Beloved actress Catherine O'Hara, known for her iconic roles in Home Alone and Schitt's Creek, has passed away at the age of 71. She died on January 30, 2026, at her home in Los Angeles after a brief illness, her agency confirmed. The news has sparked an outpouring of tributes from co-stars and fans alike.
Oh, Hollywood just lost one of its quirkiest queens. Catherine O'Hara, the Canadian comedy legend who made us all laugh until we cried, slipped away on January 30, 2026, at her Los Angeles home in the Brentwood area, following a brief illness, according to a statement from her agency, Creative Artists Agency. She was 71. TMZ reports she was rushed to the hospital around 5 a.m. that morning after paramedics responded to a call about difficulty breathing; she was listed in serious condition by the L.A. Fire Department before being pronounced dead hours later. No further details on the illness have been shared, keeping things as mysterious as one of her eccentric characters. 😔
O'Hara leaves behind her husband of over three decades, production designer Bo Welch—whom she met on the set of 1988's Beetlejuice, where he finally asked her out after some Tim Burton meddling ("Let me see what I can do," the director reportedly said). They married in 1992 and welcomed sons Matthew in 1994 and Luke in 1997, both of whom have stayed out of the spotlight but apparently inherited her funny bone, per her past chats. She also had six siblings: Michael, Mary Margaret, Maureen Jolley, Marcus, Tom, and Patricia Wallice.
Her career? Iconic doesn't even cover it. From SCTV sketches in the '70s (where she snagged her first Emmy for writing in 1982) to voicing Sally in The Nightmare Before Christmas, playing frantic mom Kate McCallister in the first two Home Alone flicks, and stealing scenes as pretentious Delia Deetz in Beetlejuice (and its 2024 sequel), O'Hara was a force. But let's spill the real tea: her Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning turn as wig-loving Moira Rose on Schitt's Creek? Chef's kiss. She wrapped up with roles in The Last of Us and Seth Rogen's The Studio, earning a fresh Golden Globe nod this year—though she skipped the ceremony.
Tributes are flooding in like a bad sequel plot twist. Home Alone "son" Macaulay Culkin posted a then-and-now pic on Instagram: "Mama. I thought we had time. I wanted more... I love you. I’ll see you later." Pedro Pascal, her Last of Us co-star, gushed, "Oh, genius to be near you. Eternally grateful... the one and ONLY #CatherineOHara." Justin Theroux shared her empty director's chair from Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: "Oh Catherine. You will be so so missed." Even Michael Bublé called her a "rare light" and Canadian ambassador of laughs. SAG-AFTRA mourned her as a two-time winner whose "brilliance, generosity and originality" left an indelible mark.
Her last public sighting? September 2025 at the Emmys, supporting The Studio crew in a crystal-embellished black gown, arm-in-arm with Bo. No drama, just elegance. So, is this the end of an era, or just O'Hara off to haunt the next blockbuster from the great beyond? 👻
