New details have emerged regarding the death of Catherine O’Hara, who passed away aged 71 on Friday, 30 January. The Schitt’s Creek actress was rushed to hospital after first responders were called to her Brentwood, Los Angeles, home around 5 a.m., according to 911 dispatch audio obtained by Page Six. Catherine had been experiencing “difficulty breathing” before she was transported in a “serious condition.”
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Her cause of death has not yet been officially revealed, though her manager confirmed to HELLO! that she died following a “brief illness.” The statement read: “Prolific multi-award-winning actress, writer, and comedian Catherine O’Hara died today (Friday, 30 January) at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness.” A private celebration of life will be held by her family, including her husband, production designer Bo Welch, and their two sons, Matthew (b. 1994) and Luke (b. 1997).
O’Hara was last seen in public in September 2025, attending the Emmy Awards in Los Angeles alongside her husband. The pair posed for photographs on the red carpet, with Bo wrapping his arm around her waist. Catherine looked stylish in a statement black dress, while Bo wore a classic tuxedo. Her career spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s with the sketch and improvisational comedy series Second City Television.
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She gained prominence in the 1980s with films including After Hours (1985), Heartburn (1986), Beetlejuice (1988), Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), where she played the long-suffering mother of Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin. Culkin maintained a close friendship with her and referred to her as “mom.” In later years, her career saw a resurgence with Schitt’s Creek (2015–2020), earning her an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her role as Moira Rose. She also appeared in Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017–2018), Apple TV+’s The Studio (2025), HBO’s The Last of Us (2025), and reprised her role as Delia Deetz in the Beetlejuice sequel.
