Catherine O'Hara Dies At 71

Catherine O’Hara has died. On Jan. 30, PEOPLE confirmed with her manager that the comedic icon and Emmy-winning actor has died at 71 years old.

According to a statement from Creative Artists Agency given to the Associated Press, O’Hara died on Friday morning at her Los Angeles home “following a brief illness.” No further details have been confirmed at this time. TMZ was the first to report her death.

O’Hara was best known for her comedic turns in both film and TV, starring in iconic movies like Beetlejuice, Best In Show, and the Home Alone franchise. In recent years, she charmed viewers and won an Emmy for her performance as Moira Rose in Schitt’s Creek, a role that inspired countless viral memes and one-liners that permeated pop culture.

She was born in Toronto in 1954. She got her start in comedy after graduating high school by getting a job at Toronto’s Second City Theater, first as a waitress before joining the company and meeting her future friend and collaborator, Eugene Levy. When the theater started its own TV sketch program, SCTV, O’Hara became one of its breakout stars, beloved for her celebrity impressions of Meryl Streep and others.

O’Hara used her platform on SCTV to jump into the film world, making her big screen debut in 1980’s Double Negative alongside Levy. She eventually landed a role in Martin Scorsese's 1985 film After Hours, and voiced Sally in Disney’s iconic holiday film The Nightmare Before Christmas.

She became a key component in multiple iconic franchises, first as Delia Deetz in 1988’s Beetlejuice, a role she’d reprise over 35 years later in the 2024 sequel. Two years later, she starred as Macaulay Culkin’s onscreen mother in 1990’s Home Alone, and also returned for the 1992 sequel.

In 2015, she reunited with Levy once again on the Canadian sitcom Schitt’s Creek, created by his son Dan, where she played family matriarch Moira Rose. The show surged in popularity after episodes began streaming on Netflix, lasting six seasons and earning O’Hara the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the final season.

“I will forever be grateful to Eugene and Daniel Levy for the opportunity to play a woman of a certain age, my age, who gets to fully be herself,” she said during her speech. In September 2025, Levy presented O’Hara with the TIFF Tribute Norman Jewison Career Achievement Award.

Most recently, O’Hara starred in Seth Rogen’s Apple TV+ satire series The Studio, earning Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her role as studio executive Patty Leigh. O’Hara made her final public appearance at the 2025 Emmy Awards in support of the show, going onstage with her fellow castmates and crew to accept the award for Outstanding Comedy Series.

While production on the second season began this month, it’s unknown whether she was set to return for Season 2.

O’Hara is survived by her husband, Oscar-nominated production designer Robert W. “Bo” Welch III, and their two sons, Matthew and Luke.