Comedy actress Catherine O’Hara, who starred in film classics like “Beetlejuice” and “Home Alone,” as well as the television hit “Schitt’s Creek,” has died. She was 71 years old.

The Canadian actress and comedian died at her home in Los Angeles on Friday “following a brief illness,” her manager confirmed to the Daily News. TMZ was the first to report the news.

The exact cause of death was not clear and few other details were provided.

O’Hara was born on March 4, 1954, and grew up in Toronto as the second youngest of seven children.

With an illustrious career spanning more than five decades, O’Hara got her start with the Second City Theater in Toronto. She joined the company in 1974, sharing the stage with Eugene Levy, who would go on to become her lifelong friend and eventual “Schitt’s Creek” co-star. In 1976, the theater launched its own sketch comedy show, “Second City Television,” or “SCTV,” which also featured comedians like Martin Short, John Candy, Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis and Joe Flaherty.

O’Hara served as writer and onscreen performer, eventually earning her first Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program in 1982.

O’Hara was also a frequent collaborator of director Christopher Guest, appearing in four of his mockumentary films, including “Waiting for Guffman” in 1996, “Best in Show” in 2000, “A Mighty Wind” in 2003 and “For Your Consideration” in 2006. Some of her other popular roles include that of Macaulay Culkin’s mother Kate McCallister in the first two “Home Alone” movies, and Delia Deetz in both “Beetlejuice” films. She met her husband, production designer Bo Welch, on the set of the original Tim Burton film in 1988, and they married in 1992.

Together, they shared two sons, Matthew and Luke.

O’Hara also earned Emmy, Satellite, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for her role in the 2010 TV movie “Temple Grandin” on HBO.

In total, she played more than 100 roles across TV and film, among the most notable, her portrayal of Moira Rose, the over-the-top matriarch of the once-rich Rose family on “Schitt’s Creek,” created by Levy and his son, Dan Levy. They starred alongside O’Hara in the show, as did Annie Murphy.

O’Hara appeared in all 80 episodes of the CBC comedy series, which earned her a second Emmy Award in 2020, this one for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

“I will forever be grateful to Eugene and Daniel Levy for the opportunity to play a woman of a certain age, my age, who gets to fully be herself,” she said during her acceptance speech.

O’Hara also earned a Golden Globe and a SAG Award for her performance on the show.

She went on to score roles in other hit television shows, like HBO’s dystopian series “The Last of Us” and Apple TV’s “The Studio,” which recently began filming for its second season. Her final public appearance in September 2025 was to attend the Emmy Awards, where was nominated for her performance as Patty Leigh in the Seth Rogen-led show.

O’Hara is survived by her husband, two children and siblings Michael O’Hara, Mary Margaret O’Hara, Maureen Jolley, Marcus O‘Hara, Tom O’Hara and Patricia Wallice.

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