The Green Post Ireland
Catherine O’Hara — the Emmy-winning actress beloved for her performances in Schitt’s Creek and the Home Alone films — died on January 30, 2026, at the age of 71. A death certificate issued by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office shows that a pulmonary embolism — a blood clot in the lungs — was the immediate cause of her death, with rectal cancer listed as the underlying condition she had been battling.
Born in Toronto in 1954, O’Hara began her career in comedy with Toronto’s Second City troupe before rising to prominence on the influential sketch show SCTV. Her film career spanned decades, with standout roles in Beetlejuice, Best in Show, and A Mighty Wind. She became a household name worldwide as Kevin’s mother in Home Alone and its 1992 sequel.
In recent years, O’Hara earned renewed acclaim playing Moira Rose on the sitcom Schitt’s Creek, a role that won her the Primetime Emmy Award for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, as well as a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Her passing came after what representatives initially described as a “brief illness,” and she was cremated following her death. Tributes poured in from collaborators and co-stars, including Macaulay Culkin, Eugene Levy, Christopher Guest and Pedro Pascal, who remembered O’Hara’s warmth, humour and immense talent.
