Tributes have been pouring in for beloved Canadian actress Catherine O’Hara, the star of Home Alone and Schitt’s Creek, who died this week at the age of 71.
US media reported on Friday that O’Hara died at her home in Los Angeles after a brief illness.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
Born and raised in Toronto, O’Hara began her acting career in the 1970s at the improv theater The Second City and later starred on the iconic Canadian comedy show SCTV.
His entry into cinema came in 1980 with Double Negative, alongside his long-time collaborator Eugene Levy, as well as John Candy.
But she became widely known to global audiences when she played Macaulay Culkin’s mother in 1990’s Home Alone.
“It’s a perfect movie, isn’t it?” she told People magazine in 2024. “You want to be part of something good, and this is how you do it.”
More recently, younger audiences have embraced O’Hara for her role as the matriarch of a wealthy family that loses its wealth in Schitt Creekwhere she once again starred alongside Levy, as well as her son, Dan.
Her turn as Moira Rose earned her an Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series in 2020.
Here’s a look at how actors, politicians and others remember O’Hara:
Macaulay Culkin
“Mom. 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,” Culkin wrote on Instagram.
Eugene Lévy
Levy got his start alongside O’Hara at Second City and on SCTV, and he later starred with her in several projects, including Christopher Guest’s Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and Waiting for Guffman.
In a statement, Levy said “words seem inadequate to express the loss” he felt after her death. “I had the honor of knowing and working with the great Catherine O’Hara for over fifty years,” he said.
“From our early days on the Second City stage, to SCTV, to the films we made with Chris Guest, to our six glorious years on Schitt’s Creek, I have cherished our working relationship, but especially our friendship. And I will miss it.
“My heart goes out to Bo, Matthew, Luke and the entire O’Hara family.”
Dan Levy
“What a gift to have been able to dance under the warm glow of Catherine O’Hara’s genius for all these years,” Levy, who played O’Hara’s character’s son David Rose on Schitt’s Creek, wrote on Instagram.
“After working with my father for over fifty years, Catherine was part of the extended family before she was my family. It’s hard to imagine a world without her. I will cherish all the fun memories I had the chance to create with her.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
“In five decades of work, Catherine has earned her place in the Canadian comedy canon – from SCTV to Schitt’s Creek,” Carney wrote on X.
“Canada has lost a legend. My thoughts are with her family, her friends and all those who loved her work on screen. She will be greatly missed.”
Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Trudeau hailed O’Hara as “a beloved Canadian icon with a rare gift for comedy and heart.”
“She made people laugh across generations and helped bring the Canadian tale to the world in a way only she could. My thoughts are with her family, her friends and all those who found joy in her work,” Trudeau wrote on X.
Seth Rogen
Rogen, who starred alongside O’Hara in the series The Studio, said he told O’Hara when they first met that he thought “she was the funniest person.” [he’d] never had the pleasure of watching on screen.”
“Home Alone is the movie that made me want to make movies. Working with her was a true honor,” Rogen wrote in an Instagram post.
“She was hysterical, kind, intuitive, generous…she made me want to make our show good enough to be worthy of her presence. It’s just devastating. We’re all lucky to be able to live in a world with her.”
