Comedian, Actress, Icon Catherine O’Hara Dies at 71

In devastating, heart-shattering news, Catherine O’Hara, whose long list of accolades includes playing Macaulay Culkin’s mom in the Home Alone franchise and starring as Moira Rose—arguably one of the greatest characters in television history—in Schitt’s Creek, has reportedly passed away.

TMZ reports that O’Hara died on Friday, according to two sources. Her CAA reps confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter that she passed “at her home in Los Angeles after a brief illness.” She was 71.

She most recently starred in Seth Rogen’s The Studio, walking the red carpet at the Emmys in early January and taking the stage with the rest of the cast when they won Best Comedy or Musical. O’Hara previously won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy for playing Moira Rose in 2020, and an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program in 1982 for her work on SCTV Network (Second City Television). She received 10 Emmy nominations throughout her career, including for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for The Last of Us in 2025.

It was with Second City in Toronto in the 1970s that O’Hara began her career, where she was an understudy for Gilda Radner in her 20s before Radner left for Saturday Night Live. (O’Hara was hired as an SNL cast member in 1981 but left before the season premiered to return to SCTV.) Second City is also where O’Hara met Eugene Levy, with whom she worked throughout her life, including co-starring in Schitt’s Creek, which he co-created with his son, Daniel Levy. SCTV Network began on Canadian television but eventually aired on NBC, launching fellow comedians like Martin Short, John Candy, and Andrea Martin.

O’Hara was born and raised in a Catholic-Irish family in Toronto, the sixth of seven children. She is survived by her husband, two sons, and her six siblings.

“Mama, I thought we had time,” Culkin wrote in an Instagram tribute on Friday. “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.” Meryl Streep said in a statement that O’Hara “brought love and light to our world, through whipsmart compassion for the collection of eccentrics she portrayed.” On Instagram, Pedra Pascal wrote, “Oh, genius to be near you. Eternally grateful. There is less light in my world.”

O’Hara was also known for starring in a series of mockumentaries, directed by Christopher Guest, and featuring comedians and improv veterans like Parker Posey, Jennifer Coolidge, Fred Willard, Jane Lynch, and Bob Balaban, beginning with 1996’s Waiting for Guffman, 2000’s Best in Show, 2003’s A Mighty Wind, and 2006’s For Your Consideration. 

“I am devastated,” Guest said in a statement to the Associated Press. “We have lost one of the comic giants of our age.”