Catherine O\u2019Hara, actor known for Schitt\u2019s Creek, Home Alone and Best in Show, has died at the age of 71.<\/p>\n
Her manager confirmed the news to Variety<\/a>. She died after a brief illness.<\/p>\n O\u2019Hara started her comedy career in the 1970s and helped to create the Canadian sketch show SCTV. She broke into film in the 1980s with her first big-screen credit in the romantic comedy Nothing Personal with Donald Sutherland, and in 1985 she had a role in Martin Scorsese\u2019s black comedy After Hours.<\/p>\n In 1988, O\u2019Hara starred in Tim Burton\u2019s comedy horror Beetlejuice and later reprised the role in the 2024 sequel<\/a>. On the set of the original, she met her husband, production designer Bo Welch, and they married in 1992.<\/p>\n O\u2019Hara played Macaulay Culkin\u2019s careless mother in the smash hit 1990 comedy Home Alone, a role she also reprised for the 1992 sequel.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a perfect movie, isn\u2019t it?\u201d she said of Home Alone to People<\/a> in 2024. She added, of the experience: \u201cIt was lovely. All those kids that played our children were just lovely.\u201d<\/p>\n O\u2019Hara recently appeared<\/a> at Culkin\u2019s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony, wiping away tears as she praised him.<\/p>\n Culkin paid tribute to O\u2019Hara on Instagram<\/a>, writing: \u201cMama. 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\u2019ll see you later.\u201d<\/p>\n She began working with Christopher Guest in 1996, starring in the mockumentary Waiting for Guffman, and starred in three more of his films: Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration in 2006.<\/p>\n Guest praised O\u2019Hara for her ability to master comedy and drama in their last collaboration together. \u201cCatherine is one of not many actresses that can pull off both sides of this, where she\u2019s incredibly funny but can also shift into an emotional area that surprises people and it\u2019s just amazing, that transition,\u201d he said<\/a>.<\/p>\n O\u2019Hara also provided her voice for many animated films including Chicken Little, Over the Hedge, Monster House, Frankenweenie and, most recently, The Wild Robot.<\/p>\n Catherine O\u2019Hara in Schitt\u2019s Creek. Photograph: AP<\/p>\n On the small screen, she had roles in The Larry Sanders Show, Six Feet Under, Curb Your Enthusiasm and 30 Rock before she reunited with another Guest actor, Eugene Levy, for the hit sitcom Schitt\u2019s Creek.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always more fun working with someone you know,\u201d she said to the Guardian<\/a> in 2021. \u201cI get too nervous doing solo bits \u2013 it\u2019s too much pressure and it feels like showing off. With someone else, you can share the showing off.\u201d<\/p>\n The show, about a wealthy family who are forced to downsize, ran for six seasons and won O\u2019Hara an Emmy award.<\/p>\n Her recent television roles also included A Series of Unfortunate Events and The Last of Us, which scored her an Emmy nomination.<\/p>\n Her Last of Us co-star Pedro Pascal paid tribute on Instagram. \u201cOh, genius to be near you,\u201d he wrote<\/a>. \u201cEternally grateful. There is less light in my world, this lucky world that had you, will keep you, always.\u201d<\/p>\n O\u2019Hara had recently been seen in the award-winning comedy series The Studio with Seth Rogen. The role had garnered her Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.<\/p>\n Ron Howard, who directed O\u2019Hara in the 1992 comedy drama The Paper, paid his respects on social media.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is shattering news,\u201d he wrote<\/a>. \u201cWhat a wonderful person, artist and collaborator. I was lucky enough to direct, produce and act in projects with her and she was simply growing more brilliant with each year.\u201d<\/p>\n Meryl Streep, who starred in Heartburn with O\u2019Hara, also shared a statement: \u201cCatherine O\u2019Hara brought love and light to our world, through whipsmart compassion for the collection of eccentrics she portrayed … such a loss for her family and friends, and the audience she graced as friends.\u201d<\/p>\n Rita Wilson also called<\/a> her \u201cauthentic and truthful in all she did\u201d on Instagram while Lily Tomlin wrote<\/a> \u201cbright, beautiful, and full of joy that touched so many\u201d next to a picture of O\u2019Hara.<\/p>\n