Home Alone and Schitt’s Creek star Catherine O’Hara dead at 71
Hollywood has come out in droves to pay tribute to the film and TV icon, including her The Studio co-star Seth Rogen
LEGENDARY actress Catherine O’Hara has died at the age of 71 just hours after being rushed to a hospital while having difficulty breathing early on Friday morning.
O’Hara, best known for her roles in Home Alone, Beetlejuice, and Schitt’s Creek, was reportedly transported to a hospital in Los Angeles in a serious condition.
The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a call from her Brentwood home at 4:48 am.
She was transported to a local hospital in “serious condition” and dispatch audio obtained by PageSix claimed the actress was showing signs of “breathing difficulty.”
A cause of death has not yet been confirmed, though her talent agency CAA said she suffered from a “brief illness” just before her death.
O’Hara is survived by her husband of 33 years, Bo Welch, and their two sons, Matthew, 31, and Luke, 29.
AWAY FROM THE SPOTLIGHT
O’Hara skipped the Golden Globes on January 11, despite receiving a nomination for Best Supporting Performance by a Female Actor for her role in the Apple TV series The Studio.
It was not clear why she did not attend the ceremony.
She made her last public appearance on September 14, 2025, posing on the red carpet with Welch at Apple TV’s Emmys party in West Hollywood.
Days earlier, she was all smiles at a Toronto Film Festival party.
As The U.S. Sun exclusively reported on Friday, she was expected to film Season 2 of The Studio in mid-January, but did not appear on set.
O’Hara’s plans were changed at the last minute due to “personal matters,” a source claimed.
“She was scheduled to film, but they reworked the schedule to focus on scenes without her character,” the source said.
LONG, STORIED CAREER
O’Hara was born in Toronto, Canada, before moving to the United States.
Her career spanned more than 50 years, stretching across TV, movies, and sketch comedy.
She started out in sketch series Second City Television in the mid-1970s.
O’Hara won an Emmy as part of the show.
But she shot to superstardom in the beloved 1990 Christmas movie Home Alone, in which she played Kevin McCallister’s mother.
She remained close with onscreen son Macaulay Culkin, and supported the actor in 2023 at his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony.
Later in her career, she had a pop culture resurgence with smash hit comedy Schitt’s Creek, opposite her longtime friend Eugene Levy.
The show aired from 2015 until 2020, and earned O’Hara two Emmys for her role as eccentric former soap star Moira Rose.
She was featured in a documentary about late Home Alone co-star and close friend John Candy, which premiered in 2025.
O’Hara also stole scenes as heartbroken therapist Gail on The Last Of Us’ second season opposite Pedro Pascal.
TRIBUTES POUR IN
Tributes to the beloved star from her famous friends, family and fans immediately flooded social media.
Culkin, who previously called O’Hara a mother figure, said, “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.”
Justin Theroux, who co-starred with O’Hara in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, dedicated a post to the late star, saying, “Catherine, you will be so missed.”
“Oh, genius to be near you. Eternally grateful,” O’Hara’s The Last Of Us co-star Pascal said.
“There is less light in my world; this lucky world that had you will keep you always. Always.”
Friend Rita Wilson wrote, “Catherine O’Hara – a woman who was authentic and truthful in all she did.
“You saw it in her work, if you knew her you saw it in her life, and you saw it in her family.
“Bo, Luke and Matthew, our deepest sympathies. May Catherine rest in peace. May her memory be eternal.”
