BRENTWOOD—Actress Catherine O’Hara, known for her roles in the “Home Alone” films alongside Macaulay Culkin and for her role as Moira Rose from “Schitt’s Creek” died on Friday, January 30. O’Hara was 71. An official cause of death for the actress has not been disclosed to the public. According to reports, the actress died at her home in Brentwood “following a brief illness.”
O’Hara, born in Toronto, Canada in 1954 got her career started in 1974 as a member of ‘The Second City’ in her hometown before serving as an understudy for Gilda Radner until she left the NBC sketch-comedy series “Saturday Night Live.”
The actress had a break-out role in Tim Burton’s horror-comedy “Beetlejuice” in 1988 alongside actress Winona Ryder. O’Hara portrayed, Delia Deetz in the hit film. Many fans know O’Hara from her role as Kata McCallister in the comedy film “Home Alone” and the sequel “Home Alone 2: Lost in New Yor,” where she portrayed the mother of protagonist Kevin McCallister.
Other notable movie roles for the actress included “Best in Show,” “For Your Consideration,” “Wyatt Earp,” “A Mighty Wind,” “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” and recently performed voice work for the animated films “Elemental” and “The Wild Robot.”
She became a breakout in the TV arena for her work as Moira Rose in the CBC comedy “Schitt’s Creek.” She starred on the series alongside Eugene Levy and his son Dan Levy. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on the series. O’Hara married production designer Bo Welch in 1992, and they share two sons together. The actress recently appeared on the HBO comedy series “The Studio” alongside Seth Rogen.
O’Hara’s “Home Alone” co-star Macaulay Culkin posted on Instagram:
“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.”
Director Tim Burton posted on Instagram:
“Catherine, I love you. This picture shows how much light you gave to all of us. You were a special part of my life and after life.”
By Danny Jones