Emmy Award-winning actress Catherine O’Hara, beloved for her iconic roles in Schitt’s Creek, Home Alone, and Beetlejuice, has died. her manager confirmed.
She was 71.
In a brief statement, O’Hara’s manager announced the heartbreaking news, saying, “Catherine passed away peacefully today. She was an extraordinary talent, a devoted wife and mother, and a light to everyone who knew her.”
Details surrounding her cause of death remain unclear. However, the Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed to ABC News that emergency responders received a call for medical assistance at an address connected to the actress.
According to the LAFD, O’Hara was transported to a nearby hospital in serious condition, where she later died.
O’Hara rose to international fame through a career spanning more than four decades, earning widespread acclaim for her comedic brilliance and emotional depth. She captured a new generation of fans with her Emmy-winning portrayal of Moira Rose on Schitt’s Creek, while longtime audiences fondly remember her as Kate McCallister, the frantic but loving mother in the 1990 holiday classic Home Alone.
Her performance alongside a young Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone remains one of her most cherished roles, offering audiences a heartfelt portrait of motherhood that continues to resonate decades later.
Following news of her passing, Culkin took to Instagram to pay tribute.
“Heartbroken beyond words,” he wrote. “Catherine was kindness, humor, and grace all wrapped into one. Thank you for everything.”
O’Hara is survived by her husband, Oscar-nominated production designer Bo Welch, whom she married in 1992. The couple met on the set of Beetlejuice, a story O’Hara often shared fondly in interviews.
Together, they raised two sons, Matthew and Luke.
Tributes have continued to pour in from fans and fellow actors worldwide, celebrating O’Hara’s remarkable legacy and the indelible mark she left on film and television.
