by Abb Jones
The Reelness

Catherine O’Hara, who won her first acting Emmy in 2020 as the eccentric former soap opera actress Moira Rose in the hit TV comedy series Schitt’s Creek, and who was also best known for her film work in Beetlejuice, the Home Alone films and the Christopher Guest comedies, has died of an as-yet undisclosed illness in Los Angeles after being rushed the hospital early Friday. She was 71. (Feb 10 update: her cause of death was a blood clot in her lungs after being treated for rectal cancer for nearly a year.)

Born in Toronto in 1954 as the sixth of seven children, O’Hara’s acting and writing career began in 1974 as part of the Second City TV sketch comedy group. She won her first Emmy in 1982 as a writer on the show, later moving onto a successful comedy film career that included 1988’s Beetlejuice, 1990’s Home Alone and its 1992 sequel. O’Hara had maintained a lifelong friendship with Home Alone co-star Macaulay Culkin.

She also was a frequent collaborator with Christopher Guest, starring in mockumentary films Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Might Wind and For Your Consideration.

A dual Canadian and American citizen, O’Hara’s last film appearance was in the 2025 documentary, John Candy: I Like Me with her final TV appearances in the comedy series The Studio and drama series The Last of Us, both of which resulted in Emmy nominations for her.

O’Hara is survived by her husband, production designer Bo Welch, whom she met on the set of 1988’s Beetlejuice and their two adult sons, Matthew and Luke.