Catherine O’Hara Passes Away at 71
Renowned actress Catherine O’Hara, celebrated for her roles in Schitt’s Creek, Home Alone, and After Hours, has died at the age of 71. Emergency responders arrived at her Brentwood home in Los Angeles early Friday morning after reports of breathing difficulties. She was quickly transported to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead a short time later. The exact cause of death has not been publicly disclosed.
Audio from the 911 dispatch captured the urgency of the situation, with O’Hara struggling to breathe before paramedics arrived. A Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson confirmed that crews responded to a medical aid request at 4:48 a.m. for an approximately 70-year-old woman in serious condition.
Resurfaced Interview Reveals Heartfelt Wishes
In a 2013 interview responding to the Proust questionnaire, O’Hara shared a lighthearted vision of her final moments. She expressed her desire to die “laughing, surrounded by my old grandchildren, who are telling me to ‘let go, already, Grandma!’” This poignant reflection stands in stark contrast to the sudden reality of her passing.
During the same questionnaire, O’Hara identified “my family” as the greatest love of her life, underscoring the deep personal bonds that defined her.
Family and Legacy
O’Hara is survived by her husband of nearly 34 years, production designer Bo Welch, whom she met while working on the 1988 film Beetlejuice. The couple shared two sons: Matthew, 31, who works as a set dresser, and Luke, 28, involved in set construction. She also leaves behind siblings Michael O’Hara, Mary Margaret O’Hara, Maureen Jolley, Marcus O’Hara, Tom O’Hara, and Patricia Wallice.
Leading up to her death, O’Hara appeared frail at the Emmy Awards in September. She had been nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series for her role in The Studio, a satirical showbiz series co-created by Seth Rogen, but missed the Golden Globes ceremony on January 11.
Tributes Pour In from Hollywood
News of O’Hara’s death elicited widespread grief from fellow stars. Macaulay Culkin, whom she played as a mother figure in Home Alone, and Brooke Shields, whom she impersonated on SCTV in the 1970s, both shared heartfelt messages. Co-stars from The Studio, including Seth Rogen and Ike Barinholtz, along with Schitt’s Creek’s Dan Levy and Beetlejuice’s Michael Keaton, honored her memory.
Martin Scorsese, who directed her in the 1985 comedy After Hours, appeared visibly distraught in a FaceTime screenshot shared by his daughter Francesca on social media.
O’Hara’s Private Health Battle
Throughout her life, O’Hara managed situs inversus, a rare condition where internal organs are ed from their typical positions. Her heart was on the right side of her body, a fact discovered during tuberculosis testing required for one of her son’s nursery school enrollment.
In a 2021 interview, O’Hara addressed the condition with her signature humor: “I’m a freak, yeah!” She added, “I love Western medicine but I just don’t want to be a part of it.” Reflecting on her reluctance to delve deeper, she said, “I don’t even know the name because I don’t want to know the name. Something cardi-inversa and then dexter-cardia and something-inversa.” She noted, “People are going to think I’m so ignorant not to know this, but I kind of don’t want to know because I didn’t know before that.”
