Catherine O'Hara, the Canadian actress renowned for her roles in Home Alone and Beetlejuice, has died at the age of 71. Her manager confirmed that she passed away on Friday, January 30, 2026, at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness. A private celebration of her life will be held by her family.
Born in Toronto in 1954, O'Hara began her career in sketch comedy with Second City Television in the 1970s. She went on to appear in films such as After Hours (1985), Heartburn (1986), Beetlejuice (1988) and the two Home Alone films, playing the long-suffering mother of Kevin McCallister.
Macaulay Culkin, who played Kevin, paid an emotional tribute on Instagram, writing: "Mama. I thought we had time. I wanted more. I wanted to sit in a chair next to you. I heard you but I had so much more to say. I love you. I'll see you later." The Home Alone director Christopher Columbus said O'Hara "carries the weight of 50% of that film" and praised her "extraordinary performance" and "profound emotional depth".
Pedro Pascal, who worked with O'Hara on the second series of The Last of Us, wrote: "Oh, genius to be near you. Eternally grateful. There is less light in my world, this lucky world that had you, will keep you, always." Seth Rogen, creator of The Studio, which earned O'Hara her final Emmy nomination, described her as "the funniest person I'd ever had the pleasure of watching on screen" and said she was "hysterical, kind, intuitive, generous".
Meryl Streep, who co-starred with O'Hara in Heartburn, said the actress "brought love and light to our world". Michael Keaton, her Beetlejuice co-star, added: "We go back before the first Beetlejuice. She's been my pretend wife, my pretend nemesis and my real life, true friend. This one hurts."
