Celebrities React To Catherine O’Hara’s Death At 71

Following Catherine O’Hara’s death at 71, friends and former collaborators are remembering the comedy legend. The actor, who shared two children with her husband, Bo Welch, died on Jan. 30 after a brief illness, her team has confirmed.

Justin Trudeau

Canada’s former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau remembered O’Hara as a “beloved Canadian icon with a rare gift for comedy and heart” in a touching post, referencing her roles in Schitt’s Creek, Home Alone, and Second City Television (or SCTV), the Canadian sketch comedy show where O’Hara worked with Eugene Levy and John Candy — to name a few key collaborators.

“She made people laugh across generations and helped bring Canadian storytelling to the world in a way only she could,” Trudeau continued. “She made people laugh across generations and helped bring Canadian storytelling to the world in a way only she could.”

Christopher Guest

Filmmaker Christopher Guest, who worked with O’Hara on cult-classic mockumentary films like Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman, said he was “devastated” in a statement shared with Deadline. “We have lost one of the comic giants of our age. I send my love to her family.”

Macaulay Culkin

Macaulay Culkin remembered his on-screen mom from the Home Alone films, writing 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.”

He paired his moving message with a pair of photos — one of the actors as Kevin and Kate McCallister in Home Alone, and another of them embracing at Culkin’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2023.

Michael Keaton

In a sweet tribute, Michael Keaton reflected on his long history with O’Hara. “We go back before the first Beetlejuice. She’s been my pretend wife, my pretend nemesis and my real life, true friend. This one hurts. Man am I gonna miss her,” he wrote, also sending love to O’Hara’s husband.

Seth Rogen

The Studio co-creator Seth Rogen reflected on O’Hara’s influence on his life. “I told O’Hara when I first met her I thought she was the funniest person I’d ever had the pleasure of watching on screen,” he wrote alongside a playful candid of the pair. “Home Alone was the movie that made me want to make movies. Getting to work with her was a true honour. She was hysterical, kind, intuitive, generous… she made me want to make our show good enough to be worthy of her presence in it. This is just devastating. We’re all lucky we got to live in a world with her in it.”

Ike Barinholtz

Fellow Studio star Ike Barinholtz also sent his love, writing on Instagram: “I never in a million years thought I would get to work with Catherine O’Hara let alone become friends with her. So profoundly sad she’s somewhere else now,” he wrote. “So incredibly grateful I got to spend the time I did with her.”

Ron Howard

Ron Howard reacted to the “shattering news” in his own X post. “What a wonderful person, artist and collaborator,” he wrote. “I was lucky enough to direct, produce and act in projects with her and she was simply growing more brilliant with each year.” Howard, too, shared the screen with O’Hara on The Studio, for which they both earned Emmy nods.

Meryl Streep

In a statement shared with AP News, Meryl Streep said her Heartburn castmate “brought love and light to our world, through whipsmart compassion for the collection of eccentrics she portrayed.” O’Hara’s passing, she continued, is “such a loss for her family and friends, and the audience she graced as friends.”

Pedro Pascal

Pedro Pascal, who worked with O’Hara during her Emmy-nominated guest appearance on The Last of Us, remembered the late actor in an Instagram post. “Oh, genius to be near you,” he captioned a photo of the pair on set. “Eternally grateful. There is less light in my world, this lucky world that had you, will keep you, always. Always ♥️.”

Kevin Nealon

Kevin Nealon remembered his Glenn Martin, DDS castmate on X (formerly Twitter), writing: “Catherine O’Hara changed how so many of us understand comedy and humanity. From the chaos and heart of Home Alone to the unforgettable precision of Moira Rose in Schitt’s Creek, she created characters we’ll rewatch again and again.”

Rita Wilson

Rita Wilson called O’Hara a “woman who was authentic and truthful in all she did” in her tribute post. “You saw it in her work, if you knew her you saw it in her life, and you saw it in her family,” she wrote, sending her sympathies to O’Hara’s husband and sons. “May Catherine rest in peace. May her memory be eternal.”

Michael Buble

Like Trudeau, Michael Buble remembered O’Hara for her impact on their country — and the world at large. “She was an ambassador for Canada in the truest sense: brilliant, fearless, deeply original, and so full of humanity,” he wrote. “She made the world laugh, but she also made people feel seen.”