Catherine O'Hara has died at 71, PEOPLE can confirm
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A comedy icon, O'Hara was known for roles in films like Beetlejuice, Home Alone and Christopher Guest mockumentaries like Best in Show
O'Hara is survived by her husband and children
Catherine O'Harahas died.
The Canadian actress's manager confirmed to PEOPLE on Friday, Jan. 30, that the comedy icon, known for roles in films likeBeetlejuice,Home Aloneand Christopher Guest mockumentaries likeBest in Show,died at age 71. No further details were shared.
TMZwas the first to report the news about theSchitt's Creekstar.
O'Hara was born in Toronto in 1954. She was the second youngest of seven children; her father worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway, and her mother was a real estate agent. Her first acting gig was portraying the Virgin Mary in a Nativity play. After graduating from high school, she got a job as a waitress at the Second City Theater in Toronto.
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"I was lucky enough to watch everybody," she told PEOPLE in 2024 of the theater's legendary talent, which included Dan Aykroyd, Joe Flaherty and family friendGilda Radner. When she auditioned to become a member, Flaherty had some discouraging feedback.
"He said, 'Keep up the good work. Your day job, I mean: waitressing,'" she told PEOPLE. She didn't listen and landed a spot when she auditioned again.
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She joined the company in 1974. One of her stagemates was comedianEugene Levy, who would become one of her closest friends and collaborators. O'Hara toldThe New Yorkerin 2019 that at first she was scared of being on stage.
"My crutch was, in improvs, when in doubt, play insane. Because you didn't have to excuse anything that came out of your mouth. It didn't have to make sense."
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In 1976, the theater began its own TV show, calledSecond City Television(and usually abbreviated asSCTV). O'Hara was a staple of the sketch program, which aired on NBC in the '80s. O'Hara became known not only for her impressions of celebrities, including Meryl Streep and Brooke Shields, but also for original characters that became fan favorites.
O'Hara was content withSCTV, but the show did not provide her with a consistent paycheck. "Our producer would get a deal with a network, and we'd have a show for a season or two, and then that deal would go away. There'd be a break, then we'd do the show again,"she told PEOPLEin 2024.
During one break in 1981, "I got asked to be onSaturday Night Live. And of course I said yes. Who doesn't want to do that?" But thenSCTVwas picked up again and she went back to her home — before she'd ever done a single episode ofSNL. Her best friend from high school, Robin Duke, took herSNLslot. "It all worked out the way it was supposed to," she reflected. As part of theSCTVwriting staff, she received five Emmy nominations, winning once.
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SCTVended in 1984, which O'Hara thought was for the best. By the end, she told PEOPLE in 1986, she found it ''less than fulfilling. I lost enthusiasm. I wanted to learn more about acting. I wanted a personal life. I wanted to get scared again.''
Due to her pulling out ofSNLand other roles she turned down, she had a reputation at the time that she didn't want to work. ''It's not true,'' she told PEOPLE. "I read scripts and get a gut feeling about whether I want to be a part of them. Do I want my parents to see this? I'd just rather stay home than do something I know is bad and have to defend it later.''
Her film debut was 1980'sDouble Negative, which also featured Levy and otherSCTVcostars like Flaherty andJohn Candy. Next, she appeared in Martin Scorsese's 1985 black comedyAfter Hoursand 1986'sHeartburn. In 1988, she had a role inBeetlejuiceas Delia Deetz, the stepmother of Winona Ryder's Lydia. O'Hara reprised her role inthe 2024 sequelBeetlejuice, Beetlejuice.
In 1990, she was cast inHome Aloneas the harried mom of Macaulay Culkin's Kevin. "It's a perfect movie, isn't it?"she reflected to PEOPLEin 2024. "I need to care about the whole thing," she said of how she chooses projects. "I don't care to do a great role in a bad project. You want to be part of something good, and that's how you go." She reprised her role for 1992'sHome Alone 2: Lost in New York.
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Other major roles for O'Hara in the '90s included 1993'sThe Nightmare Before Christmas, in which she voiced Sally, and 1994'sWyatt Earp.
In 1996, she appeared in her first Guest mockumentary,Waiting for Guffman. She would also appear in 2000'sBest in Showand 2003'sA Mighty Wind, in which she and Levy sang together. PEOPLE called the actress the "gifted queen of the bittersweet" in a review of 2006'sFor Your Consideration, another collaboration with Guest.
In 2015, she teamed up with Levy once again forSchitt's Creek, created by his son Dan. It was not the first time she and Levy played characters who were romantically involved. Of their long working relationship, she told PEOPLE at the time, "I would love to think we continue to challenge each other, like a good married couple would do."
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The show had a small start — in Canada it aired on the CBC, and in the U.S. on the Pop network — until fans started to flock to it when it became available for streaming on Netflix.
"I used to mostly get people named Kevin who'd come up to me and ask me to yell 'Kevin!' in their faces," O'Hara told PEOPLE in 2020, referencing her famousHome Aloneline. "Now it's mostly about Moira andSchitt's Creek. I've never gotten this kind of attention in my life. It's crazy." Moira was a constant scene-stealer, with her over-the-top outfits and unique enunciation.
Moira also had a massive trove of wigs. "I suggested, or actually begged for it," O'Hara toldWWDin 2021 about the wigs. "When we were all developing our characters, I said, 'I'd like to wear a wig depending on my mood.' It kind of scared everyone at the beginning, like 'Wait a minute, how much work are you asking the hair department to do and how much planning is there?' And I said, 'No, it's according to how she feels that day.'"
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In 2020,she won the Emmyfor outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for the role. "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 aGolden Globeanda SAG Awardfor the series.
Other TV roles for O'Hara included guest spots onSix Feet Under,Curb Your Enthusiasmand30 Rock. She also received an Emmy nomination for her performance in the 2010 TV filmTemple Grandin. She voiced characters in the animated filmsFrankenweenie,The Addams FamilyandElemental, and in 2024, she appeared in the action filmArgylleandseason 2 of The Last of Us.
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In 1992, she marriedBo Welch. They met when he worked as a production designer onBeetlejuice. They shared sons Matthew and Luke.
"People always say, 'Communicate,' right? 'Tell them how you're feeling.' We do a lot of it with jokes," she told PEOPLE in 2024 of her marriage. "We'll make fun of each other instead of yelling at each other. Sarcasm helps!"
O'Hara is survived by her husband and children.
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