‘Home Alone,’ ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Star Was 71


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We have tragic news to report out of Hollywood today:

Catherine O’Hara — the beloved comic actress who won laughs with her roles in Home Alone and Schitt’s Creek — has passed away.

She was 71 years old.

Catherine O'Hara speaks onstage during the ceremony honoring Macaulay Culkin with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on December 01, 2023 in Hollywood, California.
Catherine O’Hara speaks onstage during the ceremony honoring Macaulay Culkin with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on December 01, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

News of her passing comes courtesy of TMZ, who reports that two sources with “direct knowledge” of the situation have confirmed that O’Hara passed away on Friday.

Her cause of death is unknown at this time.

In addition to her roles in the Home Alone franchise and the beloved sitcom Schitt’s Creek, the Emmy winner racked up dozens of film and television credits over the course of more than 50 years in the industry.

After getting her start on the groundbreaking sketch show Second City Television, O’Hara starred in such acclaimed films as After Hours, Beetlejuice, and Christopher Guest-directed mockumentary comedies like Best In Show and A Mighty Wind.

Catherine O'Hara attends the Los Angeles Premiere of "Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band" at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on October 21, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
Catherine O’Hara attends the Los Angeles Premiere of “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band” at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on October 21, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

In 2020, O’Hara won an Emmy for her work on Schitt’s Creek.

In her acceptance speech, she thanked the show’s creators — father-and-son duo Dan and Eugene Levy — for “the opportunity to play a woman of a certain age, my age, who gets to fully be her ridiculous self.”

In her later years, O’Hara remained busy, with roles in the HBO drama The Last of Us and the Apple TV+ comedy The Studio.

She received Emmy nominations for both, as well as a Golden Globe nomination for The Studio.

Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara attend the ceremony honoring Eugene Levy with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 08, 2024 in Hollywood, California.
Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara attend the ceremony honoring Eugene Levy with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 08, 2024 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

O’Hara did not attend the 2026 Golden Globes ceremony, but the cause of her absence is unknown.

The actress is survived by her husband of 34 years, Bo Welch, and their two children.

This is a breaking story, and we will have further updates as new information becomes available.

Our thoughts are with Catherine O’Hara’s loved ones as they begin their mourning process.



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