Actress Catherine O’Hara has died. She was 71.
The Emmy Award winner was known best for her roles in beloved shows and films like “Schitt’s Creek,” “Beetlejuice” and “Home Alone.”
O’Hara’s manager confirmed the news of her death Friday.
Details about the actress’s cause of death are still unknown, however, the Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed to ABC News on Friday that it received a call for medical aid earlier that day at 4:48 a.m. at an address connected to O’Hara.
She was transported to a hospital in serious condition, according to the LAFD.
O’Hara’s long career saw her take on more than 100 roles across TV and film, most recently scoring accolades for her role in the comedy series “Schitt’s Creek” as Moira Rose, a grandiose actress who is blissfully detached from reality.
Her portrayal of Moira in “Schitt’s Creek” — which also starred Eugene Levy, Dan Levy and Annie Murphy — earned her a Primetime Emmy Award in 2020, as well as a Golden Globe in 2021.
O’Hara first rose to widespread fame in 1988, starring as overdramatic artist and perfectionist Delia in “Beetlejuice” alongside Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder.
Her portrayal as mom Kate McCallister to a young Macaulay Culkin in the 1990 film “Home Alone” also revealed another side of O’Hara onscreen, as she warmed the hearts of audiences in a performance that provided a portrait of motherhood.
Catherine Anne O’Hara was born on March 4, 1954, in Toronto, Ontario, as the sixth of seven children, and the older sister to Canadian singer Mary Margaret O’Hara. She got her start in acting when she landed a role on the Canadian television sketch comedy show “Second City Television” in 1974.
According to the official “Second City Television” website, O’Hara had auditioned for “SCTV” two years prior and replaced Gilda Radner when the latter left in 1974.
While on “SCTV,” O’Hara showcased her range, impersonating figures like Meryl Streep, Brooke Shields and Lucille Ball. Her characters on the show included Lola Heatherton and Dusty Towne. She also contributed as a writer on the show and earned her first Primetime Emmy for outstanding writing in a variety or music program in 1982.
While at “SCTV,” O’Hara worked with legendary actors John Candy and Joe Flaherty. It also marked the first time O’Hara worked with Levy, her longtime acting collaborator.
Following “SCTV,” O’Hara’s career began to take off, with roles in the 1986 film “Heartburn,” which starred Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson, and a reunion with Levy and Flaherty in the 1989 television movie “I, Martin Short, Goes Hollywood,” which starred Martin Short and Stanley Brock.
She also lent her voice to several animated projects including voicing the iconic character Sally in Tim Burton’s 1993 film “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” Alien mom Tina in Disney’s “Chicken Little” in 2005, Mrs. Walters in “Monster House” in 2006, and Mrs. Frankenstein in 2012’s “Frankenweenie,” for which she reunited with Ryder and Short.
Other notable roles included the 2000 film “Best in Show,” which she starred in with Levy; the TV series “30 Rock” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm”; and the films “For Your Consideration” and “A Mighty Wind,” both directed by Christopher Guest.
Her most recent roles prior to her death included Gail Lynden in the HBO series “The Last of Us” in 2025 and Patty Leigh in “The Studio,” which each earned her Primetime Emmy nominations for outstanding guest actress in a drama series and outstanding supporting actress, respectively.
In 2024, she reprised her role as Delia in “Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice” with Ryder, Keaton and Jenna Ortega.
She was slated to return for “The Studio” season 2.
In 2024, O’Hara reflected on the next chapter in her career in an interview with Elle Canada and shared how she wanted to approach the years ahead.
“When [you turn] 70 — this is advice [I read] for anybody turning any older age — imagine that you’re going to live a minimum of another 20 years,” she said. “What are you going to do with those years? If you look at it that way, you look at it as a challenge. Like, instead of ‘Oh no, I’m going to downsize’ or ‘I’m going to slow down,’ imagine that you are going to live to 90. What are you going to do?”
After much thought, she said, “You look forward.”
She added, “I’m lucky [I get] to keep doing things like this at my age — I can’t believe it.”
O’Hara is survived by her husband, Oscar-nominated production designer Bo Welch, whom she married in 1992, according to People. The duo met on the set of “Beetlejuice,” she told InStyle in 2018.
“That’s where I met my husband! He designed the sets, so I have nothing but fond memories of that movie,” she said. “We shot on stage in Los Angeles, and then at the end, we went to Vermont to do the exteriors of the house.”
She continued, “Our production designer, Bo [Welch], went ahead with the art department to get the exterior sets for the house ready, and I was grouching to Tim Burton about how this guy was talking to me all the time and never asking me out. We had a break between filming in Los Angeles and on location, and in that time, Tim told Bo that he should ask me out.”
“Our first day of shooting at the house was the day that Bo finally asked me out. So that’s what I see when I look at the scenes we shot there. Matchmaking Tim Burton!” she added.
O’Hara and Welch shared two sons, Matthew and Luke.
