth Rogen in the Apple TV+ series “The Studio,” earning her another Emmy nomination and proving her range remained as sharp as ever.
Awards followed her throughout her career. She won an Emmy in 2020 for Schitt’s Creek, decades after her first Emmy win in 1982 for her writing work on SCTV Network 90.
Born and raised in Toronto as the sixth of seven children, O’Hara met her husband, production designer Bo Welch, on the set of Beetlejuice. The two married in 1992 and shared two sons, Matthew and Luke.
The last time TMZ photographers spotted O’Hara was at LAX in February 2024, when she was asked which role she hoped to be remembered for — a question that now carries heartbreaking weight.
Catherine O’Hara was 71.
We’re the same age. I first started watching her on SCTV when I was at Ft. Carson, CO in the mid-70s. Unlike SNL, SCTV never failed to deliver.