“Schitt’s Creek” and “Home Alone” star Catherine O’Hara has died. She was 71.
CAA confirmed her death on Friday, sharing a statement with Page Six that read, “We are saddened to announce the passing of Catherine O’Hara.”
The Los Angeles Fire Department told Page Six it responded to a call at O’Hara’s home at 4:48 a.m. local time and transported her to a hospital in “serious” condition.
TMZ first reported the news. Her cause of death has not been released.
Born in 1954 in Toronto, O’Hara was one of seven children and grew up immersed in comedy and performance. She began her professional career in 1974 at The Second City, the famed improv theater that has launched generations of comedy stars.
Her sharp timing and fearless characters quickly set her apart, leading to work in television and film. O’Hara later became affiliated with Saturday Night Live as an understudy, further cementing her reputation as one of comedy’s most reliable scene-stealers, even when she was not in the spotlight.
O’Hara’s mainstream breakthrough came in 1988 with her role as Delia Deetz in Beetlejuice, directed by Tim Burton. Playing the eccentric, self-absorbed artist opposite Winona Ryder, O’Hara delivered a performance that became one of the film’s defining elements and helped turn the movie into a cult classic.
She reached an even wider audience in the early 1990s portraying the frantic but loving mother of Macaulay Culkin in the first two “Home Alone” films, released in 1990 and 1992. The holiday blockbusters became cultural fixtures, and O’Hara’s performance anchored the chaos with warmth and humor.
Decades later, she enjoyed a career resurgence on “Schitt’s Creek,” earning critical acclaim and a new generation of fans for her flamboyant, scene-dominating turn on the hit series.
O’Hara’s career spanned five decades, marked by memorable characters, fearless comedy and a reputation as one of the most respected performers in the business.
