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Catherine O'Hara Dies Unexpectedly, Aged 71

By Angelina Vojvodic

Beloved Canadian-born actress, writer, and comedian Catherine O’Hara shockingly passed away on Jan. 30 at the age of 71. Beginning her career in the early 1970’s, O’Hara was famously known for her roles in The Second City Television, Beetlejuice, Home Alone, Schitt’s Creek, and many more, with her career spanning over five decades. O'Hara leaves behind her husband of over 33 years, Bo Welch, and their two sons, Matthew and Luke.

Born on March 4, 1954, in Toronto, O’Hara grew up in a big family, being the sixth of seven children. She attended Burnhamthorpe Collegiate Institute, graduated in 1974, and began her career in improv comedy with Toronto's SCTV (Second City Television) shortly after high school. One of the highlights of O'Hara's early career was her work on the groundbreaking Canadian sketch comedy program SCTV, which brought her lots of public attention. Soon enough, she won her first major award in 1982, the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program.

Through the late 1980-90’s, O’Hara transitioned her work to the film industry. Her first roles were supporting parts in Martin Scorsese's After Hours (1985) and Tim Burton's Beetlejuice (1988), in which she played Delia Deetz. Her most well-known role is arguably her role as Kate McCallister, the mother in the 1990 and 1992 films Home Alone and Home Alone 2. 

More recently, with her role of former soap star Moira Rose on the CBC sitcom Schitt's Creek, O'Hara had a significant career revival, winning six straight Canadian Screen Awards, a 2020 Primetime Emmy, and a 2021 Golden Globe.

O'Hara had been aware for many years of her rare congenital abnormality known as dextrocardia with situs inversus, which caused her heart and organs to be located on the opposite side of her chest. Despite this, she was still able to live her life normally. At first, O’Hara’s cause of death was unknown, but according to a Los Angeles County death certificate issued on Monday, Feb. 9, O’Hara passed away from a pulmonary embolism, with cancer as the underlying cause.