‘Home Alone’ star, Catherine O’Hara, dies aged 71
Catherine O’Hara, the comedic actor best known for films such as Home Alone and the TV hit Schitt’s Creek, has passed away at the age of 71.
O’Hara was known for being a brilliant comedic actor, famously rising to prominence as the mother of Kevin McAllister in Home Alone. Her career also faced a major resurgence when she was cast in the sitcom Schitt’s Creek.
Authorities have reported that the actor passed away on Friday, January 30th. In a statement given by her management team, O’Hara passed away after a brief battle with illness. She is survived by her husband, Bo Welch, as well as her two sons, Matthew and Luke.
O’Hara’s career began when working on the Canadian sitcom SCTV. From there, she would go on to have one of her first major breakout roles when starring in Beetlejuice opposite Michael Keaton. But her iconic role would come when playing Kate McCallister in Home Alone.
Following the story of a family on their way out of town for Christmas, the story follows Kevin McAllister being left at home for the holidays while the rest of his family try to make it back home to see him.
While that led to O’Hara starring in many mockumentaries including Christopher Guest’s A Mighty Wind and Best in Show, she would become an icon to a whole new generation when she began her work in Schitt’s Creek. Starring opposite Eugene and Dan Levy, the story follows a wealthy family that finds itself broke and settling down in the town of Schitt’s Creek.
The show would become a massive success thanks to O’Hara’s performance, for which she would earn an Emmy for ‘Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series’ in 2020. Her performance also garnered a Golden Globe for ‘Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy’.
Since then, O’Hara had been busy working on various films up until her passing, starring in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and The Wild Robot in 2024 and making an appearance in the 2025 documentary John Candy: I Like Him, which is expected to be her final film.
She had also remained active in the television world, appearing in three episodes of the HBO series The Last of Us. At the time of her passing, she had also been working with Seth Rogen on the satirical comedy The Studio for Apple TV+.
This is a developing story.
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