Catherine O’Hara, the legendary comedic actress whose career spanned from the cult sketch show SCTV to the global phenomenon Schitt’s Creek, has died aged 71, per bbc.com.
The Canadian-born star passed away at her home in Los Angeles on Friday following a brief illness, her agent confirmed.
O’Hara was a transformative talent who “made lightning strike twice” with iconic roles across generations. To younger audiences, she was the eccentric, couture-clad matriarch Moira Rose in Schitt’s Creek, a role that earned her an Emmy and a Golden Globe. To others, she was permanently etched in cinematic history as Delia Deetz in Beetlejuice and Kate McCallister, the frantic mother in Home Alone.
Macaulay Culkin, who played her son Kevin in the holiday classic, shared a moving tribute to his on-screen mother: “Mama. I thought we had time. I heard you. But I had so much more to say. I love you.”
Dan Levy, the co-creator of Schitt’s Creek who played her son David, remarked that it was a gift “to have gotten to dance in the warm glow of Catherine O’Hara’s brilliance.”
O’Hara’s journey began in Toronto’s Second City improv troupe, where she honed her craft alongside Eugene Levy and John Candy. Her career was defined by her versatility and a unique “Canadian” sensibility, a humility she claimed allowed her to look outside herself and never take the world too seriously.
Beyond her mainstream hits, she was a staple of Christopher Guest’s acclaimed mockumentaries, including Best in Show and A Mighty Wind.
Even in her final year, O’Hara remained a force in the industry. She recently appeared in the sci-fi drama The Last of Us and Seth Rogen’s The Studio. Rogen, devastated by the news, called her “the funniest person I’d ever had the pleasure of watching on screen.”
She is survived by her husband, Bo Welch, and their two sons, Matthew and Luke.
•Featured image: Catherine O’Hara/Getty Images
