Catherine O’Hara, a Canadian comedy icon, has died at 71
Born in Toronto, O’Hara was a beloved and prolific actor
In unbearably sad news, the death of Catherine O’Hara has been confirmed by her representatives at Creative Artists Agency. Details have not yet been reported regarding the cause of her passing, but CAA’s statement said that the award-winning actor died this morning, at 71, “following a brief illness.”
O’Hara was a beloved and prolific figure in comedy for decades, beginning her career at Toronto’s Second City alongside collaborators such as John Candy, Martin Short, Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis and Eugene Levy, who years later would be her co-star on Schitt’s Creek. O’Hara’s one-of-a-kind performance as Moira Rose earned significant acclaim, including Emmy and Golden Globe awards.
Related: How Schitt’s Creek became the bingiest thing on TV
Her comedy legacy includes defining roles in Home Alone, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and Beetlejuice. Last fall, she received the TIFF Norman Jewison Career Achievement Award.
Macaulay Culkin, who played O’Hara’s son in Home Alone, posted two photos of him and O’Hara to Instagram—one from their classic 1990 film and another from 2023, at Culkin’s induction to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “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 actor wrote in a caption.
Pedro Pascal, who worked with O’Hara on The Last of Us, also posted his condolences to Instagram, writing, “Oh, genius to be near you. Eternally grateful. There is less light in my world, this lucky world that had you, will keep you, always.”
Related: Ten things local comedy legend Catherine O’Hara can’t live without
Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
