By Abigail Holliday
Copy Editor
Catherine O’Hara, beloved “Beetlejuice,” “Home Alone” and “Schitt’s Creek” actress, died in Los Angeles on Jan. 30 at 71-years-old.
The Canadian actress began her rise to fame starring as the understudy as Gilda Radner with the Second City, an improv troupe based in her home town of Toronto, according to the New York Times. Second City then led to Second City TV (SCTV), Saturday Night Live’s Canadian parallel, where she became a regular cast member in 1976, starring in 52 episodes, according to IMDb. She worked alongside Rick Moranis, John Candy, Andrea Martin and Eugene Levy, and remained as a cast member through its entirety, coming to an end in 1984.
O’Hara kickstarted her acting career by being cast as Delia Deetz, the on-screen mother to Winona Ryder in Tim Burton’s famous cult-classic, “Beetlejuice.” The film skyrocketed in popularity, earning well over $73 million and battled “Rain Man” and “Big” for top movie of 1988. The film remains relevant, earning itself a cartoon show, a Broadway musical adaptation, a sequel starring Jenna Ortega and more.
Soon after, O’Hara starred in the iconic 1990s Christmas movie, “Home Alone” as Kate McCallister, mother to free spirit Kevin McCallister. Played by Macaulay Culkin, Kevin was left behind on his family's trip to Paris and was forced to fight to protect his home from burglars. “Home Alone” was a huge success, earning $477 million worldwide on an $18 million budget, making it the highest grossing holiday movie of all time and remains on every Top 10 Christmas movie list.
O’Hara also played the eccentric Moira Rose on Eugene and Dan Levy’s “Schitt’s Creek,” a Canadian sitcom, for all six seasons from 2015 to 2020. Moira Rose was a once soap opera star married to Johnny (Eugene Levy) and mother to David (Dan Levy) and Alexis Rose (Annie Murphy) where they are forced to move to Ontario’s “Schitt’s Creek” after losing their fortune. O’Hara received her first acting Primetime Emmy award, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actor’s Guild Award due to her performance as Moira Rose.
Outside of her beautiful on-screen presence, O’Hara also was the voice behind many famous animated characters. Including Sally from “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” Brooke Ripple from “Elemental,” Grandma Frump from “The Addams Family,” “Chicken Little,” “Frankenweenie,” “Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses” and more.
O’Hara passed away in her home following “a brief illness,” confirmed by representatives to the New York Times.
Many of her on-screen children have written about her passing such as Macaulay Culkin, posting on Instagram saying, “Mama. I thought we had time. 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.” Dan Levy, Jenna Ortega and Annie Murphy also left beautiful posts in remembrance of the great Catherine O’Hara, sharing the time they had together with the actress.
In 2024, TMZ asked O’Hara, “When all is said and done, which role would you most like to be remembered for?” to which O’Hara replied, “Mother of my children.”
O’Hara leaves behind her husband, Bo Welch, and their two sons, Luke and Matthew Welch.
