Catherine O'Hara, the comedic actress best known for her starring roles in the Home Alone and Beetlejuice films, as well as her Emmy-winning turn in Schitt's Creek, has died aged 71.
The Canadian star rose to fame through Toronto's Second City improvisation troupe and on SCTV, before making a name for herself in the US in 1988's Beetlejuice and as the matriarch in the holiday classic Home Alone.
O'Hara, whose colleagues remembered her as a wonderful person, artist and collaborator, most recently appeared in the Emmy-winning comedy The Studio and HBO's The Last of Us.
In a statement to the BBC, O'Hara's agent said she died on Friday at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness.
O'Hara made lightning strike twice in her career with indelible cinematic turns. In 1988's spooky satire Beetlejuice, she played Delia Deetz who led her possessed dinner guests in an enthralling song and dance performance of Day-O (the Banana Boat song).
Two years later, in Home Alone, her panicked scream of Kevin! as she realizes her mischievous eight-year-old son had been left behind during their Christmas holiday became one of the most memorable moments from one of the most successful film comedies ever.
Her young co-star Macaulay Culkin, now 45, paid tribute to his on-screen mother, sharing images of the two of them from the film and in later years: 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.
The Toronto-born actress got her foot in the door as a waitress at the Toronto Second City theatre franchise in the 1970s, before auditioning for a role with the famed acting troupe. She further developed her comedic chops after joining the cast of sketch comedy show Second City Television (SCTV) - one of the most successful Canadian TV programmes ever - alongside the likes of Eugene Levy and the late John Candy.
O'Hara also collaborated with Christopher Guest and co-writer Eugene Levy four times, including on the critically acclaimed mockumentary films Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration, her role as character actress Marilyn Hack earned her the 2006 National Board of Review Award for supporting actress.
In 2020, she told Rolling Stone that growing up Canadian didn't have the same sense of nationalism or patriotism that she saw in the US. She noted, it does make you look outside of yourself and be aware of the world and not take yourself seriously.
O'Hara had a late career surge thanks to the Canadian comedy series Schitt's Creek, which became one of the biggest hits of the Covid lockdown. The show followed the wealthy Rose family as they abruptly lose their money and mansion, forced to move into a shabby motel in a deadbeat town they bought as a joke. O'Hara's character Moira was a delight, characterized by her wildly fluctuating accent, outlandish fashion sense, and brilliant one-liners.
Upon winning the Emmy Award, O'Hara expressed her gratitude to her co-stars Eugene and Dan Levy for allowing her to play a woman of a certain age - my age - who gets to fully be her ridiculous self.
She is survived by her husband Bo Welch and sons Matthew and Luke, as well as her siblings. Catherine O'Hara will be remembered as a pioneering force in comedy and a beloved figure by fans around the world.
