Catherine O’Hara, actor known for Home Alone and Schitt’s Creek, dies aged 71

Catherine O’Hara, the actor best known for her roles in Home Alone, Schitt’s Creek and Beetlejuice, has died at the age of 71.

O’Hara died Friday (local time) at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness, Variety reported.

Her Hollywood career spanned five decades, beginning with the Canadian sketch comedy series Second City Television, for which she earned her first Emmy.

In 1988, O’Hara starred in Tim Burton’s comedy horror Beetlejuice and later reprised the role in the 2024 sequel.

She also played Macaulay Culkin’s mother in the 1990 comedy Home Alone, a role she also reprised for the 1992 sequel.

She was a frequent collaborator of Christopher Guest’s, appearing in his mockumentary films Best in Show, For Your Consideration, Waiting for Guffman and A Mighty Wind.

In 2020, O’Hara won her second Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for her role in Schitt’s Creek.

“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 in part during her speech. She also won a Golden Globe and a Sag Award for the series.

She was nominated for two Emmys at the 2025 ceremony.

O’Hara skipped the Golden Globe Awards this year on January 11, despite receiving a nomination for best supporting performance in a female actor for her role in the Apple TV series The Studio.

She was born in Toronto in 1954, and is survived by her two children and husband, Bo Welch.