Catherine O’Hara, the Emmy-winning actress whose career spanned five decades, has died aged 71, her representatives have confirmed.
In a brief statement released on Friday, US time, they announced: “We are saddened to announce the passing of Catherine O’Hara.”
Her death followed a medical emergency at her Brentwood home in Los Angeles.
According to TMZ, emergency services were called after reports she was struggling to breathe.
Dispatch audio indicated that the situation was urgent.
The Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed it responded to a call at the property at 4.48am local time and transported O’Hara to hospital in a “serious” condition.
She died just hours later.
While the cause of death has not been formally confirmed, O’Hara was known to have Situs inversus, a rare condition in which a person’s internal organs are mirrored from their usual positions.
The condition is often harmless but can complicate diagnosis and treatment of other illnesses.
O’Hara leaves behind her husband of 33 years, production designer Bob Welch, and their two sons, Matthew and Luke.
Born in Toronto on March 4, 1954, O’Hara rose to prominence through Canada’s influential sketch comedy scene. S
he first found fame on Second City Television, where her work earned her an early Emmy Award and set the tone for a career defined by sharp wit and emotional depth.
International audiences came to know her through film roles, including Delia Deetz in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice in 1988.
Two years later, she starred as the frazzled mother of Kevin McCallister in Home Alone, reprising the role in the 1992 sequel. She maintained a close bond with Macaulay Culkin and honoured him at his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2023.
A major career resurgence came decades later with her portrayal of Moira Rose in Schitt’s Creek, a role that delivered her second Emmy and cemented her status as a comedy great.
She was nominated numerous times across acting and writing categories and was a double nominee last year for her work in The Last of Us and Seth Rogen’s The Studio.
Her appearance at the 2025 Emmy Awards would be her final public awards outing.
Earlier this month, she was nominated for a Golden Globe but did not attend the ceremony.
In recent years, O’Hara returned to the Beetlejuice franchise for its 2024 sequel and appeared in the Apple action film Argylle.
Hollywood figures quickly shared their grief.
Culkin posted a tribute alongside a photo of them together, writing: “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.”
Pedro Pascal described her as “the one and ONLY”, while Seth Rogen said: “This is just devastating. We’re all lucky we got to live in a world with her in it.”
Michael Keaton, who worked with O’Hara on both Beetlejuice films, wrote: “This one hurts. Man am I gonna miss her.”